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A 780sq ft condo- Is it worth it?

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Home Stager with Chicagoland Home Staging LLC

This is another project we finished a week or so ago. 

The condo was purchased 2 years ago in the preconstruction phase and the owner decided to sell instead of moving in__and with the current market condition it has not increased in value.  It's a very small 780 sq ft open concept Kitchen/Dining/Living area and a nice size bedroom. The problem is the builder has tons of other units available, great incentives, a skilled sales staff, AND a beautiful model, so the competition is steep to say the least. Sound familiar? What are home owners and REA's suppose to do to get an edge? Do you roll the dice on hope and a promise that it will sell quick? How much do you stand to loose if it lingers on the market?  You could always drop your pants...I mean price and dump the property and possibly bring money to the table at closing, OR you could Do or Offer something that works___PRESENT A BETTER PRODUCT! How can you do that? STAGE IT!  It is one of the best marketing stagegies you can apply and offer to your clients.  

Look at this property, If left to stand on its own what would the buyer see:

1. Builder white walls and moulding- the standard blah greyish Berber carpet- very cold and sterile.

2. No sense of scale so in seemed way too small even for one person.

3. No light fixtures except one giant flouresant in the kitchen (all others capped)

4. Difficult to visualize a livable space so no one can mentally move in. 

Left alone the only thing this property will do is help sell the competition. If your property seems like the  bridesmaid and not the bride call your local Staging Professional because they can help you. Our goal here was to make the condo look livable and separate space by showing you can have a home office, dining room, and comfortable living room. We also didn't want people to be disappointed after coming from the beautiful 2 BR, 2 BA, den, model home. 

Do you think it was worth staging?? It's priced competitive and the staging did not increase the price in this case. Was it worth the $2500 staging cost plus a low monthly rental payment? We all know how much price reductions are so you be the judge. Here are the pictures. 

Margaret Gehr, Re-Arrange It Interiors, Serving Chicagoland, 815-530-3566

           

        

 

       

 

       

 

       

 

       

 

 

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Margaret Gehr is the principle owner of Chicagoland Home Staging, servicing the greater Chicago area for home staging, redesign, and design projects. We work in both occupied and vacant homes. 

 

Show All Comments Sort:
Fernando Rosado
West Palm Beach, FL
561-906-0050 or 561-840-8950
Margaret, You are a Stager, when I client calls to have you stage, if they accept the bid and Stage it. Every littkle job is a job, why would you not do it, scared of something ?, you should be confident in your work. Use a little red it seems to attract a lot of people, like a red couch, or red accents, Im sure you can be a bit more creative in the kitchen. Yes NEVER SAY NO !
Dec 07, 2007 09:21 AM
Kathleen Lordbock
Keller Williams Realty Professionals - Baxter, MN
Keller Williams Realty Professionals

No light fixtures except one giant fluorescent in the kitchen (all others capped) You will have to show them my lighting up a sale blog -  "put in light fixtures people and make them compatible with the style and price of the property".

You were worth it - they got a deal> 

Mar 30, 2008 11:15 AM