What do I do when I get negative feedback from the showings?

Recently, I was called by a home owner to provide a quote on staging.   After seeing the home and seeing many things upon entering the home that could be done to help the house show better, I asked the home owner what the feedback was from the showings.   Keep in mind this home had been on the market for 90 days so far.   She indicated that they had received negative feedback about the kitchen appearing too small and the space confusing to buyers. After providing her with a few pointers for neutralizing the decor and ideas for giving the decor a bit of a lift I agreed to provide a quote to stage the kitchen, foyer and sunroom to really show how large the spaces were and give it some much needed style and decor.

After reviewing the quote and discussing a few staging options she replied, that’s more than I wanted to spend could you just quote the sunroom? The sunroom?   I thought to myself, did you not hear the feedback about the kitchen?  What am I missing?  Needless to say, I provided her with a quote for just the sunroom, as she had requested, but had to explain one very important point.  Home Staging is NOT just staging one room of the house.  The process of selling a home is based on the whole property, both inside and out. When a buyer steps into your house you have only a few seconds to capture the buyer’s attention and interest.   It’s this reason why you need to be sure their first impression into the house is a good one.   Buyers need to walk in and say “WOW”, now you have them, keep them and their eye going through the home while they envision themselves living in the home.

If you have areas of the home that are confusing or if you are getting negative feedback, have an accredited staging professional help you address these issues. We are trained to how to make spaces look larger and show at their very best with the right furniture and accessories.   A little bit of staging in key points of a home can go a long way when you hire a professional.
Needless to say, we were not able to help this particular home owner, they decided to do the staging themselves and relist the home.  To date, the home is still on the market.

The moral of this story?   Hire a professional to sell your home, you need a professional that has the training to know what helps a house sell and what buyers are looking for in the current market.  Additionally, the cost of staging your home is FAR LESS than your average price reduction of 5-10% of the list price.   Can you afford NOT to stage?