What if Your REALTOR Doesn’t Believe In Staging?
Call a home stager and stage your home yourself.
Most of my vacant home clients want their property to remain staged, with furnishings and accessories intact, until the bank appraiser goes through the house. That in itself speaks volumes to the value of home staging.
Recently I received a phone call from a homeowner inquiring about my vacant staging services. The empty house has been sitting on the market with very little action for months. When she asked her REALTOR the name of the home stager she works with, the REALTOR replied, “we don’t stage in Buffalo.” That comment took me by surprise. I work with many REALTORS in the area and there are several Home Stagers in Western New York.
With a plethora of staging statistics available and cable TV promoting staging as a given when you list your property, I can’t fathom the reason an established REALTOR would not acknowledge home staging as a valuable marketing tool or at least recommend it as an alternative to an immediate, large price reduction.
The direct calls from sellers I encounter, know about home staging and they assume their REALTOR will as well. Many of these calls are made at the urging of their REALTOR. The goal for the homeowner, REALTOR, AND Home Stager is to get the house sold fast, for the most money possible. I become part of the team that gets the home sold.
Let’s take your car for example. You’re ready to post it for sale but first, it’s certainly worth taking the time to vacuum, dust off the dash, clear out the old coffee cups and clutter. You may even consider cleaning out the trunk and replacing that broken knob on the console. You declutter. You repair. You detail clean. You’re in fact staging it. You’re showing your second most valuable investment in the best possible light. Why? You think it will help you get the price you’re asking. You think it will sell faster. You think it will give a buyer the impression that it’s been well cared for. You’re staging it. Why wouldn’t you do the same for your most valuable asset?
With regard to vacant property, often the homeowner vacates the house while or before it’s on the market. Take some time to take some decent staged pictures prior to the home being stripped of the furniture. An empty room feels cold. There is no way around it.
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If your REALTOR doesn’t believe in and support staging, call a home stager and stage your home yourself. Savvy sellers and increasingly, the average seller will find a stager on their own. Many times I’m called prior to the selection of a REALTOR. Often the conversation turns to the client asking for a REALTOR recommendation.
Of course I’d be happy to recommend a REALTOR. A cutting-edge REALTOR who, in representing the clients best interest, will use every possible marketing tool out there, including social media and HOME STAGING, to aggressively prepare, promote, showcase and sell their property. In fact, I can recommend several REALTORS that I work with on a regular basis.