Jennie Norris, ASPM, IAHSP

SHould houses that are in Short Sale be Staged?

Yes - the seller that are already upsidedown financially in the house might disagree when they just think of Staging as "another cost" related to a house they are losing money on, but without Staging the house, the only other bargaining chip they have to bring a buyer is PRICE.

Staging can actually help a Short Sale Seller KEEP MORE MONEY! How?

When the average price reduction is 5-20% of the list price (according to National Association of Realtors), without Staging to present the house well, the Seller has to drop, drop, drop their price. Staging will help a Seller keep that 5-20% of their price, because statistics prove that a Staged house does SELL faster than the un-staged competition. When a Staged house sells, that competition continues to sit - and will drop in price - 5-20%.

They either invest in Staging up front, or reduce their price more than they have to on the back end to bring a buyer. When, as Barb Schwarz first stated, "The Investment in Staging is always less than a Price Reduction," it is important that these sellers consider presentation as a key marketing tool that will help them owe less when the house does sell.

Presentation matters. Even in a Short Sale. Just because the seller is already in a negative position does not mean they should lose even more than needed. Every house can and should be Staged for the Buyer. Their properties are being compared to traditional sales, other short sales, and even foreclosures. Their property needs to stand out on more than just price.

Because when the Buyer does make the offer, having an emotional connection to a well-presented house will help that offer come in sooner than later. Our own company statistics that we track at We Stage Sacramento prove that our Staged properties are selling in 60 days or less, with 60% selling in 30 days or less. Un-staged houses sit on the market longer, drop in price, and are unappealing to buyers.

Full Service Home Staging Companies like We Stage Sacramento can offer several cost affordable options to Sellers that are in a Short Sale situation. From a detailed report with Staging recommendations a Seller can implement, to use of our extensive inventory to help add color, appeal, and even "WOW Factor," Staging helps to attract the buyer visually, and then locks them in emotionally.

Short Sale Sellers - and Short Sale Realtor Experts - Stage your houses to get a buyer sooner than later, and lessen the continued financial risk of the property.

We Stage Sacramento was the first home staging company to serve Granite Bay and Loomis and to date has successfully Staged more house for sale in these areas than any other company. Link to www.HighEndHomeStager.com or www.WeStageGraniteBay.com or www.WeStageLoomis.com for additional information on the many areas and custom subdivisons where we have Staged houses for sale.

Check out some of our photos by linking here: HIGH-END PHOTO GALLERY

We have Staged houses that range from homes in subdivisions to custom multi-million dollar houses, and everything in between. With our quality work, tasteful inventory, and flexible pricing, We Stage Sacramento is your best choice for staging your house in Granite Bay. We are licensed and fully insured for your protection.

In addition to our excellent and upscale Staging work, we also partner with you for marketing success and have many add-on benefits available to our clients to help them market their property or listing. Ask us how we can help you successfully Stage your house and help market it to potential buyers.

Call We Stage Sacramento today! 888-WE-STAGE or 916-768-1662 and ask for Jennie Norris, Accredited Staging Professional Master and President of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP) Sacramento regional chapter.

This house was sitting languishing on the market for over a year. The Realtor had the listing the entire time - and was very frustrated at the lack of an offer. The Seller was not open to Staging - and so just sat on the market, month after month adjusting the price of the house as the only means of competing in a down market.

Finally - the Realtor decided to Stage the house - investing her own money to make it happen. God bless that Realtor. I am not a believer that the agent should have to pay for a vacant install, but in this case, the Realtor just wanted to get the house Sold. We worked with her tight budget and put key pieces in all major rooms to help the house look more updated and appealing.

We first advised painting out some areas that were distractions for buyers. This entrance to the family was pretty much what buyers first saw when they walked through the door. The Seller at first (who had moved out months prior) was reluctant to have the realtor's husband paint it - "I paid a lot of money for the gold gilded faux painting." You have moved out - remember? So the columns were painted.

