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Sellers' Mistakes from a Home Stager's Eyes-Don't Derail Your Sale!

By
Home Stager

Sellers' Mistakes from a Home Stager’s Eyes- Don’t Derail your Sale.

When I’m contacted by an agent for a staging consultation for their new smile!listing, I usually hear these words:

“ Can you get my sellers to see that we can’t sell the home in its current condition?”

Not being able to emotionally separate yourself from the home you’ve been living in from the house you hope to sell is one of the mistakes you can make that can derail your sale.

Agents understand the role that a property’s condition plays in selling a listing.  Yes, the List Price is important but the condition does affect what, if anything, a buyer is willing to offer.

When we live in our homes, it’s easy to overlook the worn carpeting or stack of magazines that sit waiting to be read.

This is a trick I use for my Home Staging Consultations- I let the pictures do the talking.

I take over 100 photos of the property. They’re to help me “see” the property, and to allow me to review the property when I’m back at the office.

But I also use these photos to help show my sellers what their property/house will look like to a buyer.

If you plan on placing your home on the market, don’t derail the sale by failing to see your house as others will.

What you can do:

Whether you’re a seller or an agent, grab your camera, smartphone or tablet and begin snapping photos.   

Take one of each room from the entry… then go to each corner of the room and take a photo.  

Don’t forget to take a photo from the street to show the curb appeal.
 

Next:

This is the easy part…. upload your photos to your computer or view them on your smartphone or tablet.
 

This is what any potential buyer will see when they pull up your listing on the MLS.   

(Remember 90% of buyers will begin their search here.  It’s showtime for your property. )

Being willing to see your house as others will is the first step you can take to make sure you don’t derail the sale!

 

Den- before Den- After
       After my client saw this photo...              she knew she had to do this!

 

Posted by

Kathy Streib
Retired Home Stager
and Interior Redesign

In Person Consultations in Texas
for Houston & Harris Counties
and
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for all states


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Comments(55)

Kathleen Daniels, Probate & Trust Specialist
KD Realty - 408.972.1822 - San Jose, CA
Probate Real Estate Services

Kathy, It takes the skill and a trained eye to transform a look like this.  No one could honestly deny the difference.  The look and feel are drastically different. 

Jan 17, 2014 01:57 AM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Kathy,

I love your approach, and you are right about the emotional rock and roll of the seller.  A

Jan 17, 2014 03:24 AM
Beth Atalay
Cam Realty and Property Management - Clermont, FL
Cam Realty of Clermont FL

Hello Kathy, taking photos of each room is a tip you provided in the past which I've adapted since then, it works!!

Jan 17, 2014 04:22 AM
Beth and Richard Witt
New York, NY
The best Retired Brokers !!!!

Kathy I love your hundred picture trip... I will share it with our agents at next weeks office meeting... Great advice

Jan 17, 2014 04:28 AM
Carla Muss-Jacobs, RETIRED
RETIRED / State License is Inactive - Portland, OR

I'm sure the before and after photos do the talking too!  It's nice when you can point out the subtle changes.  The new carpet just ties the room together!

Jan 17, 2014 05:08 AM
Debbie Reynolds, C21 Platinum Properties
Platinum Properties- (931)771-9070 - Clarksville, TN
The Dedicated Clarksville TN Realtor-(931)320-6730

Small changes can make big differences. The neutral carpet makes the biggest impact to the room's size and brightness.

Jan 17, 2014 05:26 AM
Jim Patton
Aspire Home Real Estate 209-404-0816 - Modesto, CA
Realtor - Stanislaus ,Merced, San Joaquin Counties

Great advice Kathy.  Sometimes sellers just need to see their home from someone else'sperspective to "get it."

Jan 17, 2014 05:57 AM
Joe Pryor
The Virtual Real Estate Team - Oklahoma City, OK
REALTOR® - Oklahoma Investment Properties

Couldn't help but notice the carpet looked red on the left. That was a major change that gives everythingelse you changed impact.

Jan 17, 2014 06:14 AM
Ron Marshall
Marshall Enterprises - Saint Michael, MN
Birdhouse Builder Extraordinaire

You are so smart!  That is why you are so successful, Kathy Streib.  Any seller would be a fool not to hire you to stage their property!

