Before
After
A few years ago I staged a vacant home that had already been on the market for six months. The home owners realtor assured him that this was a “normal” time on the market. (only “normal market time” because it sat empty) 😉 Now, this home owner did his homework. He researched home staging and found that not only does staging shorten the homes time on the market, but it also increases the selling price! But again, his realtor assured him that his home did not need to be staged. Keep in mind, this realtor still did not use the internet for marketing or display good information at the home for the potential buyer to take with them. Just a black and white copy of the MLS listing. Ouch! So, instead of staging, the realtor suggested dropping the price by $25,000.
The home owner was not satisfied with that suggestion, so…
I was contacted by the home owner and we met to see the home. He expressed his concerns of investing money into staging. I told him to not settle for a loss of $25,000, as suggested by his realtor, and assured him that his home would sell quickly. Here at Kariel, we strive to get homes staged quickly. Our large inventory allows us to do just that! Two days later I staged his home.
A few months went by and I received a call from the owner expressing his disappointment that the home had not yet sold. He felt that there had been no additional showings even after it was staged. I was in front of my computer during this conversation, so I decided to google his MLS listing. I stopped him mid sentence and said, “Your realtor still has your home listed on every site as vacant with just four blurry pictures!” (which is another entire Blog subject!!!) The owner became silent. I felt horrible for him. He quickly apologized and asked, “are you sure?”. I told him to see for himself…and this is why there were no other showings. His response, “I think I need a new realtor.”
A few days later he called to say he had changed realtors and to look at the new pictures online of his home. They looked wonderful! Then, just one short week later, I received the best phone call. Thanking me he said, “I sold my home for $7,000 more than asking price. I would have lost $25,000 or more if I hadn’t staged my home.” He added, “having a great stager and a trustworthy realtor is the Key to selling your home quickly.”
I couldn’t agree more….
Final Thought…Sometimes it’s ok to divorce the realtor to try something new.