I spent the day at Vancouver’s Real Estate Convention yesterday where I was surrounded by real estate professionals from every aspect of the industry. There were home inspectors, mortgage brokers, photographers, videographers, developers and of course, REALTORS. I met some wonderful people and left the show with a spring in my step.
There was, however, a comment that was burning in my memory from earlier in the day. I was chatting to a group of REALTORS and an investment advisor and we were talking about refinancing properties. One of the REALTORS said, ‘Well, there you go, Heather! Your clients can talk to this guy to refinance their homes so they can afford to stage their property!’ Cue laughter and knowing smiles and nods among the group of REALTORS.
The investment advisor was a bit taken aback and looked at me with curiousity. He said, ‘You’re not THAT expensive are you? I live in a 2 bedroom condo downtown that’s pretty cluttered. If I wanted to stage my place, how much would it cost?’ I could have hugged him for asking and preventing me from standing on my soapbox and preaching about the cost of staging. I have to admit, the role of home staging missionary gets a bit old sometimes. I said, ‘I could create a do-it-yourself project plan for you to execute yourself for $295 that includes a room by room, step by step report that outlines every little detail to be addressed in each room. Once you complete the report, your condo would be market ready AND would show better than its top 3 strongest competitors’ Cue jaw drops and silence. Finally one of the REALTORS said, ‘Are you SERIOUS? I thought staging would cost around $10,000, I’m shocked. Can I have your card?’ The other REALTORS had similar sentiments to share.
‘I can’t believe this! You’ll actually create DIY plans for my clients? That’s fantastic!’
‘So this is for occupied properties? I thought staging was just for vacant properties. I have a few listings that could definitely use your help’
‘Wow, what a great service! I’ve never considered staging before because of the cost. I’d like to offer this as part of my listing package; we have to have coffee this week and talk’
Oh investment advisor, I thought to myself, thank you so much for asking about cost! The REALTORS were so excited about my services and they didn’t even know about the rest of the The Ultimate Home Preparation Package!
This was a stark reminder that my missionary work is far from over. I must continue to spread the word that home staging does NOT require refinancing your home. What I’ve dubbed ‘HGTV Syndrome’ is spreading like the plague and I’ve got the cure.
We finished exchanging cards, setting up coffee meetings and bid each other farewell. The REALTORS went on their way…with a spring in their step.
