The Topic Realtors Won’t Touch Because It Is Too Sensitive

How do you tell a colleague that they have bad breath, body odor, too much perfume/cologne or moth-balled clothing?  Usually, you don’t and hope that someone else will.  But maybe if the time and place is just right (and you’ve rehearsed a few times in your head), you might just say something to this colleague in a kind and caring way.  

What about offensive smells and odors in a house?  Now that is the topic most (but not all) Realtors won’t touch. 

A fellow real estate professional raised this topic with me after reading my recent “clean freak” post.  She shared some important insights about smells and odors.  In keeping with the title of this blog, our conversation about smells and odors is “to be continued” today.

My real estate professional friend believes that “if it really smells, it never sells!”  She also said that it is “the biggest turn-off I encounter.”

“Here is what happens:  I walk into a cute house and start imaging how my family would live in this house.  I open the door or enter a bedroom with 'the scent'.  All emotional connection I feel with the house is immediately finished.  I can't get out of the house fast enough.  All I can think is this house is dirty - gotta go.”

My friend categorized offensive and unacceptable smells and odors by problem area:

BEDROOMS – “Used bedding is one problem and the smell issue becomes magnified if teenagers are in the house with hormones gone wild.”

PETS – “If you have pets and carpeting, you have pet odor.”

SMOKE – “Don't even go there with me. Buyers won't either. It permeates paint and all furniture.  Get a professional to help.”

KITCHENS- “People who tend to eat or cook any ethnic food often tend to have a scent in their home that is different from the local area.  You know how you walk into a greasy joint and can smell the grease - same thing.  It just gives the scent of not being cleaned properly.” 

So what are we to do with offensive odors and smells?   “Don’t try to mask with a perfumy scent.  It won’t cover the offensive odors.  It gives the impression you know it is there and you are too lazy to clean it up.”

What the seller needs to do is clean, clean some more and then keep it clean!!  Or better yet, hire a professional cleaning service to do a deep clean and then maintain it. 

One way or the other, the sellers need to make sure the following happen:

·         Wash all bedding from mattress pad to bedspread; down comforter to pillow cases

·         Eliminate dirty clothes pile - wash them all!

·         Shampoo the furniture. Shampoo all carpeting

·         Deep clean the kitchen regularly including the oven, microwave and stove top as well as the counter tops.

·         Air the house out often (weather permitting). Leave the air on to circulate house as well as ceiling fans if you have them.

And what are Realtors to do if the topic of odors and smells is too sensitive to discuss with their sellers?

A few of my Realtor partners have a simple solution – they engage me as the professional home stager and “bad cop” to share the bad news.  I guess you could also copy and share the February 20^th posting ("Everyone is a clean freak") and this one – your sellers might get the hint. 

Regardless of how you do it, you owe it to your sellers to broach this sensitive subject.  They will thank you in the end especially after the house sells.

 

Dwell in possibilities

 

Cindy

Realtor Tip - Sell My House to Me

While in the lunch line during the real estate stager’s convention, I overheard one of the speakers giving advice to a fellow home stager about how to interview and select a Realtor. 

Her advice was to ask each prospective Realtor to literally walk you through your own house and sell it to you.  What would their sales pitch be to a potential buyer of your house?  She believed this simple exercise separated the effective and prepared from the ineffective and ill-prepared.

And she was right.  The Realtor listing your house needs to “get” the house; needs to “get” the neighborhood; and, needs to “get” the target market of potential buyers.  In short, the Realtor needs to get how to market your house.  If they don’t “get” any of these key aspects of selling a house, then they should not get your listing. 

 

And if they “get it”, you can expect to sell your house in a reasonable period of time for a good price.

Taking this idea a step further, I believe that my role as a professional home stager is to market a house through staging.  Like the listing Realtor, the professional stager needs to “get” the house, neighborhood and potential market.

I need to “get” what makes this house special and unique, namely, focal points, architectural features and flow.  I need to “get” what types of buyers will be attracted to this house and stage it accordingly.  I need to “get rid of” the clutter and confusion that detract from making this house special and unique. 

If I am doing my job, I need to create an emotional reaction that begins when a prospective buyer pulls into the driveway and does not end until the home has been experienced and the front door is closed. 

If I am doing my job, prospective buyers "get" the house, the Realtor "gets" a sale, and the seller "gets" to find their next dream house.

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

Everyone is a Clean Freak!!

The unforgiving reality for any home seller is that everyone who comes into your house will be a “clean freak”!  They walk-in the front door with high standards and exceptional expectations for a squeaky clean house.  These “clean freaks” want order and disapprove of clutter and mess.

If they find dirt, disorder or dust bunnies, they will likely beat a hasty retreat and move on to the next house on their list.  And, I can almost guarantee that they will not be back for a second look!

Truth be told, these clean freak buyers probably have completely different expectations for their current home.  I am pretty sure that their current home will not be up to the exacting standards they have for someone else’s house. 

But for the home seller, it really does not matter what the potential buyer’s current home looks like.  What matters is what your house looks like.  If your house is not clean, orderly and “show ready”, then you have a big problem.

I came to this insight while working on a “To Do” list for one of my clients.  The preface to my note was “sorry for being so particular, but . . “  And my “but” was the insight that everyone who comes through this house will be a “clean freak”.

When I stage a house, I have exacting standards for order and cleanliness.  It is not because I am a “clean freak” by nature but because I know that potential buyers will be. 

In some instances, my Realtor partner uses me as the “bad cop” to make sure that the house is cleaned properly.  In other instances, they warn the sellers to make sure the house is thoroughly cleaned and to do everything I tell them because I have a track record of helping sellers sell their houses.

