The Starter Home
With the birth of her fifth child, my Sister-in-Law found her starter home bursting at the seams. She needed more space, and fast. So, she hired a Realtor and started the process of selling her home, sweet home. Like most of us do, she hired a Realtor recommended by friends who helped her decide on a price and left her a list of things to do before listing.
And then one weekday, without warning, the Realtor called and asked if the house was clean, stopped by with her cellphone camera, shot a handful of pictures, and uploaded them to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service).
And then they waited…and waited…and waited until panic set in.
The house sat on the market for three weeks with no showings, no nibbles, no interest at all–a huge problem because a listed home never gets as much attention as it does when it first hits the market!
The Realtor brought in other Realtors to get feedback on the house. “It needs new appliances,” they said. “It needs new flooring, new fixtures, a new sink.”
“But there’s no budget for that, no time to spare,” my Sister-in-Law lamented.
Raising a family of five had not left a great deal of time or money for home renovations over the years. Aside from a new refrigerator, fresh paint, and laminate floors in the living room, this three-bedroom 1990’s ranch hadn’t changed much since it was built. Plus, in addition to steep competition from updated homes in the neighborhood, the market in their area was slow moving. So my Sister-in-Law called to get some professional advice.
“You need to stage,” I said. “Retake the MLS photos, and get them on the web ASAP.” Then I commandeered my husband (THE most talented assistant a stager could ask for) and loaded up the truck.
We groomed the front yard, the backyard, and staged every room in between.
We took new pictures.
The Realtor posted them the following Monday and…
Over the next 8 days, they had 5 showings!
The house is currently under contract and my Sister-in-Law didn’t have to buy new appliances, or flooring, or fixtures. And despite losing those first three weeks, her house didn’t linger on the market for 8 months until a price reduction ate into her profits.
Hiring a Home Stager saved my Sister-in-Law money, time, and hopefully a little sanity. Today she’s focused on new adventures with her family in a bigger home.
