OK - so it's Friday before a HOLIDAY WEEK! Yay! Thought I'd have some fun with us all with that enticing topic title. . . and even more fun sharing the reality of the title - and the disbelief I STILL get when I go into a house and they have this type of art or sculpture or item in their house - and it's for sale! This was a HIGH end house in our area - over $2 Million - and the house sold and the sellers moved out and let the buyers in BEFORE the escrow closed - and then it never closed. After 6 months they finally got the "buyers" out and put it back on the market. Enter me - the staging expert to help use what they had to get it to sell. As I went into the Dining Room - voila! There she was . . . in her nude glory for all to see!
The seller did what we suggested and took her out of the Dining Room - Phew! BUT - she ended up over the Master Bedroom Bed where we told the seller she needed some color and a picture or something. That room is better than the Dining Room - but La-Naked Lady needs to leave altogther! I told the Realtor - he was going to revisit it with his client and I said I could come back for the final push if needed. Sellers - do not use NAKED people, pictures, artwork, sculptures, or any other naked depiction to sell your house! Pack 'em up!
I am SURE some of you have had similar situations - and maybe even pictures of your naked Ladies! Do tell!
- Jennie
Jennie,
I showed a house once in Silver Spring. It was normal enough until we got to the last bedroom. This bedroom had a lock on the door, the bedroom walls were padded, there was a big swing hanging from the ceiling down into the middle of the room, there were mirrors on the ceilings and some handcuff type things attached tothe sides of the walls. House was great except for that room - it really turned my buyers off!
Also showed a house once that had too many bloody jesus pictures and crucifixes everywhere - you know the ones with jesus dying and very bloody on a big cross - also a turn off - my buyers called it CARRIE'S house and were spooked by it.
Stagers know how to tactfully tell sellers that the wierd stuff has to go!
Jennie,
That's just too much! I can't imagine, but I did hear a story about a guy in our area who had a naked painting of his wife commissioned and put it over the bed in the master bedroom. When they listed the house, they left the painting out for everyone to see when thye toured the house. At least they didn't have it in the dining room.
Sorry that is just to funny......the only naked people that I have run into is the ones getting out of the shower and or bed because they did not hear the phone ringing saying that I was coming by....oh and some stories I have.....lol
Todd Hueffed
http://www.thathomezone.com/ in partnership with Keller Williams North Seattle
Amazing - what are these people thinking? The S&M room - WOW! That must have been something - and I bet the sellers could not understand why their house had not sold. I toured another Open House with my husband - commenting freely on things that we felt should be changed, etc. We found "glamour shot" pictures in the master - you know - the pictures of the woman who was not in acceptance of her age and instead went and had photos of herself in her negliges - and had them displayed in her master bedroom.
Of course, I could not keep my comments to myself - and was mortified to realize that the person I thought was a Realtor showing the Open House was none other than "the lady!" We made a hasty exit.
- Jennie
I recently had a consulting job where this issue was addressed. I simply told the homeowners that we need to assume that children will be with their parents, so we need to make their house "family friendly." It's all in how you word things.
Kristina, KFM Staging & Design