We were recently tasked with a challenge that nearly made us pack it all up
Does your home page tell your customer why they should choose you? With the other options being, go with someone else or do nothing at all?
Of course we know why properties should be staged pre-sale, and we know we’re good at making any building look like a home but can we formulate a one sentence statement, that tells prospective clients/ homeowners, why they should book us, over another stylist or over doing nothing at all? In the UK we find the popular choice is to do nothing. It will sell eventually right?
An estate agent recently told me he didn’t want to be critical of the homeowner’s decor. The homeowner, thought he didn't care. Another agent didn’t want to suggest the vendor spend anything on the property. One agent actually told our client “no one cares about the furniture and trimmings, they’re going to put their own stuff there” … after we installed a spectacular transformation. That particular property had been on the market for 2 years, with weak offers. The weekend after installation, a bidding war ensued the house was sold immediately, outdoing even the vendor’s expectation.
Selling a property without staging is like inviting guests over without at least tidying up. It's like a catwalk event without the clothes being ironed first, the designer saying
“you can imagine them without the creases right?”
These examples aren’t even on par with pre-sales staging. Statistics make it clear. The difference between speed at which properties are sold and quality of offers is undeniable.
Is there ever a good reason not to stage? Yep, it can be expensive. It feels counter productive to spend money on something you’re getting rid of. So many people say they can see past the mess/ clutter/ emptiness but that's a skill reserved for 7% of the general public. The cost of staging needs to make sense of you. What would be the cost of your property staying on the market for weeks or months? We hear realtors in Australia, USA, France and Italy stressing if a property isn’t ‘sale agreed’ in days. Are UK vendors in less of a rush?
Okay, so why should you book us rather than do nothing? Why us rather than any other staging crew? I don’t feel the need to put any stagers down in the UK, specifically London. There are plenty of empty, unstaged properties for sale, wallowing on the market, where they have been stuck for months, some for years, there’s more than enough to go around, but why us? We don’t use cookie cutter furniture, we look at the
viewing demographic, the style of your home and source accordingly. Buyers often want to purchase the furniture in the staged homes they buy.
What we do differently? We’ll bring you a salad, not the lettuce.
In the first 8 seconds of visiting your property, the potential buyer knows which way they will go. You want to sell your home Quickly and for More (it’s not for everyone)? Have it staged. We’ll take their breath away.
Still living in your property you’ve just put on the market? We’ll put you, the kids and pets in a fabulous weekend getaway situation, perfect for stress free back to back viewings. We’ll put your clutter in your own storage unit. We’ll even organise a glamorous Open House whereby all viewers get to see the interest of the competition. Get in touch.
We know that secretly, or not so secretly, you don’t care about the design (shock horror, we love design) you care about the Result. That’s what we’re promising, we’ll be with you until you get the result. If there are live plants, we water once per week, on the same day, we’ll do a little tidy up, viewers open draws, look under sofas, ruffle window treatments etc. We can offer this level of aftercare because we’re confident your property will go quickly.
Are you looking to sell your property? An agent not happy to critique your vendor’s decor but know it’s hindering a swift sale? Know of homes that should have been whipped up the day they hit the market? I walk past one such listing every day. It’s a beautiful house in Kensington. Reasonably priced but sits empty, with dirty windows. It’s not an easy house to read, the rooms are flexible but empty, so unless you’re part of that 7%, you may not get it. We contacted the agent when it was first listed. He said
“but it’s new to the market” …
four months later, this gem is still there, I’m sure there have been no or very few viewings. Comment below if you want details, it’s a beauty! Seriously.
We are not a last resort.
IF you want to sell your property Quickly and for More