We also removed the swags of burgundy fabric that shrouded all the windows. Some panels, some fringe, some sheer fabric - all burgundy, all old and dusty, all had to go. We also had some of the plastic fake fan fronds removed. What was underneath, although a little dated, was better than the plastic.

To minimize the pink and powder blue striped wall paper in the Master, the seller had put in pink and blue striped towels. Huh? (and notice MORE burgundy panel swags!) Those all disappeared for Staging.

We did light to moderate Staging in the key rooms . . . got rid of the pink flowers . . . Added chocolate brown or gold fabric to frame windows as needed. . .

Living room BEFORE:

Living Room AFTER:

Family Room BEFORE

Family Room AFTER:

Master Bedroom BEFORE: (Yes - more burgundy swags!)

Master Bedroom AFTER:

So there you have it - Staging helped to SELL this house that for a YEAR was overlooked. My only sad point to all this is that I wish the Seller and Realtor had decided to get it staged when it first came on the market. I estimate that because of lack of Staging, this house dropped $40K in price.

The investment in Staging was about $2,500 overall.

$40,000 or $2,500? Which is the better deal? You tell me!

In the short term, a Seller might think that Staging is not a good use of their money - because they think that their house will Sell quickly. Then over time, as PRICE becomes the only factor to bargain with in a declining market, the wisdom of Staging FIRST - comes back to haunt them.

Staging is the only service done in preparation of the house that brings measurable value. It helps a seller keep more of their equity and gets a house sold faster than the un-staged competition.

If only . . . well at least the house IS SOLD - it took 60 days to get a buyer even though immediately after the Staging, the neighbors were Raving about how good the house looked! New photos were taken, and the house had new LIFE as a product on the market. Our average DOM are at about 117.

Hopefully next time the seller will Stage first. Hopefully next time the Realtor will call us sooner than later. Gladly we have another Staging Success Story for We Stage Sacramento!

_____________________________________________________________________________

We Stage Sacramento is your regional home staging expert resource for Vacant and Occupied Houses! Call us when you want to successfully Stage and SELL your listing or house! 1-888-WE-STAGE.

Check out our latest statistics for MARCH-SEPTEMBER 2008 from We Stage Sacramento - Sacramento Region's Premier Home Staging Resource. Our Staged houses SELL - and we have the track record to prove it.

I have been tracking my own company stats for years and find most stagers do not do this which to me is a big mistake. It is so vital to be able to communicate the true success of Staging in statistical format for our clients. We provide real time data based on real successes in the Staging market - and speak from experience for our own current and target clients.

In a market where we are still haunted by tens of thousands of foreclosures, our Staged properties are selling. As an example, we have some that languished on the market for a year or more prior to Staging - and AFTER we Staged the house, they were in contract within 60 days or less! Recently one of our Staged houses sold in 8 days - and one sold the first day it hit the market - priced higher than the competition - and presented the BEST! From Vacant to Occupied - nearly all our Staged properties have attracted Buyers in record time . . .

We Stage Sacramento Staging works! After successfully Staging over 2,500 properties for Sale, we know what we do works - and our clients trust us to provide them with expert advice, skilled Staging, and fair pricing. As we ask our clients: WHY TRUST YOUR HOUSE OR LISTING TO ANYONE ELSE?

Call us at 888-WE-STAGE for results you can trust!

www.WeStageSacramento.com

Bette Davis once famously said, "Old Age is no place for Sissies."

Well I think we can rephrase that statement to say,

"Home Staging is no place for Sissies."

Sissy: A person defined as timid, weak or cowardly.

Professional home stagers know that in order to be successful you have to really work hard, and work smart. Being timid, weak or cowardly is a sure recipe for failure as a Home Stager.

We have to be bold, strong, and brave - especially in a market that is changing.

This does not mean we don't have fear about rejection or discomfort in approaching people about our business. Fear is a natural part of any human - fear is normal, however we have to get past our fear and overcome it in order to have the success we want. We cannot let our fear paralyze us to the point of inaction.

We have to bold to get our message out to our audience. We have to, as the title of one of my favorite books says, "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway."

