Does Staging Really Help Sell A Home?

Some people swear by it. Others are indifferent. How do you know if staging your home will make a difference in how long it takes to sell… or the sales price, for that matter?

You should be thankful you have offers

Lately, I have seen sellers who won’t accept reasonable offers on their properties. To me, this phenomenon is inexplicable.

A few days ago, I presented an offer on a listing in Woodstock. Although the home is nice and well-kept… the recent comps do not support the $189,900 price tag the sellers have affixed to this home.

I am not the kind of broker who will go out trying to "steal" a property for my client. I tell my clients that upfront. And I will not advise them to use an appraisal as a method to demonstrate that a listing is overpriced.

Why should my client risk $350 on an appraisal that will do him no good if the seller persists with an unreasonable price?

When asked to produce some comps that would support the seller’s list price - the listing agent was unable to do so.

Sellers: If you can’t support your price - it’s too high

In this instance, the closest comparable is a home with nicer features in similar condition that, when new, sold for 10% more than the home my client wished to purchase. It sold last fall for just under $170,000. Using similar appreciation rates, the subject listing would sell for $153,000 - but we offered $165,000, as we took three comps into consideration as well as the condition of the property.

The seller countered with a price of $185,000

What makes the seller think that their home, which is obviously inferior in many ways to the closest comp, is worth $15,000 more than that comp? Or all the comps, for that matter.

The comp had a formal living room - the listing did not. The comp had an island in the kitchen - the listing did not. The comp had a powder room for guests - the listing required the guests to use the master bath. The comp also had a separate shower and garden tub in the master bath - the listing has a combo garden tub and shower. The comp had a larger deck, with a French door leading from the master bedroom to the deck - the listing did not.

When you break it all down - it’s easy to see why the comp sold for more new - and why it is worth more today - than the subject listing.

The other comps I pulled further proved my point

But the sellers are not interested in the truth. Their home has been on the market for more than four months… and they have received offers - just not as high as they want.

"Sometimes, sellers have a particular amount of money that they want to get out of a property," said the listing agent.

"So ask them if they are willing to overpay for their next home because the builder has to put his kid through college," was my reply.

The sellers have moved out-of-state, so it’s not like they are "dabbling" at selling their home - they are serious… supposedly.

Unfortunately for them - they’re just going about it all wrong. By the time they realize that they won’t get their asking price, the season might be over… and they’ll be wasting even more money on needless mortgage payments.

Did I mention that they don’t live there, anymore?

Perhaps someone should tell the sellers that in addition to continuing paying their mortgage - they need to call their insurance agent to get their policy modified, since they no longer live there. And that change will cost them, as well.

If you are selling your home in Atlanta - be advised that this is a BUYER’S MARKET. That means that there is an abundance of properties for a buyer to choose from, with little competition from other buyers.

Not only should you PRICE your property properly… but you should carefully consider ALL offers and analyze your options with your agent. Most agents do not have the backbone to tell you "We won’t get that price on appraisal" - instead, they’ll wait until you get the idea… and that will cost YOU money.

In the meantime, you’ll find me talking to sellers who ARE serious about selling their homes.

I recently represented a couple of Buyers (husband and wife) in the purchase of a resale home. Their previous home, a rental, was in poor shape, as the landlord never repaired anything during their six-year stay in the property.

When they discovered mold, they knew it was time to get their family out - so look at houses to purchase, we did.

We found one home in the area that they wanted to live in that albeit small - was recently updated with some new fixtures, paint and carpet. The seller had owned the property for at least twenty years, and it just seemed like the place had been well-cared for.

But the seller was in no mood to negotiate

In the listing, it stated that the refrigerator, washer and dryer were all included with a good offer. (In this area, a good offer is considered the asking price, with the seller contributing towards the buyer’s closing costs) So we offered over asking price, but asking for a healthy contribution to closing and also for the lawnmower and television (she was asking $300 for the TV).

In the counter-offer, the seller had forgotten all about including the refrigerator, washer and dryer with a good offer. Now she wanted $1700 for the additional items…. and was only willing to pay a fraction of the buyer’s closing costs… and the $1700 had to be separate as she didn’t want to pay capital gains tax on those items.

It took us four days to negotiate through this mess… but we came to an agreement and closed in two weeks.

So now they own the home, and started moving in. Because money was tight (kid in college), the Buyers didn’t get a home inspection… after all, the home seemed so well-cared for. When the wife went to make dinner the first night for her family, the oven wouldn’t work. Neither would the refrigerator.

Hoping that the Seller had a heart, I spoke with the listing agent to see if the Seller would make good on the refrigerator and stove… and it’s not like a home inspector would inspect a refrigerator - you just expect it to be working. I even dropped the bomb on her when I informed her that the neighbors have told the Buyers that their new home was the subject of a methamphetamine bust.

The listing agent proceeds to tell me this story about how she was meeting the Seller the day of the "bust"… and that it wasn’t about meth - the police were looking for a runaway, and while at the home they saw something suspicious and called in a drug dog who found a small bag of marijuana owned by her adopted son who rented the house from her. No meth bust there, she assured me.

A week goes by with no reply. Meanwhile, the blower fan went out in the air conditioning… as well as the circuit board for the unit.

Then the listing agent calls me to see if her lockbox was still at the house. She fails to mention anything about the Seller’s position on the refrigerator or oven… so I ask - to which she tells me the Seller said she was able to clean the oven before closing with Easy-Off (which apparently damaged the heating element that ignites the gas) and that the refrigerator was working, too.

Obviously, the Seller (who had NO mortgage on this property) did not want to part with any of her money to make this situation right. Not even $200 to send a repairman over.

A little good will can go a long way

So the Buyer went to the Police Station to see what kind of a bust this really was, because a friend of hers actually saw the bust - and they said there were many police cars from different jurisdictions… a regular event that lasted for hours.

Apparently, the Seller’s son was doing more than just smoking a little weed. She doesn’t have the full story yet, but she knows that it was a meth lab bust, and that those toxic chemicals were not disclosed in the Seller’s Property Disclosure.

I advised her to get the rest of the information to an attorney for further consultation, as I am not a lawyer… but if I had to guess - I’d say that the Seller is in some big trouble… and her agent is right in there with her. If this is true - she could be found guilty of fraudulent representation… and her agent could be considered an accomplice.

If the Seller had been more flexible in this process… and more accommodating regarding the fiasco with the appliances… things might have turned out differently. But her behavior is one of a greedy person with no concern for others - and that may cost her dearly. At this point - why should the Buyer cut the Seller any slack?

This is why it is so important to disclose

You don’t get into trouble for what you disclose… you get into trouble for what you do NOT disclose.

Why the Seller and Agent thought that the Buyer would not find out about this is beyond me. In fact, I was certain that when the Listing Agent told me that she was there - there was no way it could have been a meth lab bust. No agent in their right mind would fail to disclose this!

This is not the end of this story, that’s a given. Stay tuned as I will report on the status of this adventure as circumstances warrant.