As Stagers we are nearly always put in the delicate position of having to advise a client about something they love in their home that needs to be changed to maximize the sales process. Telling the truth can be challenging because in our heads we may be thinking "I don't want to offend this person," or "What if I blow out this client and the Realtor never works with me again?" It is always risky to tell the truth, and yet it has to be done, or we are compromising our integrity.
Just yesterday, one of my long time clients had me come to her seller's house and walk through the house - very nice, too much personal stuff, over decorated, definitely needs Staging. One of the main concerns that the Realtor had talked with me about on the phone was their kitchen that is painted bright red. It's a great color for living, but way too much for selling. As we walked the seller around (we will just come and do hands-on Staging next week), the Realtor shared that I (the Stager) thought the color needed to be painted. The seller said, "Well, we really don't want to paint it because we paid this guy a lot of money to paint it that color - red is hard to get just right - and (THIS IS THE KEY SET OF WORDS HERE...) if we don't sell our house, then we don't want to have to repaint it."
WOW - Classic! This seller is giving herself a backdoor escape hatch - wants to sell, but IF it doesn't then we'll just stay. How many times have you heard that? And how many times have you backed down when you met with resistance? I didn't skip a beat and what I said to her was "Here you are putting your house on the market - and you want it to sell and you expect a buyer to buy - so buy the farm. You're either going to sell or not. Make the commitment to sell the house - instead of hanging onto something that you like that may not be appealing to all buyers." The Realtor just stared at me while I said what I know she wanted to say, but couldn't because she would possibly come off as pushy, and I come off as the "professional stager" that knows what it takes.
The Realtor also knows - but this is where Sellers sometimes feel their Realtors are just trying to "get them to spend more money" - and they are already paying their Realtor commission, so don't want to do more for this person. I have no "ulterior motive" (if you want to look at it that way), and am not attached to the sale of the home monetarily, so when I share with a client, it is sharing what they need to hear, to help them SELL. The Realtor also has to balance their role here - and so cannot be the one to deliver the tough message and still have that overall great rapport. I have rapport, always make a connection before delivering messages that might sting a little, but I am used in my role as the Stager to make sure the homeowner hears what they need to hear to get the sale and move like THEY want. It's not the Realtor "making" them move - THEY want to move and sell, so need to know the truth.
We'll see if she took to heart the clear advice- it was crystal clear - paint the red walls a nice neutral warm tone, and I gave her colors to choose from as well. Her kids have already mentally moved out of their house and into the new one - picturing their rooms and the setting they will have with more land, etc. We are NOT in a market where houses are flying off the shelf, they are asking a high amount for our market (not a median priced home), and have already found the house they want to buy. Those are all KEY reasons to do whatever it takes to properly market the house.
My husband (a Realtor) and I are having dinner tonight with the Realtor and her husband (also a Realtor) and I want to find out what she thought of my remarks . . . double teaming the client to get the results needed is so key! Having integrity to tell them what they need to hear - the truth - versus what they want to hear is part of our role as a Stager. To do otherwise would be compromising who we are, and not doing what we know is right - and of course, doing all this with kindness and with rapport established with the client is the glue that holds it all together and helps a client hear what they need to hear.
Jennie,
We are hired for our knowledge and our professionalism. I love what you said to the seller. Sellers need to hear that the red walls need to go. We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't give them the bad news with the good news. Diplomacy is such an art - we need to very creative.
Kristi
Definitely - and what seems so obvious to us - may not have occurred to a Seller who really likes their stuff or colors. It was not an issue of the color not being tasteful or nice - I liked it - but it is a potential turn-off for a buyer who does not like red, or that much of it on the walls. She asked if I could just hang a picture on the wall - huh? What would that do? A portion of the red would be concealed behind the picture, but it's not like the buyer will not see the red wall. I had actually considered that, but it was not just one wall - it was the entire nook - 4 walls AND the main kitchen as well - which I told her I could live with because the red was minimal to the eye compared to the elegant wood cabinets hanging in the kitchen. She'll still have plenty of red in that area.
I shared one of the Staging sayings I learned from Barb - "Buyers only know what they see, not the way it's going to be," and told her that by not painting the wall, she is asking buyers to picture it a different color (less than 10% of the population can do that which is true - so she would narrow her buyer pool by 90%), and want to paint it themselves or like the color. When there are move-in ready houses she is competing against, it would be foolish to leave it "as is" and hope a buyer can look past it all.
