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I recently did a listing appointment with a homeowner. The owners were relocating due to a job change. The husband had already started his new job and was commuting back and forth. This was a multi-generational family with young children.
As I toured the home with the family, it was evident that the focus of their family life was on the young children. The couple realized their home was not “show” ready and they did not feel like they were going to be able to market their home while they were still living there, yet, they did not want to make the move and leave an empty home behind to sell. The wife was under stress trying to maintain the household while the husband was away the majority of the week. In the present condition of the home, it would not bring the selling price that they were hoping for, even though this is a highly desired area.
Part of my marketing strategy was helping the homeowners have a vision about what their home could look like and how we could successfully market it while they were still living there.
What do I mean by vision? It is the ability to have an imaginative conception or anticipation of what a home could be. I had to convey that message to the homeowner and give them concrete steps on how to achieve that.
Home staging is a true marketing technique to make the property appealing to the greatest number of potential customers. We could say that it is the art of improving the image of the home before placing it on the market to facilitate a sale in the shortest time and at the best price.
The homeowners spent some time on their own decluttering and removing personal effects, the best first step for all homeowners. I then spent an afternoon with the homeowner. I discovered that the wife was a talented artist. When I first toured the home, her artwork was lost in the clutter. We spent an afternoon moving furniture and artwork to enhance the features of each room. A professional photographer then came to do the photo shoot.
We had the home under contract in a week. The home closed 45 days from the day it was listed and the seller got the higher price they desired.
Here is what the seller had to say about their home:
Remember the first time you visited our house? The house was kind of in a mess. At that time, we didn’t think it’s possible for us to put the house on the market while still living there. You changed our mind by offering sound advice and help. Thank you for taking extra time and effort to help us preparing the house in its best shape for the market. The photographer you hired did a great job. And other marketing efforts (beautiful web pages, flyers, booklet, and the open house) you put on. All these contributed greatly for the house to sell in a week!
