Staging Malfunctions, or, Seller Cold Feet Call it the real estate equivalent of a “wardrobe malfunction”: the staging appointment, made weeks (or months) earlier, finally arrives, and . . . the client just can’t go through with it. That just happened this week to a stager I regularly work with. Unfortunately, she had been planning...Read More
The Gold Standard for Staging Advice “Nice listing . . . Congrats!“ —Uttered by exiting Buyers’ agents at a broker open; when the listing agent knows the price is right and the home is likely to sell quickly. See, “Realtor Compliments.“ The equivalent for a staging job well done is when the client appreciatively remarks...Read More
How Realtors Grade Clients Clients may have a select few words for their Realtors, but Realtors also have some favorite words for their clients. No, not “%!%#!” Rather, how “cooperative” they are. What do I mean by that? For Sellers, client cooperation boils down to these three things: 1. Pricing. A cooperative client picks a...Read More
Gutter Extension Camouflage People usually associate “staging” with the inside of a home. Before: conspicuously white. But, when it comes to selling a house, few things matter more than curb appeal, and a key ingredient of curb appeal is landscaping ” specifically, in front of the home. Ergo, the advice my stager gave to a...Read More
The King Staged Closet Has No Clothes Conventional staging wisdom when it comes to closets (yes, there is such a thing, at least for a walk-in master closet in a more expensive home) is that two-thirds full is optimal. Less than that, and the closet looks too empty; more than that, and it looks too...Read More
Staging “Do’s” and (Mostly) “Don’ts” At least IMHO, staging is at least 80% subtraction — removing, uncovering, and emptying out — rather than addition, i.e., adding wall art, accents, flowers, etc. to the about-to-be sold home. Exhibit A: NOT covering a big, light bay window with a dark, light-blocking panel TV (center right of photo,...Read More