We have to be bold in our Staging as well - and make sure that our Staging really is Staging, not decorating or design, and not something done to appease a pushy client. We have to be bold and educate our clients about what home staging is - and what it is not, and begin to counter the things we see on television that are really harming us as Stagers. I have yet to see one show that truly depicts what we do as Stagers, that has not crossed the line into decorating, design, remodeling, and criticism.

Being bold in Staging also means reinventing our look from time to time so that our Staging does not get stale or predictable. It means having fun with what we do and use our creativity in situations where others would give up - and go shopping. I love that part of being a home stager - that I was taught to use creativity first, and then the dollar, to help clients. It is a challenge we rise to time and time again, to the delight of our clients and Realtors who never thought the house could look so great, and never thought of using items in the way we used them in the staging process.

We have to be strong - physically and mentally.

Physical strength is needed. I did not realize how much physical activity it would take to be successful in Staging. I am a strong woman - I always have been. I was a dancer in my younger years and played all sorts of sports and have an arm that would rival good quarterbacks. With a team partner I have moved whole houses of furniture in to vacant staging projects, and have loaded and unloaded trucks, and warehouses. It is a prerequisite of our job to be strong physically, and the good news is for those that do not have the physical strength, we can hire help!

I got smarter as I grew my business, and we do hire labor for moving things - heck, I only have one back, and I don't want to tweak it out because of Staging (and I have J). I have suffered sore back, tennis elbow, broken toes, scrapes, bruises, and the near loss of an eye from a flying bungee (hit my lip instead and split it open). Once those things happen, you tend to reassess the wisdom of "doing it all alone" to save money, and begin to stage smarter.

Hiring help actually helped us stage faster, smarter and kept us from getting overly tired and injured. So we actually are able to accomplish more in one day than in the past. I have always said, as long as have our minds and can envision the plan for Staging, we can stage.

Mental strength to me is more important than physical strength. With so many people jumping in to the Staging market, it is now about mental sharpness, and being able to deliver a message of WHY a person needs to work with my company or me as a Stager, versus someone else. Positioning.

It requires staying on top of the real estate market and trends, and responding in kind to keep business flowing. It also requires a constant positive attitude adjustment so that I don't end up locking myself up in fear, or analysis paralysis - both also the kiss of death for Stagers. I don't bury my head in the sand and ignore what is obviously happening with our economy, I ask, "How will this affect our business, and what can I do to help stimulate production?"

It always boils down to marketing - and so I find ways to entice clients to use our services and remind them of the benefits of Staging versus sitting on the market.

And we have to be brave - of course, our Staging does not take the bravery of our armed forces, but we do have to have a sense or courage and bravery when we go out to promote our business. We have to have courage in the face of economic times where financial disaster seems to be looming around every corner. We have to be brave and delve in to new market niches - and be willing to reinvent ourselves to respond to the market and the needs of customers. We have to have the courage to keep a positive attitude when everything and everyone around us might be telling us doom and gloom information.

The natural tendency for most humans is to hunker down and wait it out - but waiting in our business, means not doing face time, and not getting out there to go after business, and this is too risky for us as Stagers. In tough times, we have to be out there even MORE than in the past- because our business is built on relationships, and when we are out of sight, we are out of mind. That then leaves potential opportunities for Staging up for grabs for the person that is out there, a presence in person, and actively asking for business.

So sissy stagers will fall away in these tough times, and the strong will survive. This is the way it with all species - it's called, Survival of the Fittest.

The question is, how fit are you and will you overcome the fear and get out there anyway? My hope is that you will - and when this economy turns around (and it will), we will find ourselves with even more ways to serve our clients, the ability to earn even more than we ever thought possible, and the strength to keep Staging day by day.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

We Stage Sacramento is a full-service Home Staging company serving the Greater Sacramento market. For over six years we have been helping sellers, builders and Realtors prepare houses for sale, successfully staging over 2,500 properties. Our Services also include services for redesign, holiday staging, and workplace staging. We are members of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP) and accredited as ASP Home Stagers. Call us at 888-WE-STAGE or www.WeStageSacramento.com