Clearing Churned Up Waters

Recently I posted two similar blogs entitled: "Inconvenient Truths about Home Staging". One, which was shorter edited version, was posted on Active Rain while a more complete and comprehensive version was posted here on this site. The post created quite a ruckus with a foundation training company whose website I quoted directly from and linked to, to prove that I was not making an unsubstantiated point. Agitated with what I said, they contacted me with Cease & Desist email and comment. I honored their request and removed all references to them in my posts and all links I had placed on both my blogs to their site.

Obviously, I now know they view my words as direct attack on their program, which was not the point. This staging foundation training organization is/was NOT doing anything that most other training organizations within the staging industry are doing or have done. Heck, for all I know this training organization my offer one of the most compressive and in-expensive training programs available in the industry today.

It is no secret that foundation training programs are a big part of the home staging industry. The point I was making had to do with the industry's foundation training programs as a whole. Being that I am one of the LEAST formally trained stagers in home staging industry (I happen to be self trained) I am in a unique position that allows me to be neutral about training. Staying neutral, yet believing in the benefits of training, I tried to be a trusted resource to those that seek out my advice on foundation training program. To make it easy for those who are interested in home staging training, I have compiled a FREE reference list (in alphabetical order) of 33 different training programs I currently know of here for all to access. (This list is being used. How do I know? Well, for one thing Goggle Analytics lets me know.)

But I digress… the point I was making in the original "Inconvenient Truths" blog was that I see the staging INDUSTRY being partially responsible for the bashing the staging industry got in the report on staging by the National Association of Exclusive Buyers Agents (NAEBA). While I felt much of what the NAEBA said was wrong and a bit sensationalized, I still don't believe it was all wrong. The report got me thinking about the Home Staging Industry... and the collective "who and how" we have been and how there was some truth to what the NAEBA reported.

So with the home staging industry in my sites, I started to re-examine and write what I refereed to as a "Frankenstein" of a problem in our industry... Credentials. I have found at least 34 different foundation staging training programs in North America. I have no idea how good or bad any of these courses are. I can tell you that I have spoken to MANY stagers from all over the USA & Canada... some have raved about their training others were not impressed. I’ve heard all opinions. But, in general I believe people are pretty happy that they received formal training... even if only for the fact that training was a springboard for them in the industry.

However, with no industry "board of staging education" overseeing what is actually being taught... there is no way of knowing how truly good or bad the training these organizations are offering is, or how compressive and complete it is.

Currently how the industry is set up, to be a staging trainer all one needs to do is open their doors.... and say they are a staging training school. Plus, on top of that the fact anyone can easily open up a training school, many of these organizations then offer quick "Accredited Certifications" for their graduates to add to their names in the hopes to legitimize their graduates as "stagers" to the eyes of the consumer, I believe this further compromises the whole industry. Who decides what is good? Who decides what is bad? Who decides what is right? Who decides what is wrong? Who knows!

For the most part the consuming public has no understanding of all this backstory. Historically the consuming public views and relies on credentials as proof of ability. The consuming pubic believes the person who has been "Accredited/Certified" by an organization has gone through a process were they have been trained, tested and PASSED thru a testing process. Even baby sitters can now be certified, but only after being tested. TESTING is TYPICAL and expected in an ACCREDITATION PROCESS. As the staging industry stands today, what it takes to be a stager is more about credentials and less about the combination of talent, experience, & education. So much emphasis is being placed on Accrediting Credentials.

I am not the first to broach this topic, for it has been in the industry's conversation and has been a point contention for awhile.

I believe the industry's allowance of and reliance on unregulated certification and accreditation can exposes the consumer to less then good and qualified staging. I believe it can and will ultimately dilute what staging can make available. With no regulation on training, training schools, curriculum, testing, or certification this will a problem that will continue to get bigger. Having no standards will ultimately mean there will be consumers that use stagers that do substandard work and give organizations ammunition to continue to write negative reports on staging as the NAEBA did.

In my opinion, because of the way the home staging industry is, the consumer is currently becoming more and more venerable and exposed to substandard staging... and because this is so our industry will ultimately loose face and legitimacy.

THIS IS ONE OF MY TRUTHS in Inconvenient Truths about Home Staging.

Stage It Forward...
Me

Staging is Simple Arithmetic... Sort Of

If you spend any time researching real estate staging you will quickly read some of the most fundamental advice commonly given by home stagers is to REMOVE the CLUTTER and THIN-OUT any excess "stuff" in a home that is going to be for sale. Stagers seem to effectively communicate the message that SUBTRACTION is part of Staging 101.

However, we here at Real Estaging have come to learn that sometimes what it takes to properly stage an occupied home is NOT just what needs to be taken out... but what needs to be put in. ADDITION, or adding items to the home, is the other half have to the staging equation that is often overlooked by MANY stagers.

