How do you give Staging Advice when there is SO MUCH WRONG with the house to begin with?

In this case:

Dark
Dingy
Cluttered
Family Photos on Every Surface of Every Wall
Old Fashioned Country Style
Offensive Picture in Hallway
Refrigerator Magnets
Dirty, Dirty, Dirty
Too Much Furniture
CD, DVD, & Video Towers Everywhere
No surface unfilled!
Yappy Puppy That Can't Be Locked Up

Help!

Brutal honesty.

Begin your review of what is wrong with why you do what you do. You know the basics, neutral environment, a place the buyers can picture their things being, etc, etc. Stress why this is important. In fact, you can share a story from a peer (me).

I got a listing that had expired twice in the past. The first time the listing went for 6 months, the second time for 8 months.

I came in and staged the home. It was horrible. Once they did what I asked (which included replacing the carpets at a cost of $2300) the home sold in less than 30 days for MORE than it had originally been listed for previously.

Make sure they know this is not you saying you dislike one thing or another. This is your communicating to them what is the best position to get a home in to appeal to the largest number of buyers.

Good Luck,
R

It always depends on the situation, but one thing I use each time is the "attention" factor.
I talk about how they might have a great piece of art that they are proud of, or a great collection of DVDs that they always use, but if they distract the buyer because the buyer is interested in looking at that, then the buyer has left the home and hasn't noticed the big family room or the eat-in kitchen and has no reason to buy the house.
And if the place is dirty, refer them to a cleaning company who will give them a discount. Say that as a gift to all your sellers you refer them to a place that will give them a great deal, because it always helps the sale of the home.
--A

In addition to the other advice above, take pictures and show them while asking them to view them from the standpoint of a buyer who hasn't seen the house and is deciding whether to consider or not based on the pics alone. If you KNOW it's a lost cause, don't take the listing.

It's funny - 2 years ago when anything would sell - I had a house that was worse by far and we still sold within 2 weeks.

In this market, however, even the Cherry's are taking 60-90 days.

When I first started this was a problem for me... being a sweet southern gentleman... but I learned.

One thing that really helped me was a video I could hand out on prepping the home for showings. At the time is was given to the Better Homes and Gardens real estate agents and Tony Randall was the commentator and it went through an explanation that what the sellers are comfortable with are not often seen as desirable by potential buyers and done in a light hearted even funny way.... but it really hit the point and was very effective.

While I have seen a few others offered, one by Knox was good... Randall's was by far the best with his Felix Unger identity he was accepted as a compulsive good hearted Friend giving needed advise.... Don't avoid the subject... if you can't yet talk about it directly pass out a tape or CD. It would be in your client/ customer's best interest.... and yours.

Personally, I would be upfront.

A few good lead ins are: Mr/Mrs Seller, when a potential buyer comes into your home, our goal is to have the buyer visualize the home as theirs- where their furniture would go, where their pictures would hang, etc.

We want our potential buyer to concentrate on the home, so we need to remove as many potential distractions as possible. In order for a buyer to take mental ownership of a home, the distractions have to be removed. Not doing this will insure that, in their mind, your home will never be their home.

Unfortunately, each time we increase the personalization of our home, we decrease the "neutrality" of our home. The goal is to make a buyer take mental ownership of your home. So, in order for a buyer to consider purchasing your home, that buyer has to be able to visualize themselves living here.

Go to stagedhomes.com and show them the "before and after" pictures. Also, consider purchasing the staging DVD and let it speak for you. Barb Schwartz does a great job getting the point across.

It is a competitive market here in Atlanta and the presentation of the home is key.

Suggest they watch HGTV's "Designed to Sell" - shows them that a little improvement is going to bring them cash in the long run.

The other thing that sometimes works is take them to see a few other comparables so they can what a "staged" home looks like.

Prudential has a good video called: 123 Sold.

I purchased David Knox' system, but haven't used it that much since owners listen to me. http://davidknox.com/

I employ the advice of a staging professional, which really helps and is part of my services, depending on whether the house is an investment property or retail sale.

I too have the David Knox DVDs, and they are great. Realty Check, you wouldn't happen to have a title for the Tony Randall video would you? I would like to check it out. Greg, your explanation is textbook. You don't mind if I borrow some of your talking points do you? Really good stuff!

What I do is when I go on the listing presentation I ask them to look at the house as the if they were the buyer instead of the seller. Alot of times that does make them see that there are things about their house that are not so great. I also have clients right now that asked that whenever the hosue was shown and feedback was given they wanted it to be the most honest feedback ever. They said that they live there and do not see what others do. This worked out great for me. I give them the "honest feedback" and they take it. ANy problems that might have been there in the beginning are long gone now!!! These are just some ideas, I sure hope that they help.

Good luck.

Amanda