Here in Cincinnati, more and more homeowners and agents are staging and of course that means that myself and team at Stage A Star have been staying very busy. I'm going to dive right in and start with this property that we staged back in September 2010. I wanted to feature this awhile back but never had the chance to fully finish the blog entry.
This home was on the market for 8 months and after it was staged received 3 offers!! AND it was somewhat dated. While we always recommend doing some minor updates to help sell a house, sometimes this just isn't an option. This example I'm going to share with you is a somewhat dated property with great bones and location that was staged only.
Here goes:
January 2010...a house in the suburbs of Cincinnati called Green Twp. is listed. The homeowners are hopeful for a quick sale. After all, they've already moved out and the house has been freshly painted and is spic and span. It's been a great house for many years for the homeowners and they are confident someone else will think so too!
196 Days Later- September 2010:
Our homeowners are pretty frustrated. The feedback they keep hearing is the house is DATED esp. the original 1950's bathrooms (those buyers don't find that charming?...) and the cork floor in the kitchen. They're tired of the negative feedback and no offers. Maybe its time to look into "staging" and see if that can finally do the trick?
Meet The Stager:
I met with the homeowners at their vacant property and right away noticed it was a very attractive ranch on a quiet cul de sac street lined by big, beautiful trees. Who wouldn't want to live here? Inside, the home had great hardwood floors and a really interesting fireplace.
The not so nice features potential buyers were calling "dated" were the kitchen and bathrooms.
The surprise feature of the house was the basement. A nice sized finished room was hidden away with an awesome bar and even a beer keg built right in!
My overall impression? A really great house that was not showing well at all. Being vacant, the "dated" parts were sticking out like a sore thumb and buyers were unable to see past this. They weren't able to see the "good" selling features that this home had to offer.
The Staging Secret Revealed:
Staging these spaces would help show potential buyers that you can take something dated and still make it look great and very workable. The homeowner most likely will update the kitchen and bathrooms down the road but it's so important to show them how they can make the space work NOW. We also wanted to showcase the great layout of the home and define how each room could work for their lifestyle.
Success!
Guess what? Not only did this home sell within weeks of staging, the homeowners had THREE offers in 2 days! How about that! They also ended up selling it for 99.3 % of the list price!**
Here's what our happy sellers had to say:
Teresa:
It was a pleasure meeting you. Our home at 5572 Edger Drive had been on the market since the first of the year 2010. When you entered the home you immediately understood that it did not show well without furniture. I remember you saying that you wanted to show off the good things and minimize the bad.You were instantly able to visualize and plan a way to show the house for the potential it had. The week after your photos were posted, we had two offers one day and another potential buyer the next. We have sold our house because of your incredible talent and ability to project the home’s assets. You and your crew are to be commended for your skill and professionalism, and we are extremely happy with the results. We would certainly recommend your services.
Kathy & John- Green Twp./Cincinnati, OH.
Here's some of the Before/After photos. Staging really did have a big impact on the presentation which led to an unbelievable 3 offers after being on the market for 8 months.
No More Stress and Frustration....
I hope sharing this success story inspired and gave you hope that your property can sell too! I'd love to talk with you about your particular property and let's see if staging can't help you too.
All My Best,