It is easy for a stager, that does not have inventory, to say nothing needs to be added to improve a homes appeal. Which may be 100% correct. But what if just by adding a few items your home goes from ordinary to extremely memorable and wonderfully appealing? Having access to props could be to your selling benifit.

When looking for a stager, consider the fact that stagers who have invested in prop inventories have made a strong commitment to not only their profession, but ultimately the sale of your home.

So what props do we typically see a home needing? Well, most often we bring in wall art, plants and lamps. Time and time again we find that home sellers do not have enough of these basics decorative items that really add to a property's overall appeal.

Finally, even if a stager has props, when it comes to adding them... scale, proportion, style, color, selection and then placement matter GREATLY. This I can not stress enough. As you watch the above show (or if you need to click this link) notice how our props blend seamlessly with the home owner's existing accessories and furnishings. If you have a hard time determining which props are our props... then we have done our job.

We know our Staging Arithmetic.

Stage It Forward...
Me

Inconvenient Truths about Home Staging

Negativity about good things always seems to attract attention. So it is not surprise that in a recent report published by the National Association of Exclusive Buyers Agents (NAEBA) entitled: “How to not get tricked by staging and potentially save $5,645 when you buy your home” has attracted main stream media attention.

While some of the NAEBA report on staging was positive and accurate, most of it was a negative spin they were trying to put on staging in a sensationalized attempt to champion their position that buyer’s agents are better agents then traditional Realtors that work with both buyers and sellers. The basic premise of the NAEBA report claimed that buyer agents were more able to sniff out staging “tricks” used to disguise problems and deceitfully lure a potential buyer to emotionally be attracted to a problematic home. It’s as if the NAEBA actually believed that home stagers did not know that all homes are eventually professionally inspected and that hiding problems and issues works against the seller’s best interests.

In the report, the NAEBA warned buyers that “staging effects can make a home seem more appealing to the eye”. How scandalous! How conniving! How shady of the seller to put their home’s best face forward to make it as appealing as possible. I guess the same could be said for anyone applying for a job who decides to wear their best suit, get a haircut and shine their shoes in a shady attempt to emotionally lure a potential employer to hire them.

While the NAEBA report was inaccurate in much of what is said, that does not take the Home Staging industry off the hook for what I see as a rapidly growing problem in this industry. I am going to go out on a limb to say that the Home Staging Industry is a bit responsible for attracting the negative report the NAEBA has published.

Right now home sellers are desperate for a magical solution to help them sell a property languishing in an extremely slow market. Unfortunately, desperate times will bring out both dreamers and dubious characters. It is no surprise that with all the great PR home staging has been getting, more and more people (be they honest or dishonest) are attracted to making money as home stagers.

A multitude of foundation training programs in home staging have sprung up that will “certify,” “accredit” and graduate home staging “professionals” and “experts” in as little as ONE DAY.In fact, just last week I learned of a foundation training program that advertises that for only $249.95, a person interested in becoming a home stager need only buy a training CD that was designed to get budding stagers started in their own business. Two of the benefits they advertise is that their program has low start up costs and low overhead. No previous experience is required. They even include their Certificate of Achievement at no extra costs right with the CD to prove that you were professionally trained. WOW, how generous to send a Certificate of Achievement right with it!

This “overnight certification in a box” points to a Frankenstein that this industry created. The industry’s fixation on quick accredited certifications makes a hypocrisy out of education. This is NOT to say education and training are neither valuable nor helpful. In fact, some of the nation’s finest home stagers started their careers by first taking foundation training programs.

Unfortunately, home sellers looking to hire a stager in today’s market often do not realize that stagers that tout the fact that they are accredited, certified or professional experts may have just yesterday received their certificate in a box or just finished a 3 day workshop in Home Staging. While education is important, the home seller needs to know that in this market where a flood of baby stager’s are just entering it, EXPERIENCE trumps all else and in fact is quintessential. For with experience comes an education and wisdom about home staging that can not be burned on to a CD or taught in a 1, 2 or 3 day work shop.

Much like what the NAEBA report spoke of, some inexperienced stagers will resort to contrived tricks thinking that making a home look and feel staged is the right thing to do. But the experienced stager knows a home should never look or feel staged. If a buyer’s eye is attracted to look at the staging and not the home, then the stager has not done their work. An experienced home stager knows the home should always be the star… not the stuff in it.

The above picture is a perfect example of what I am talking about. Kate Hart of Hart & Associates, an experienced home stager in Philadelphia, just happened to send me this picture of really bad staging. Kate snapped the "staged treasure" in the bathroom of a vacant home she was recently called in to re-stage. The "props" placed in a box speaks volumes as to how much is not known about staging by the stager that initially had been hired to stage it. The rest of the property was as bad... and because it was staged so poorly, the owners actually stopped showing it. Kate was called in to save the day.

