Let’s go back to the summer of 2015 where I was hosting an open house in North Plains. Doing what I always do at my opens, I treat each potential buyer that walks into the open house as my personal guest, as though I’m having a party. It was busy with multiple buyers arriving at the same time. Not only was the cute farmhouse for sale but the property included acreage and a barn. I felt like a chicken with its head cut off running here and there tending to my guests (buyers) needs.
Six months rolled around and some buyers that I had met at the open house contacted me. They did not end up with the cute farmhouse in North Plains but opted for another house in Hillsboro that they found without me. But they wanted me to list their townhouse in Hillsboro! I felt honored that they remembered enough about me from my open house in North Plains to want me to help them sell their home.
As I arrived for the listing appointment, their place was in chaos because they were in the process of moving out. Immediately, I thought that a vacant listing needs staging! As we finalized our paperwork I discussed the need for staging. The wife was ready to move forward but the husband was resistant. He asked me to provide him with data on how staging might help sell his place. Not only did he not want staging, he also wanted the list price to be higher than my recommendation.
After much discussion, I convinced the sellers to have a complimentary staging consultation done. We were able to work out a reasonable staging fee with OnStage and the husband agreed to move forward with staging.
Moral of the story, we ended up with multiple offers in which the seller was able to get the price he wanted. And to show how important the staging was in selling the townhouse… the buyer ended up buying pieces for the upstairs loft because the furniture fit there so perfectly!
Sometimes it is hard to visualize how furniture will fit in a space. Whether staging with your own furniture or through a staging company, consider having it done. It is all about the first impression when buyers view your photos. If you can capture their attention the first time, they will likely want to view the home in person instead of moving onto the next listing on the internet.
I love working with my listing clients to get ready for the big day – the photo shoot. Each of my listings have been unique in how they have been staged. Sometimes my clients have great furniture pieces and we just add to those pieces to create an updated touch. When the home is vacant, I let the staging company work their magic by bringing in their own pieces.
The staged townhome 
This was the piece that the buyer ended up purchasing because it fit so well in the upstairs loft space!
“We met Linda a few years ago at an open house and were very impressed.
When it came time to sell our house recently, we enlisted her help. She guided us through the entire process, including helping us get the house ready, and negotiated a great sale price for us in a multiple offer situation. I wish we had enlisted her aid when buying our new house instead of searching by ourselves!”