And in the end, that is what this freaky cleanliness is all about – selling the house quickly and for the best price possible.  Just imagine the possibilities with a clean, orderly and professionally staged house.

 

Dwell in possibilities

 

Cindy

10 REASONS NOT TO STAGE YOUR HOME

Today’s post is a reprint of a great article I wish I had written.  Fellow stager, Janet Jones of Hawaii, was the author and gave us permission to reprint her article.  This one is a keeper!!!

1. We want to test the market for 90 days.  And on the 91st day?  Price reduction--and 90 days worth of potential buyers who have already eliminated your property.

2. It costs too much money.  I have never seen a home where the staging costs would have exceeded the first price reduction.  And that doesn't even factor in the monthly carrying cost of the home.

3. We can't stage the house, we're living in it.  One common misconception is that staging is only for vacant homes.  Every home/condo can be staged, and you can actually live in it after staging.

4. We didn't have to stage any of the other properties we sold over the years.  Yes, once upon a time you could generate three offers by 5 p.m. on the same day your Realtor put the For Sale sign in your yard.  Not now.  Buyers are picky and they have a lot of homes to choose from.

5. Everyone loves our house so buyers will love it, too.  What you, your friends and relatives love about your house may not be what today's buyer wants.  Sellers are often baffled by the feedback they get after showings--amazed that buyers have found things they don't like about the property.

6. We can clean the carpets and declutter without someone telling us how.  Yes, you can (and should) do this, but it is a tiny piece of staging.  Do you know what separates "clutter" from "asset"?  And what about all the other things that staging encompasses, like traffic flows, highlighting architectural features, updating, and appealing to your target market?

7. We have no desire to remove/change our (wallpaper/mirrored tile/gold faucets/paneling/dated light fixtures . . .).  And neither do buyers.  Better to keep your home or be ready to sell at a deep discount.

8. The view alone will sell this place.  Then why many months later are these great view homes/condos still on the market?  Could it be that buyers want something to go with the view--like a comfortable, move-in ready home?

9. We would rather let the buyers makes their own paint/flooring choices.  And that equals a price reduction. If buyers do make an offer on your home they will double or triple the cost of these items and reflect that in their discounted offer price--which includes a deduction for the inconvenience.

10. Our home is professionally decorated.  A professionally decorated home is tailored to the owner's particular needs. Does it work for the new buyer's needs? You could see #1 above . . . .

These are all great reasons--

• for price reductions
• for extended time on the market
• for buyers not coming to look at your home
• for buyers not coming back for a second look

• There are dozens of reasons not to stage, but only one good reason to stage--getting your home sold faster for the highest possible price. Staging is preparing your home for sale and creating a home that buyers want to buy. If you want to be in the best competitive position in this market today, consult with a professional home stager before listing your property for sale.
   
  Janet L. Jones
  Kihei, Hawaii
  Just Your Style Staging and Redesign
  http://www.just-your-style-interiors.com/
   
  
  
  
  

 

 

Enough About Me. What About You?

Last week, I attended the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) convention near San Francisco.  I learned so much and came back brimming with ideas, enthusiasm and new techniques.  Today, I want to share a few of the tidbits picked up at RESA that may be of interest and value to you.  

So instead of too many details about staging tips and strategies, I will share stuff you can use - enough about me and more about you.

·        I learned from a panel of Realtors that professional home staging is assumed In San Francisco.  The vast majority of houses on the market are staged.  The criteria used for choosing a home stager are the product (are you wowed from the front door?) as well as their reliability and experience.

 

·        In areas where staging is not assumed, the competition is not other professional home stagers.  Our competition is not staging at all or seller complacency.  This complacency is based upon the assumption that the only preparation needed before listing a house on the market is to put a “For Sale” sign in the front yard – and the market will do the rest for you. 

·        A few of the top decorating trends include:

o   Colors – Pantone color of the year for 2013 is Emerald Green

o   Global chic – well-traveled, eclectic displays of books and accessories

o   Mixing it up – contemporary with vintage; formal with casual; indoors out and outdoors in

·        Some catchy phrases for Realtors and professional home stagers

o   If they can smell it, you can’t sell it. 

o   Clutter eats equity.

o   “All things being equal” - four most dangerous words in business.

·        Motivational speakers worth remembering (especially if you have to book a meeting speaker or if you are looking for some personal inspiration and motivation):

o   Elizabeth Hagen (Now is Your Time:  The Steps to be Fearless and Extraordinary) - http://elizabethhagen.com/

o   Bodine Balasco (VISION CREATES REALITY – Expanding Your Ability to Create the Results You Truly Want) - http://www.bodinebalasco.com/

o   David Arvin (It’s Not Who You Know, It’s Who Knows You) - http://www.visibilitycoach.com/

I also came away with a great line used by David Arvin (who is a dead ringer for the British actor, Clive Owen).  His story was that he was at a convention of motivational speakers who can be some of the most extroverted people you will ever meet.  You know, they are the kind of people who will say -- “Enough about me.  Let’s talk about you?  What do you think about me?”

For me, the possibilities are endless when the focus is not on me but on what I can do to help my sellers and Realtor partners get the best price possible in the shortest amount of time by using my home staging services.  But I must confess that when I finish staging a home, I am always interested in the feedback from the seller and Realtor about the finished product – as I want them to be wowed as well as wowing the potential buyer.

 

Dwell in possibilities

Cindy

 

PS – I was not selected as the RESA Top Stager – Occupied Stagings in North America.  But I was so proud and so excited to be called up to the stage and stand with the other nine stagers selected as top ten finalists in this category.