All this puts experienced stagers, who believe we can be a strong and respected industry within real estate and want it to succeed, in a precarious position. We have seen time and time again the joy in a seller’s eye when their property has been sold with the help of staging. We also know the passion and exuberance new stagers have for this profession and we know that for the industry to grow it will need more stagers. But most importantly we know we are now being watched and scrutinized. Nothing less than the finest understanding of staging and implementation of it will help us all grow, anything else will not only degrade the industry, but also what staging makes available to the home seller.

Stage It Forward...
Me

NOTE: At the request of the foundation training company that I originally referenced in this blog, I have removed their name and the link to their site.

I have also removed the foundation training company from the hugley popular informational reference list : "33 Home Staging Training Programs to Consider" on the right hand column of this blog.

Seeing RED... Will Capture the Buyer's Eye

Stagers know that the time spent touring a home by a buyer is relatively short. An experienced home stager relies on techniques and practices that HELP maximize what a buyer sees and experiences in a property in the relatively short time they take to tour it. The strategic use of color AND prop placement is key to getting the most out of staging.

When it comes to color, what home stagers typically talk about is what the best paint and carpet colors to use when preparing your home for its sale. Which is sound advice, but.... it really is OLD NEWS. In fact I actually wrote my post on the subject last October entitled: If Switzerland was a Color what Color it would be?

But what about accent colors? What accent colors can effectively be used to give you an advantage when it comes to staging and selling a home?

I have to admit that red is one of our favorite staging colors for props that we use here at Real Estaging. In fact, it seems as though we never have enough red props in our prop library. We have come to learn that the color red sells homes and therefore we end up placing a lot of red props in the homes that we stage.

Please understand that while red is not used (typically) as the dominant room color when selling a home; the color red, when used strategically in props and accessories, in a staged/model home as "punctuated moments" can capture and then move the buyer's eye across and around a room so that they see all that the property is and has.

The above video was created specifically to make a visually compelling marketing point. To instantly understand the power and effectiveness of the color of red for home staging, watch the very short show we call "RED" (with speakers ON). As you watch the show, featuring actual homes we have staged, notice where and how your eye moves in and around each picture. THIS is the same thing that happens when a buyer tours a staged home that is "punctuated" with red accents.

I will be curious to know if "RED" captures your attention or not.

All in all... as experienced home stagers we have learned that the color red adds just the right snap of life, energy, warmth and excitement to even the most mundane spaces and therefore is a great color to use for home selling and home staging.


Stage It forward...
Me

If you can not see the show above CLICK HERE to find a link that will allow you to share the short "RED" show.

Initially Vacant... NOW Staged & Stunning

In my last post I wrote why vacant properties in general are more difficult to sell than furnished homes.

Well here is a little more to consider and something to see...

For years Home Developers have invested in and created model homes for their buyers to EXPERIENCE as they were shopping for new homes. WHY? Well, the answer is pretty much for many of the same reason I wrote of in Part 1 of my series on why vacant homes are difficult to sell. Those reasons include:

• Model homes are spatially easy to understand
• Model homes give off a good feeling of “home”
• Model homes are well lit making them bright, warm and inviting
  

So while words are a great way to communicate a message... I think SEEING actual examples of homes that we here at Real Estaging have staged and transformed is yet another way to make my point.

The cool thing about staging is it levels the playing field and makes available to EVERY home seller the "secret" tool that for years only had been used by larger Home Developers.

Now knowing more of what staging makes available to you, I hope you enjoy the show...

Me

Part 2 of 3: Tips for Selling Vacant Homes.

I would like to thank Design Talk for first proposing that I write on this subject. Part 1, initially written for and posted on their site, really has been received well in the cyber real estate community.

Are Vacant Homes Black Holes That Suck the Life Out of their Own Sales?

Recently I was asked by Design Talk to write a column on a question they are frequenly asked. The question comes from sellers concerned abut selling their vacant houses and wondering if thier property would have a better chance of selling if it had furnishings in it.

Well I replied saying... the fact that most Realtors dread handling a listing that is vacant says a lot, for they know that an empty house is typically a harder sell to make than one that is fully furnished. But why are vacant houses more difficult to sell then furnished homes? Let’s take look at a few reasons…

First, an empty room will always feel smaller than a furnished room. When a potential buyers tour a property, they are trying to “map” their lives into the home’s space. Buyers are evaluating the house to SEE that it will work for them. To help them understand how a house will work or not, buyers will relate the size and fit of the seller’s furnishing to their own. Vacant homes make this basic part of the buying process more difficult.
Next, for many buyers a big part of knowing a house will be the “right” is the emotional connection/vibe they get from it. Houses that are vacant often give off a hollow desperate loneliness. Because it is harder to get the welcome feeling of “home” from a vacant property, the emptiness will actually make it more difficult for buyers to emotionally attach to it.

