Debbie Sargent Coe

I have been staging, that is, "preparing homes for maximum resale" for over 20 years. Long before all these TV shows! (hard to be discovered in little old Boise I guess! -) Prior to a few years ago I only staged my own listings. Then I decided it was time, as the local expert, to go public and offer my services to all agents in the valley that would listen -) I should clarify that my expertise is in the resale home, yes, the one that is occupied by the owner. The results of my efforts in trying to get agents in the valley to understand the value of this service to their sellers was rather surprising. One would "think" that in a very competitive profession, separating themselves as an agent in the "know" when it comes to knowing what is best for their clients would generate really positive results. Instead what I learned was many agents are "afraid" to tell their clients the truth. First of all, we live one way and "we sell another", just like seller representation and buyer representation are different. Helping your seller understand that if they want to sell their home, they need to do the best they can to start the emotional detachment immediately. This allows a window of opportunity in discussing the value of having their home professionally staged and that their home will look different than what they are used to. The benefits are many, with the obvious being that doing so will absolutely bring them more money (far outweighing the cost of staging), sell their home quicker (see NAR stats), and beat the competition, especially the many that aren't staged. Buyers buy emotionally and creating that emotion is actually a form of art. You have one chance to make the very best impression, from the moment they drive up to the house. Don''t waste that chance. Don't wait until the house sits on the market without an offer to do what needs to be done initially. A professional stager understands that the home is occupied and life must go on as normal as possible and helps the seller in being "show ready" at all times. Be aware too that there is a difference in the "want to be" and the professional, experienced home stager. Not done correctly could be so much worse than doing nothing at all.

So once again, honesty is proven to be the best policy! Last week, I met a gal at my open house. She had been to the home several times that I was in, loved it, but figured this wasn't the time to sell or buy real estate. After scheduling an appt to preview her home the market analysis confirmed that in fact her home had decreased considerably in value. However, so had the house she wanted to buy. I found out in my consultation that she didn't "have to sell" to buy, so I could have made the choice to inflate the price she could get for her home and give her false hope that it might sell before she closed on the new home. Instead I told her the sad truth but the great news is, I sold her home in 12 hours and she will be moving into her new home without the worry of having to rent her home, now to mention the creative financing that would have had to go into affect. Even though she had to take a considerable price reduction on her home based on what she paid for it, she is re-investing in a home that has the amentities and location that will actually have a better appreciation than the one she is leaving, making the loss much easier to swallow.

Telling the truth may not always get you the listing, but doing your job professionally and honestly will always win in the end.