Common Objections to Home Staging?

Objection: MY house doesn't need to be Staged. I had an interior decorator do my house.

Answer: Every house needs some level of Staging. Decorating and Staging have 2 different intentions! Decorating personalizes and Staging de-personalizes.

And my favorites are Realtors who do their own staging. If that's the kind of work you want to do for your dwindling commssions, I say go for it. Don't you already work hard enough? Remember, stagers are here to help!

I haven't used a stager yet.

There is a new one in our town.  I am sure it would greatly enhance the properties.

The POWER of home staging.  Show your realtors this post...my recommendation.  They'll get it when their competition is doing it.

Margaret, thank youf ro this post. I had nearly forgotten about this one...Its a real doozie! Recently a client called... 30 days prior we had installed just a lovely but small package of enhancing accessories...so she said she had been "systematically shopping for pieces LIKE mine to replace the staging package. Would we please come and pickup our stuff?" "OKKKAY" I say...yes I do understand the need to reduce costs", so I arrive to see what she had replaced my stuff with....UGH! She had effectively devalued the house! Everything she chose to replace our stuff was too small or too cheap-looking to be effective! Never understimate the power of professional work!

Hi, Chris: I have been following this post since it showed up on A/R.  Thanks for opening this topic.  Love the stories!

We've had a number of realtors tell us they think that the homes were "beautifully staged," when we could tell that they weren't staged at all! My partner and I have been working hard to show the realtors we meet what we mean by staging. I cleaned, decluttered and depersonalized my own living room so that it looked liked many of the pictures I've seen called "staged." Then we did our professional staging magic on it, and it looks worlds different. The realtors think the first one looks good, and they make approving noises. Then we spring the truly finished product on them, and they see what we mean.

That thing about price reductions not being real money drives me wild, too! We're going to start using stacks of play money to try to make it physically obvious what they are in fact throwing away, but it's an uphill battle.

Can you imagine how impressive it would look if we used one-dollar bills? We'd have to hire a U-Haul!

Here is a photo that a realtor planned on using on MLS.  She sent it to me to show me that she didn't need me because she had helped the homeowners "move around" a few things and they had basically staged the house themselves.

When I saw the pictures, I couldn't believe she was going to use them on MLS.

I was able to convince the realtor to pay for two hours of staging resulting in much better MLS shots.

Sharon - How did you manage to convince the realtor that the home wasn't really staged, and that she should spring for you to stage it? I'm sure that she understood the true meaning of "staged" when she saw the results. What a splendid difference you made!

Laurie:  Thank you!  I told her the truth.  I called her and said, "I need to be very honest with you...the pictures that you sent me are not pictures that I would use on MLS.  To me, they are 'before' pictures and if you use these pictures, you will be making a negative impression on buyers."  In this picture of the living room, I pointed out that there were too many clocks, the dated valances and table runner were "old lady" style, the desk was open and very cluttered, the vacuum marks were drawing attention to the dated, ugly carpet.  I told her that after my staging I would take new pictures for her to use on MLS.

Sharon,

It's funny you mentioned the "vacuum marks". It was one of the first things I noticed. At first glance I actually thought the rugs were replaced by hardwood! Imagine that! It really goes to show how every LITTLE detail really counts! The curtains also make a HUGE difference: a great improvement, making things look FRESH! Thanks for sharing!

~SHANNON~

Great post!

"I think homes always LOOK better when vacant'

"Staging is only for new homes'

"We'll have to move all that furniture out when the home sells.'

Chris ~ I have come to the conclusion, that if people do not know by now, how investing in staging their homes can get it sold faster and for the most money, then I cannot spend to much of my time convincing them. It really is a no brainer.

I am so thankful that the people who seek me out and call for my services all ready know what staging is about and what it can do.

Okay this is what I hear ALL THE TIME!!

Everyone tells me my house is beautiful, there is NOTHING that needs to be done! HA, then I walk in and see a TON OF ITEMS that need to be addressed

We all hit roadblocks, it is a tough business. We are basically insulting people's taste. I would be upset if someone came in my home and starting telling me ALL I need to do to make it more appealing to a buyer. But it is all about educating the client to LET GO and MOVE ON!

Phyllis Pafumi