Jan 17, 2014 06:36 AM
Shar Sitter
Rooms With Style - Minneapolis, MN
Home Staging and Redesign Minneapolis/ St. Paul, M

Ah yes.....the 'colorful' carpet issue. So glad your client could see it and good thing they hired you! 

Jan 17, 2014 07:34 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Jason- LOL... just make sure you have your camera with you!!!

Jill- thank you but I also have to give my seller a lot of credit!  She did most of it on her own. 

Suzanne- oh how funny.  It's like they say when you get dressed for an occasion.. stand in the mirror and if something screams at you, remove it. 

Patty- having the camera even if it's via an iPad is a necessary tool for me. 

Dick- thank you!  It's such an easy way to get your point across to your seller. 

Jon- many thanks!  We're there to help the agents!

Anna- Hi!!!  You have to walk a thin line and not insult or hurt the feelings of the sellers so I rely on my photos. 

Kathleen- and the primary change here was the carpet and a very cooperative client.

Alexandra- thank you.  Just as agents do, we see our share of sellers who can't break that emotional bond with their home. 

Beth- I'm so glad it's worked for you!

Richard & Beth- I take them from every angle and view that a buyer might have!  Good luck with it. 

Carla- it really does, especially it was the first room off the entry. 

Debbie- absolutely!  And, when I pointed out to the seller the small investment it would take tocarpet that one room (the rest of the house was tile) she was ready to make the change. 

Jim- I think you're right.  Just having a fresh set of eyes helps. 

Joe- oh yes, in fact it was a bright pinky rose with a stain in the middle of it.  She swore to her agent that she was not going to change it.

Ron- very sweet of you!  All of the stagers I know take as many and more photos to help them. 

Shar- I never mentioned the carpet to her until I got back to the office because I knew she was ready for me to tell her to change it out. 

 

 

Jan 17, 2014 08:19 AM
Sandy Acevedo
951-290-8588 - Chino Hills, CA
RE/MAX Masters, Inland Empire Homes for Sale

Hi Kathy, great post. It is so true that we can't really see our home because we are so used to it. So a third party really opens our eyes.

Jan 17, 2014 12:36 PM
James Dray
Fathom Realty - Bentonville, AR

The wife is ready to sell the property and she is wanting to know why I haven't put it on the market.  I told her things needed to be done and i think last night the light bulb came on.

Jan 17, 2014 06:53 PM
Sally K. & David L. Hanson
EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI
WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

A preview before review...i love it !

Jan 17, 2014 07:55 PM
Conrad Allen
Re/Max Professional Associates - Webster, MA
Webster, Ma, Realtor

Hi Kathy.  You don't get a second chance to make a first impression.

Jan 17, 2014 08:07 PM
Rick Frissell
HomeXpress Realty - Valrico, FL
aka "The Red Baron of Real Estate"

What a great idea and advice Kathy!  With the ease of iMovie, I can envision doing a quick 3 minute tour and share with them the current "vision" of marketing the house.  When I leave from the listing appointment, I will let them know I am sending a rough draft and will return for better photography.  Thinking I may see a bid difference.

Jan 17, 2014 10:03 PM
Julia Maher
Nestings: Connecticut Home Staging and Model Homes - Fairfield, CT
Connecticut Home Stager

Your B&A photos tell the whole story, Kathy!  Excellent post!

Jan 18, 2014 01:31 AM
Barbara Altieri
Better Homes and Gardens RE Shore and Country Properties - Shelton, CT
REALTOR-Fairfield County CT Homes/Condos For Sale

Kathy -- This is a great tactic! Seeing the house as buyers would see it can definitely help the sellers change their minds about how they want to present their home.

Jan 18, 2014 05:31 AM
Michelle Finnamore
Toronto GTA, Alliston, Newmarket - Vaughan, ON
Preparing your property for sale

Kathy, great advice. We have been doing this for the last couple of years and find that a picture really does speak a thousand words. Do you find that when you show the seller the photo they usually gasp and say something like " I had no idea my place looked like that" or " I see what you mean now".

Jan 19, 2014 07:52 AM
Lottie Kendall
Compass - San Francisco, CA
Helping make your real estate dreams a reality

Great idea to let the photos tell the story.

Jan 20, 2014 12:30 AM