Several agents are out of town this holiday weekend, so I stepped in to show a house today for another agent. The house is in a desirable neighborhood, original owner, 4/2.5 with a salt-water pool. It is very clean and well kept. That's the good part. But, I think the owners are busy watching the golf channel instead of the staging shows on HGTV or TLC! Not only was there GRASSCLOTH on the walls of the hallway & foyer, there were so many little tables that I was unable to count them all! There was a table with plants, several with phots, some with books, some with owl statues, some with dog statues, one with dolls--you get my drift. The house was built about 1980, and all the fixtures were very nice for the day. Wake up, folks! It's 2008!! This house will be so much more appealing when the sellers move out. Unfortunately, it may be quite a while before they move because it will take longer than the average marketing time to sell a house with such dated decor.
You owe it to your sellers to tell them to get rid of so many things. When you list a property, you begin working as partners to get it sold. The bad thing is that listing expenses come out of YOUR pocket. Advertising, signs, time and manpower used to add to websites are all paid for by the real estate agent. The seller has to pay nothing out of their pocket once the house is listed. You are cheating yourself and doing the seller no favor if you don't tell them what they need to do to make the property more appealing to a larger pool of buyers. Let's face it, there's a limited number of people who are specifically looking for brass chandeliers, wallpaper with little blue and mauve flowers, laminate countertops and vinyl floors in the kitchen.
Check out some of the talented stagers in your area as well as the contributors to Active Rain. You could even forward some of the before/after pictures from the staging bloggers to the seller so they will get good ideas. I pay a local stager for each one of my listings. This small investment impresses the seller, and it saves me lots of money in the long run.
Gayle Causey
http://WestMonroeRealEstate.com
Keller Williams Realty
Monroe, LA USA
Gayle Causey, GRI, ePRO
Direct: 318-614-5615
REALTOR, Relocation Specialist
Find your house with your mouse: http://WestMornoeRealEstate or http://GayleCausey.com
Keller Williams Realty Parishwide Partners
1390 Hudson Lane, Monroe, LA USA 318-812-SOLD
Each office independently owned & operated. We Support Equal Housing Opportunity.
Sounds like they mey be tough sellers to work with. It may take some time on market before they realize they have issues. Thanks for writing. Veronica
It is good to hear that some realtors "get it". Staging, good staging, really helps the sellers in today's tough market!
What you said is very true!!!
Yikes! Sounds like a nightmare! I know every home should be staged when it's time to sell, but that home seems to be screaming for a stager!