HawthorneVillager.com

When DH and I began our search, we never ever ever looked at the furniture and decor in any of the open houses we went to. The house we bought had a different colour paint in each room, minimal furniture, no taste in decor at all. We paid absolutely no attention that any of that. We did see the hardwood floors and staircase, the massive windows, the size of the bedrooms, the floor plan, etc etc.

How important is staging when selling? Do buyers actually look at the furniture, decor and colours of the current owners?

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Some people are like slinkies. They're really good for nothing but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.

yup - if they can see themselves living there, that's what will sell a house. Not everyone can block out what the previous owner had in there (I can, obviously you can, which plays in our favour since those homes that aren't staged well will tend to receive lower offers)

Good timing -- see my post here:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=53362

Really, it doesn't matter if YOU think it's important - but if the house isn't showing it's best, then you may not get the best results. Not everybody is a practical buyer looking at only square footage and upgrades, and often those people won't give you the most money.

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Fred De Carolis
FREDHELPS.COM or on Facebook
Thanks for your support in the
search for Milton's Favourite Realtor!
REVEL REALTY -- MILTON'S FAVOURITE REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE, as voted by YOU!!!

Ashwani, welcome to the forums!
Nice to see more iPro faces on here

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Fred De Carolis
FREDHELPS.COM or on Facebook
Thanks for your support in the
search for Milton's Favourite Realtor!
REVEL REALTY -- MILTON'S FAVOURITE REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE, as voted by YOU!!!

It's scary how much it matters. Buyers expectations are very, very high these days and they really have trouble seeing through clutter and unfortunate decor. I provide staging service for all of my clients planning to list their home. I even own an inventory of staging props for my clients to use, I have given clients decor pieces from my own home including the lamps off of my night stands...it's that important! Staging and professional photography...that's a whole other thread!

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Michelle Hawco
Sales Representative
RE/MAX Real Estate Centre Inc., Brokerage
905 878-7777
michelle@thehousemom.com

Hi Ashwoni... really, people on here ARE smarter than this.

It is easy to figure out that ID Spirit36, which only has 3 posts, includes this one:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=22453&p=178535#p178535

Promotes a link to a School info site made by yourself, as your name is on the bottom. I'm not sure if Debbie is your wife or your stage name, but really, we are smarter than this.

http://miltononescarpment.com/

Please keep things honest on here - our neighbours deserve better, and you are only bringing a bad name to the industry with the fake posts trying to promote yourself. You have earned the meeting. NOT.

Are ANY of you sales guys honest? If you are going to lie and fake promote yourself, at least be more creative!

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Oh SNAP!

So basically, people are entering the biggest purchase deal of their lives and they base part of their decision on how the current homeowner decorates. I didn't realize anyone can be THAT stupid. You had to see the different colour on the walls in each room of the house we bought. The kitchen and family room were painted pink for crying out loud. The minimal furniture. The outdated decor. The mess/clutter/crap in the garage. But I knew were going to repaint the whole house from top to bottom and that the current owners were gonna take all their crap with them. When we went back on the day we got the keys, it was like "aaaahhhhhhhhhhh"...a blank canvas that we turned into our dream home.

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Some people are like slinkies. They're really good for nothing but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.

More often then not, major purchasing decisions are emotional not practical.

I'm sure you didn't NEED a fully loaded Escape - could have gone for something cheaper, etc, etc, yet you wanted one... Same principal really...

No, it's not the same thing. The correct comparison would be that my neighbour's 19 year old stripper daughter looks hot driving her Escape so I will buy the same one cause I will look hot too.

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Some people are like slinkies. They're really good for nothing but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.

I don't agree - you mentioned quite clearly that you LOVE your husband's escape, etc, etc... anyways - it's a reality - whether you do it or not, it happens A LOT.

So basically you're calling most people stupid because they can't envision things the way you can. I would rather not leave that up to chance, so do what I can do to a house to make it as attractive as possible to the highest number of people so I don't have to hope for somebody as "smart" as you.. Yeesh I see what point you are trying to make, but you don't need to call them stupid. Some people can buy from floor plans, some people can't as they need to envision the space. Some people need to buy a car based on specs and reviews, other people need to 'feel' the ride. everybody's different, and nobody is stupid just because they don't think they way you do...

^^^ +10000!

Even though I am some one who can see past it and can see space based on plans, I know many people can't.

Ok so mayyyyyyybe they're not all stupid but they have no vision or minimal vision, to say the least. They need for something to be right in their face in order to see its potential. I could never buy from floor plans because that's just a drawing and my vision is not THAT tuned but if a house is there and I'm walking thru it, I can see what I'd make of it.

Deep...that's my new Escape, not DH's

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Some people are like slinkies. They're really good for nothing but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.

My point is that whatever the current owners use as decor, I see right thru that. I look at fixtures (hardware and light), windows coverings (cause that's expensive to replace), floors, staircase, appliances, countertops, backsplash, property size, room size, which way the house is facing (southwest has the most sun!), etc etc. I even overlooked our "beautiful professionally landscaped backyard (and it was) cause I knew my dogs would destroy that pretty quickly (and they did).

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Some people are like slinkies. They're really good for nothing but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.