Selling a House with Children...a staged house.
As professional stagers we frequently have sellers tell us that their family cannot live in a staged home. Part of the reason that they object is that they cannot imagine convincing their children that "staging" their bedroom is a good idea or that once staged, they will stay that way.
As a retired classroom teacher I have had many classes and experiences with child psychology and I employ that knowledge with staging. I know that children, of all ages, will listen more to an outsider (that they trust) than they will their parents. So, I proceed with caution and enthusiastic anticipation. Unlike most staging jobs, where we ask the sellers to be absent while we work, I don't do that with children (to include teens).
First, I get to know the kids and get their feelings about the impending move. We sit in their rooms and have some heart to heart time without their parents listening in. With younger children, I first get their permission to touch their stuff and we start the staging process together. With older children (pre-teen +) I outline what should be done, show them some photos and let them get to work while I'm elsewhere in the house. I always get them involved in the decisions to move furniture and hide-away the clutter (their valuable stuff). Buy-in is crucial.
Here is an example:
Let's call the owner of this room Darren. Darren was very OCD about his stuff. I could not touch his toys but with time he was fine with moving things more out of sight....but ONLY he could do it. Together we moved furniture and I helped direct where his valuables would work best...always asking first..."do you think that will work?" or "what if we moved this here?" I don't work fast or push, I prompt and compliment with each move forward.
Darren's room started out looking like this:
He had always been very concerned about keeping his room neat and organized.
Here is what we accomplished together, plus his mom decided to buy him new bedding since he was being so cooperative.
The toys, the shelves and the hamper remain in the room but tucked away, out of immediate view for potential buyers and for the camera.
With Darren's sister, we'll call her Samantha (age 15), we followed the same process. Here is her bedroom before:
I played the "more sophisticated and grown up" card with Samantha. What teen girl doesn't want to be grown-up and impress her friends with her level of sophistication? She agreed that the purple walls were now too juvenile for her, thus dad could paint them. Again, mom set up a contract and since Samantha did keep her room tidy, she purchased new bedding that she could use now.
Here are the results for Sam's room:
Where did all of her personal items go? Honestly, I do not know. I showed her photos of nicely staged bedrooms and I asked her to find places for her things. I know that she purged and donated many items. You can still see her hamper but at least it's tucked behind the bookshelf and not in plain sight.
Next came the Jack and Jill bathroom that Samantha and Darren shared. Their mom just couldn't imagine how this room could stay neat and tidy.
Well, we dug up some baskets and tubs. We purged the excess of product in the cupboards and tucked away the items that they used daily. They did the work together and the psychology here was to make their bathroom look better than their parents bathroom.
Here is what they accomplished with just a bit of help.
Did this bathroom and their bedrooms stay this way...you bet they did. Each week I called the house and I checked-in with the kids. We kept the competitive spirit going and I kept promoting the "self-pride", especially with Samantha. (By the way I did get Darren's permission to put floral items in his bathroom.)
Mom and Dad were thrilled at what we were able to accomplish together, as a team, to get their house SOLD.
Besides getting the house SOLD, our Fresno area staging and interior decorating company is now helping this family transition into their new home.
Children can help sell a house, it just takes some thought and persuasion skills to make it happen and perhaps a professional stager, outsider, to get the ball rolling.
Call a professional stager, in your area to see how they can help.
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Dream Interior Redesign and Staging by Ginger Foust is a full service, licensed and insured CSP ® Professional Home Stager, Interior ReDesign/Decorating Specialist, consulting and training company.
Locally serving the California foothill and mountain communities of: Oakhurst, North Fork, BassLake, Coarsegold, Ahwahnee, Wawona and Mariposa. Also serving areas of: Fresno, Clovis and Madera, California and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
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