When sellers won't paint and they call you to stage the unit, what do you do? Make the best out of it ....
This view backs up to wetlands... curtains are out of the question. There were modern black barstools left in the kitchen & all the lighting is ultra modern. My job was to tone down the two tone terra cotta and yellow and to show buyers that the room didn't have to be only ultra modern... bring in a little traditional while keeping the feel of what was already in place.
Lesson to realtors.... when you have a property that seems too owner specific, stagers can help to tone down that image and open the market up. Instead of waiting for "the right buyer" let us help show potential buyers why they WANT to live here... not what they will need to mask or change.
~Melissa Marro, www.StagingAndRedesign.com - become a member today!
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocet and national speaker speaks her mind about real estate and the home staging industry. In her 'no holds barred' approach, audience members find real answers to the industries pitfalls and learn how to overcome them with tried and true information and guidance. With marketing as her passion, she turned a small home based business into one of the nation's largest home staging and training facilities. She now operates as the CEO of First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign as well as the Executive Director of Certified Staging Professionals International Training Academy (CSPI) - the world's largest Staging Training Organization, and regularly speaks at the StagerList Expos and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.
For more information on having Marro speak at one of your real estate functions, please contact her at 843.822.2622 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com
If you would like Marro's team to provide information on staging a property in the state of South Carolina, or the Greater Charleston Area, please visit www.WeStageSC.com, email marro.melissa@gmail.com or call 843.822.2622.
For more information on Marro's CSP Staging Training, please visit www.StagingAndRedesign.com, visit the CSP Calendar for dates or email marro.melissa@gmail.com. Below is a list of Marro's current CSP Certification class dates:
February 6-8 Charleston, SC
February 16-18 Austin, TX
March 6-8 Atlanta, GA
March 13-15 Raleigh, NC
March 20-22 St. Petersburg, FL
April 10-12 Knoxville, TN
May 4-6 Covington, KY
May 18-20 Charlotte, NC
July 5-7 Memphis, TN
July 10-12 Charleston, SC
That is the right answer - just the best that you can!
Looks like you did alright regards - nice.
puppy kiss from Baylin to Gracie
Strong colors can look pretty scary to buyers when a property is vacant, but once you add the right furniture and accessories, it transforms into a whole new feeling.
Great job!
Melissa,
Your transformation is fantastic! No wonder you teach people your craft. Way to go!
I could see how the accent wall (fireplace) may appear a bit bold when selling----particularly if the home were left vacant. However, you did a great job pulling the colors together with staging and it definitely makes a difference in how a seller would view the home.
I actually like the other paint color. It appears neutral and warm...and really makes the hardwood floors "pop".
Suzanne - I grew up in St. Pete!
The terra cotta wall is also in about 3 other places that aren't shown in the photos. The yellow is a common Charleston color and is perfectly fine & neutral. (As a matter of fact it is rare to walk into a $500K plus home in Charleston and it NOT to be painted yellow.) As a vacant home the terra cotta was overwhelming. The home is also very modern (on the inside). Vacant, the light fixures & color choices made it seem difficult for the mainstream buyer to envision themselves living in it. Adding furniture, helped to tone down some of the meld some of the modern aspects while appealing to a larger audience.
This is good. However, how to get a seller to paint when he is crying about having to pay the monthly note on a house he is not living in and the tenants made the paint mess before they left. He just want it sold and have to come out of pocket for another dime. Do you take it upon yourself to just go and paid a wall or two to help the sell?
HELP!
www.motheranddaughterrealty.com
Rosemary - I have several good agents that will do exactly that, particularly if they are out of town sellers. Bring out a professional stager with a good portfolio that can show the difference that paint can make! The stager consult fee should be fairly nominal and it would be considered marketing expenses for your taxes. I'm often hired to come in to show what the potential is ... the agent often uses me simply to back up the points they've been trying to make all along. If the client still won't budge then my report will give them ammunition for price cuts or even saving the listing itself!
Good luck!
Congratulations, Melissa. Your post is being featured this week in the group Staging "Before" & "After" Pictures!
Kathy, thanks I'm honored....
I love the before & after group.... we all love before and after photos after all... I think it is in our blood...
You're welcome. And yes, I think you're right - it's in our blood. FYI - I could spend hours looking and gathering ideas.
Kathy
What do you do if the seller has painted each room a different color and the color VIVID colors and some rooms have like 3 colors in there! They have owners pride and all the comments about the house is about the painting and they are not good comments! HELP!
Sharon - the colors aren't offensive colors (although each bedroom upstairs is painted a different color). The primary color downstairs is a yellowish gold, but there are several large terra cotta accent walls through out. The big issue with color in this home is that it is not neutral. A majority of buyers would walk into this home and decide immediately that their furniture would not look good in here.
Rosemary - You will need to clearly explain that they are narrowing their window of potential buyers. I had a client whose daughters rooms were gorgeous dreamy little girl rooms. We had concerns that they were a little over the top girly though (pink and white strips with princess crowns, etc.. another room with clouds, flowers, etc) For those particular rooms we posted signs that they would paint the rooms if requested. The living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway and primary bath were all painted a neutral color. (fortunately the master room was already neutral!) We had to start this off by having them paint the entry way room first (which happened to be the dining room). After that was done and it looked great they were a little more up to the challenge. Also, allow them to help you pick out a color - one with pigment but still neutral so they dont' feel like they are living in a white house. Good luck!
Nora & Susan - Thank you very much! I look forward to seeing you in a regional conferencesince you are in my region!
You did a great job! I still can't understand why sellers won't do the simplest things to make their homes marketable to the largest pool of buyers--especially when it's as simple as painting a few walls.