Sensational Home Staging took this property from plain to pizzazz with Staging!

2 Hours - Limited Budget - Cluttered House - What Would You Do?

Yesterday we had the opportunity to Stage a house in Denver - in SORE need of Staging. The Realtor called and wanted a consultation plan for Staging. In our conversation I discovered that the Seller was older, not physically able to do anything, and had no help. So Plan B emerged where we would do what we could with a hands-on Staging in the 2 hour time allotment we had for the consultation - to stick to the Budget.

Other challenges shared with me by the Realtor: The seller is from another country, does not speak English that well, and has a faith that requires daily rituals to icons and items.

Even though it is listed for sale, there were no interior shots of the house online. Strike 1: When there are no interior photos buyers KNOW it's a dog of a house and will PASS on an in-person visit.

Sight unseen we arrived at the house that was about 1200 square feet. The seller was a very nice woman and a little nervous to see us all pile out of the car. Not knowing what I was in for, I had another ASP Stager colleague, and my "Stage Crew" of 4 strong young men/boys to help with moving, packing, schlepping, etc.

I did a quick assessment of the house: Living Room crammed full of personal things, too many plants, and lots of religious things. Dining Room was not being properly used and had a console table full of junk. Kitchen had LARGE granite table in it that needed to be moved. "Family Room" was being used as a bedroom - racks of clothing, dressers, and other random furniture - no bed. 2 bookshelves blocked access to this room - and created a tiny passage way from the kitchen to the Family Room that you had to carefully navigate through. Bedrooms - dated bedding, beds slammed up against the walls. Basement - not worth Staging - mostly empty and could be used to store the boxes of things we would remove.

We had asked the seller to provide boxes -which thankfully she had in the garage so I set the Stage Crew on the task of taping up the boxes for us to use to remove things. Normally the Seller is NOT present while we Stage as it can be stressful so at one point we just had her relax on her front porch area while we zipped about the house.

We had 2 hours to transform the rooms we could - with the limitations of what the Seller was willing to have us put away. It is an art to negotiate with a Seller - let alone have the added challenge of a language and cultural barrier.

In the end, there was still more that needed to be done, but we worked hard and fast for 2 1/2 hours - moving heavy furniture, boxing, and thinning out areas that desperately needed help. At 2 hours we were ready to leave and then I decided I could not leave the bedrooms unattended. So, we rearranged the 2 rooms - one was simply pulling the bed off the wall and centering it in the room, and the other was totally rearranging a HEAVY dresser and hutch, bed, etc. Realtor kept saying, "That's what I thought needed to be done." In my head I was saying, "Well - what were you waiting for?" Oh yeah - ME!

The moral of the story: Sometimes when the budget is limited we do our best to help showcase the house. AND the Realtor needs the support of a Stager who can come in and make it happen when they have been met by resistance from their Seller.

The Realtor was happy with the results - and I found it amusing that he did not lift a finger to help us with any heavy moving or lifting. We were all sweating and dealing with moving things that were not necessarily clean. All the while being "observed" by the agent. He gets paid to sell. I get paid to Stage - and I am good at it. I considered yesterday a great workout!

We left the Seller and Realtor with a list of things "To-Do" to finish off the work we had started - and I believe they were more motivated to get it done because of the impact we had made in the time we were there.

Now there are at least interior photos that can be used to market the house!

SOLD in 1 DAY after Staging complete! Prepare to be impressed with this Littleton Beauty!

Prepare to be impressed! This home is truly exquisite. The sellers spared no expense on this top to bottom remodel and large home addition. Listed by Derek Gilbert, Keller Williams Realty.



Only the finest materials and upgrades were used. As you open the front door you are welcomed by a large panoramic great room with vaulted ceilings. The quality is immediately on display with a slate tile entry that leads into the great room with beautiful hickory hardwood floors and a warm custom tiled fireplace. The gourmet kitchen features Cherry Cabinets, granite counters, & top of the line stainless appliances. The cherry wood grains, tiled backsplashes, and cabinet space will impress even the most finicky buyer. The kitchen truly is the center of this home and has views of the entire home with a great open concept. Every room in this home is amazing. The master bathroom will rival any resort spa. There are simply to many features to describe without seeing this home in person.

If you STAGE it, THEY will come!

How many times have you been asked to do something you were not quite sure of - and you reached a crossroads of decision?  "Do I follow this advice and do what I am being told to do or do I fall back on my safety net just in case they are not right?"

There are two movies (I am sure there others) that I can point to that are relevant for this subject. The first is "Field of Dreams" where I was inspired by Kevin Costner's character, Ray, as he goes out on a limb and despite everyone thinking he is crazy as he follows the mantra he hears, "If you build it they will come."  He goes ahead and follows the plan and takes a risk.

The second movie is "Evan Almighty" where Steve Carrel's character, Evan, is told by God to build an ark because there is going to be a flood. This is an edict given to him during ione of the hottest, dryest spell in Northern Virginia, and to top it off he has all of the DC politicians thinking he is "crazy!" God even changse Evan's appearance to look like Noah - furthering his humiliation until he finally "gets it" and goes for the task with FAITH.  His family doubts him at first and then gets on board. . . hmmm - sounds slightly familiar!

I thought about parallels - and see that it takes FAITH to follow through with Staging. Faith is belief in something not seen. It is trusting that the advice and direction you are being given will lead you to where you want to go.

Fortunately with Staging, we don't have to just go on blind faith as we have PROOF Staging works!  There are statistics being released monthly that demonstrate Staging's power in any market to help bring a Buyer that makes an offer.

Selling a house is not just about having a bunch of people look at your house - it's about getting at least one of them to MAKE AN OFFER you accept!  In order to do that your house has to be THE ONE they want over all the others out there.

Like Evan, you may be asked to change the appearance - of your house.  You may have to paint, remove things, bring things in - all in an effort to help your house appeal to the most buyers!  But unlike Evan and Ray, this does not involve embarassment to you or your family, does not cause you to lose your job - really the RISK is minimal.

So why don't more people embrace the service and business of Staging?  I believe it's an issue of education:  They don't know what Staging really is and how it can help them.

• Staging is NOT decorating, it is a MARKETING and FINANCIAL tool to help your house sell.
• Staging can HELP you by getting your house sold FASTER and at a better price than your un-Staged competition, which translates in to EQUITY you get to KEEP. 
• The longer a house sits un-sold on the market, the more likely it is going to have a price reduction - and you don't want that.

Staging will help your house attract MORE BUYERS! As they look at houses online and see how nice yours is compared to the others - they will then decide to look in person.

IF you STAGE it, THEY (the Buyers) will come!

So be like Evan and Ray - and take a leap of FAITH - and get your house Staged.  You will be thankful you did follow through with the advice that is there to HELP you achieve your goals and dreams.

Lovely Littleton Home ready for move-in!