And you are right - giving the good with the bad - a "cookie" (compliment-critique-compliment) - is always a good tactic.
- Jennie
Hi Betty,
I was on vacation for about 10 days in August, but prior to that - it was teaching, and Staging and not much time for anything else! June I taught 2 classes, and then headed to Chicago for 9 days for our IAHSP ASP Convention . .. July 4th holiday, 2 classes and kids home for the summer . . . I appreciate that you missed me . . . and I appreciate your thoughts above too. . . definitely when we share we cannot "make" anyone do anything - but we can share what we know works and IF they choose not to implement things, we know it's not because we did not tell them the truth or what they need to hear. - Jennie
That is also true with sellers - they don't want to "spend" money on a house they are leaving - being short-sighted to not see the money as an investment in selling the house and getting the biggest return on investment. The gal I was working with just didn't want to paint not because she didn't have the money (they have $$) it was because she had just paid good money for the paint job. I can't tell you the number of times I have heard that - the sellers JUST PAINTED the house. Did they not know they were moving? Sometimes they don't but when they DO - it blows me away - they paint the walls some custom color like blue or orange, and then wonder why they have to paint it again!
"guabiroba" - what someone says when they see a naked person coming out of the shower
Jennie,
Tell the truth - even if it loses a client. Your good reputation and your word are at stake. I had a very simelar situation with blue interior walls - (depressing color) that the client didn't want to paint. They moved to their 'second' home in the country - well guess what The house is still for sale 8 months later...............
Jennie,
I Staged a house on Aug. 17th which had been on the market since March 13th, almost six months! The realtor had suggested they have the house Staged, paint the cranberry red walls in the living/dining room a more neutral shade and paint the dark paneling a lighter shade as well since it dated the room. This house is a terrific home for a family and it has a territorial view of the Cascade Range and an inlet off Puget Sound to die for. They didn't want to do anything. They bought another house, moved, and the property sat there until I decided to stop by the last open house. I saw that the realtor had brought in a few pieces, which had been sitting in the realty office basement, and immediately decided I was going to get that house SOLD! There was no budget. The realtor had just finished having those cranberry walls painted but that was it. All the inventory from my last Staging's 3 bedrooms was stacked in my living room and had been since the conference in June so I loaded up my truck, grabbed different linens, lamps, pictures, etc. and started Staging at 8AM the next morning. It was too late to call anyone else in and my husband was getting all our stuff organized for a 10 day trip on our friend's boat to the San Juan Islands. It took until 3:30 AM the next morning but I did it!. An offer was made 6 dys later and should close on Sept. 7th. Had they followed my suggestions at the beginning they would have sold much soonerand saved months of double house payment. I didn't make a dime, actually spent money on gas and was exhausted for the first day on our trip, but I have another favorite realtor and the attention of another realty office. Check out the listing!
Love to you, Nonnie
Nonnie - Good for you - and even though you did not get paid up front for your effort and expertise that helped sell the house, you WILL be rewarded for your efforts with future jobs!
Karen - good points - we are the eyes of the property and want it to sell - and IF we choose not to say what we know they need to hear, we are compromising our integrity. I'd rather tell the truth (with kindness) than hide the truth from fear.
- Jennie
Hey Nancy! Great to see you and hear from you here!
Update to this post - the house was Staged - and it looked great. The Seller did NOT paint her wall (kept that one foot in the door) so we compromised and brought in a picture to hang that had a lot of cream in it - so offset the really red wall. She had set out her red plates and decor on the table, and they left as well - and I replaced them with gold and cream items. The house has been listed for a couple of weeks and it has two strong interested buyers - so we'll see. It's a high priced home for our area - so when it sells I will definitely use it as a good statistic.
- Jennie
"bunya-bunya" - well come on - the character that is part frog or polliwog and part who knows what on children's TV
What's with the red? Just was told by a homeowner that their Realtor had hired an "interior designer" for help in staging the home, and she wanted to paint a room red. Told them how dramatic it would be. Of course it will be, but it will also turn away lots of potential buyers!! When will they learn, staging is NOT decorating!!!
Kim Dillon, Creative Eye Home Staging