You may have noticed that Realtors, about to show a furnished home, first turn on EVERY light and lamp in it before the buyer gets there to tour it. (And when I say “every light,” I mean EVERY light.) They turn on the lights because they know that a well lit home sparkles, shines, and adds a warmth and glow that buyers find appealing. Unfortunately, a vacant house will quite often lack or have no lights at all in some rooms. This bad lighting makes it harder for the buyer to see what they are buying, and ends up making the house show as dreary, dark and dull. A big reason why vacant houses are harder to sell is that there naturally is not much to look at, so what there is to see gets scrutinized. While a buyer does want to spend their hard earned money to BUY a home, they are not too interested in spending money on making repairs and fixing the problems the seller chose to leave behind. Having nothing in a house makes it very easy for the buyer to focus their attention on even the smallest of flaws and then negatively fixate on having to spend money to make repairs. Think about it… a wood, tile and linoleum floor will show more dirt, scratches and mars; the smallest carpet stains will clearly be visible; and naked walls will noticeably reveal all the holes, nicks and scuffs that are present. Because the home is unoccupied, the exterior maintenance will often go undone. In the summer, lawns will either overgrow or burn out and weeds will take over gardens. In northern markets, walks and drives will be hidden if not shoveled after a winter snow fall. In general an unkempt exterior will kill any curb appeal and immediately start to diminish the buyer’s hopes as to what to expect on the interior.

For all these reasons, a vacant house will be more difficult to sell then a furnished home. A buyers market will only make it even more difficult for a seller to sell for there are more than enough homes to choose from. Therefore, it is easy to understand how a buyer will be attracted to a home that they spatially understand; get a good feeling of “home” from; is bright, warm and inviting; and shows no glaring signs for maintenance or repair.

Oh… and just because a home is furnished does not make it an automatically and perfectly appealing home to buy… for even a furnished home still should be light, bright, CLEAN, maintained and uncluttered.

Stage It Forward…
Me

Part 1 of 3: Tips for Selling Vacant Homes.

Click HERE for Part 2.

WOW! USA TODAY featured this post on Vacant Homes to its on-line readers!

FEED ME SEYMOUR! It takes a lot for Home Stagers to grow Prop Inventories

Many home stager's have been taught ONLY to stage using what home sellers personally have in the way of furnishings and decorative accessories (props). This approach to staging is all well and good and at times the right solution, but also at other times extremely limiting to what would and could best serve the home seller. Why limiting? Well what if what the property that needs to be staged is a totally vacant property? Or what if the property, that needs to be staged, is occupied but still lacking in pizazz and is basically an empty home? What does the prop-less stager do if a house needs more "bling" to bring some life and appeal to it?
Houses that need life and be "propped up" to add to their sales appeal happen more than I thought they would. Realizing this, Real Estaging made a commitment 3 years ago to build a prop library… we quickly learned it would ultimately best serve our home selling clients regardless of what their staging needs were.

Currently we have just about 5000 items available in our "PROP LIBRARY"... which might at first seem like a lot. But what do we do if all of our props are out and placed in homes and a new staging job comes in that needs to be propped up? Well, we do what we have been doing for 3+ years… we go out and buy more! AND... the quality and appropriateness of what we buy is VERY important. We just can't buy shlocky junk and put it in a house and say it is “staged.” Bad props will distract a buyer’s attention from looking at the property. We know that if a stager wants to build a reputation for quality staging... they have to own and place in the home quality props.

And as important as it is to give a client the options to have the BEST that staging can offer, I have to admit owning a Prop Library sometimes feels like that voracious plant in the play The Little Shop of Horrors that screams "FEED ME SEYMOUR!"

July for us has been a CRAZY BUSY time here at Real Estaging (hence, I have had no time to write anything for my blog). And being so busy, fortunately (or unfortunately) we found that much of what we own in our inventory had already been "PLACED" out in client properties.... and we needed more!

So what did we do? We went shopping... and rung up a whopping $6,448.21 for new props for the month of July! (Brook supplies the rental furniture for our clients.) THAT was a lot of Ka-Ching for BLING! But, if we wanted the business, it is money we had to invest without immediate return. Placed props do NOT pay for themselves the first time they are placed... it takes a few flips!

Why do we invest in props when so many other stagers don't? We know having the resources that provide options and a variety level of services WILL help differentiate your staging business from other stagers in the market place. Being a one stop staging shop has helped build our reputation. But I gotta admit owning a Prop Library has at times turned our one stop staging shop into a Shop of Horrors.

Stage It Forward…
Me