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Could Mortgage Companies and Home Stagers Work Together?

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Home Stager with Jenifer Laurie

This may sound like a crazy idea, but I have a question to throw out to mortgage professionals - With the onslaught of bank-owned homes now, because of the foreclosure crises, wouldn't it be in the best interests of the bank to hire a home stager to evaluate a home and make recommendations about what needs to be done to the home to enhance it and make it more marketable?

I visited a home today that was a foreclosure - and I have to say one of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen - well, at least in the eyes of a stager.  There are issues with the home, some simply cosmetic, that I think could have been addressed and taken care of if the mortgage company had enlisted the help of a professional home stager.  The tragedy is that this house has been sitting on the market, owned by the bank, for long time. 

I know mortgage companies would like to re-coupe their losses, and I've been in many homes that are on the market due to foreclosures, and there has typically been no effort on anyone's part to clean, much less stage these houses.   It seems to me like banks could ask and receive a higher price for these homes if a little effort were put into making them more marketable.

What do you think? 

 

Comments(3)

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Gene Mundt, IL/WI Mortgage Originator - FHA/VA/Conv/Jumbo/Portfolio/Refi
NMLS #216987, IL Lic. 031.0006220, WI Licensed. APMC NMLS #175656 - New Lenox, IL
708.921.6331 - 40+ yrs experience

Jenifer:  I read your blog with great interest, as I have been pondering an association with a home stager and my business.  I am a mortgage banker in Illinois (lending in multiple states), and questioned whether offering the services of a home stager as a benefit of working with me either to my customers selling a home or to my realtors would be an attractive offer and thus result in more business for myself and company? 

Would you, as a home stager consider a flat fee or reduced fee in the hopes that you would get steady referrals and work?  Would you consider doing co-marketing with a lender/mortgage banker in such a manner?  If so, it may behoove you to make such an offer to a local (or multiple) banker/lender in your area.

I would be interested in your thoughts on this and would appreciate your input.  Thank you for your time.

Gene Mundt, Professional Mortgage Banker              www.genemundt.com                                  Chicago Bancorp                                                  

                                                              

Mar 12, 2009 02:50 AM
Jenifer Shorrosh
Jenifer Laurie - Mobile, AL
HSR Certified Home Stager, - Mobile and Baldwin Counties, AL

Gene,

Thanks so much for your reply.  I would definately agree to a reduced rate for mortgage companies that were repeat clients.  What I would like to do is offer a basic rate for staging the home (maybe based on square footage), which would entail coordinating any minor repairs, cleaning and cosmetic work that needed to be done, and have the mortgage company give me a budget to work with to cover the repairs above the staging fee.

The reason I say this is because, after talking to a local Realtor, I realized that there have been issues with mortgage companies hiring people to clean/repair foreclosed homes, but the work has not been done properly, and the money has been wasted.  I think if I charged a basic fee for my services, and was then given a budget for repairs/renovation/cleaning to work within, it would avoid that problem.

I am going to come up with a proposal to present to some local asset managers next week and see what kind of response I get.

Thanks for your input.

Jenifer Shorrosh, www.jeniferlaurie.com

 

Mar 12, 2009 12:24 PM
Honey Johnson
Triangle Staging and Design / founder of Stunning Solutions - Raleigh, NC

Jenifer,

Have you had any new developments on this issue?  I have also talked with a mortgage broker about a partnership, but we are just in the beginning stages.  Any new info you have would be a great help.

Thanks so much!

Honey Johnson

Apr 13, 2009 02:23 PM