When you are thinking of selling your home, there are so many home staging pet peeves that are made by sellers and their real estate agents that really bother me.
First of all, probably my biggest pet peeve is not hiring a professional home stager. It’s the same as not hiring a professional photographer. Why shouldn’t you have every opportunity to speak with a professional home stager who can not only advise you but also help you? Many agents advise their sellers on what to do when staging their homes. Sure, there are certain things about staging that everyone knows about – like decluttering and depersonalizing. But I find sellers want and need more help than that. After all, home staging shouldn’t be taken for granted or left to chance. For those very reasons, be sure to request a home staging consultation, at the very least, from your agent. You want to create the best Model Home Look for your house.
Our home staging process
At Melinda Bartling Real Estate and Home Staging, we use our sister company, Overland Park Home Staging for every listing we take. We believe home staging is the determining factor for the results you get when selling your Overland Park home.
We will meet with you and do a complete walk-through and walk around of your home. This is part of our Home Staging Consultation. The actual Home Staging occurs once you’ve done your punch list of our recommendations. We will tweak every inch of your home before your Professional Photo Shoot.
When it comes to selling your home, you must remember…it’s not about you anymore. You have decided to sell your home and move on. It’s time to put on your buyer’s hat and make some serious money. Everything you do from here on is marketing. You are setting yourself up to sell your house for some ridiculous amount of money while you can. Take advantage of it.
My other home staging pet peeves
The hardest conversation I always have is about dead animals mounted on the walls. I call them home staging don’ts or no-no’s. Unfortunately, all dead animals must be removed from the house. Furthermore, I find that a lot of agents don’t know how to have the right conversations with their sellers so they just overlook certain things that really should be addressed.
Home staging consultation case study
Years ago, I received a call from a lady that had been unable to sell her home. She hired me for a home staging consultation to see what she needed to do to get her house sold.
When I got to the house, I immediately noticed a number of things that needed to be changed to attract the most buyers. It’s all part of my 10 Second Rule and the fact that buyers will make a decision about your house within 10 seconds of opening the front door.
As soon as I entered this home, I saw several things that probably prevented the house from selling.
- They had bright blue tile and countertops in the kitchen
- The rooms were stuffed full of furniture
- The arrangement of their furniture was wrong for selling the house
Finally, I went to the finished lower level and there it was!!! My jaw dropped.
There was an entire room full of mounted heads with brass nameplates next to each one. There must have been at least 25 dead animals in that room. (I wish I had a photo but I don’t). I asked if there was a photo of this on the internet. She honestly didn’t know – which was another problem in itself. I looked at her and said not every woman likes those things and they had to come down.
While we were downstairs, her husband returned home. She gave him the bad news and his response was, “If I have to take them down, we’re not moving.” He stormed out of the house. She apologized to me and said he was angry long before I got there. LOL!
Months later, after they had changed out the blue in their kitchen and removed all of his trophies from the house, the house sold. But in the interim, how much money did they lose with being on the market for almost 9 months? It was a terrific house but it wasn’t staged to sell.
Are you serious about selling your home?
This is just one example of this situation. I see it at least once a week in homes in all price ranges. There are all specimens…bears, wolves, fish, deer, moose heads, stuffed roosters, etc. I actually saw a full-size standing bear wearing a designer scarf one time.
If you’re serious about selling your home, prepare your house to sell before it comes on the market. It’s your money when selling your house. It’s the largest investment you’ll ever have and you’re giving away your hard-earned equity.
If you want to know my other home staging pet peeves that will cost you money when selling your home, call me at (913) 515-3250 or contact me here.
