Staging: Articles & Information
{ next | back to Staging page }

The Things That Make a House a Home May Be a Hindrance When it Comes Time to Sell
by Bill Kossen, Seattle Times staff reporter

WHIDBEY ISLAND - The bedroom seemed OK. The floor was clean, the bed was made and there weren't any dirty clothes lying around.

But Windermere real-estate agent Barb Schwarz didn't like what she saw. This room had "clutter" and needed to be cleaned up before this house overlooking Puget Sound could be put up for sale. And Schwarz, an author, speaker and expert on "Staging®" homes (a term Schwarz has trademarked) knew exactly what to do: Grab a box and start filling it up.

"This is a no-no," said Schwarz, looking at a chest of drawers adorned with a doily, a dozen bottles of perfume, four candles, two figurines, a milk-glass dish, a small clock and a framed picture of the couple who own the house.
Within a couple of minutes, Schwarz and her real-estate partner, Helga Johnson, had cleared off everything but four perfume bottles, a candle, the figurines and small clock.

"It looks much better," said homeowner Ed Hamilton, who is looking forward to selling the house and moving closer to his children in Georgia. But, he added: 'I'm surprised you didn't take down the needlework (hanging on the wall)."

"No, that looks fine," said Schwarz and they moved on to the living room, where they quickly filled a few boxes with books, magazines, pictures, knickknacks, CDs, cassettes and a couple of wooden ducks from Indonesia.

A big picture book on Oregon sitting on the coffee table catches her eye. It's good to have a nice picture book there, but get the right state, she said.
"We don't want to sell Oregon, we want to sell Washington."

A Washington book quickly appears.

Getting a house cleaned before putting it up for sale seems like a logical thing to do, but Schwarz said many agents may be reluctant to say much to a homeowner, fearing they may offend them and lose their business.

And homeowners may be reluctant to do anything because they don't want to pack up their belongings until they're ready to move. But Schwarz takes a tough stand: "You're not hiring us to sell your things, but to sell your house," she said. "If you're going to move, you have to pack." So you might as well start packing now.

Yes, a hot real-estate market may make it easier to sell your house regardless of its condition, but a "Staged®" house can help it sell more quickly and for "top dollar," she said.

On the other hand watching your prized possessions get tossed with abandon into a box and put into storage before even the first open house can be difficult.
"It was kind of hard," said Whidbey Island resident Joan Porter, "but it worked."
Joan and Robert Porter had their 5,000-square-foot house on three acres on the market for about 1 1/2 years, with a lot of lookers, but no buyers. Then they heard about Schwarz, who did a quick walk-through and told them to take down half of their paintings, remove the Oriental rugs and put away many of their knickknacks.

"We had too many things. Nice things," said Joan Porter. "Within a month it sold (for $580,000). It was amazing. It was amazing."

The trick is not to go overboard. Keep your house looking like your house, Schwarz said. In Southern California, some agents who took her Staging® class have resorted to replacing a homeowner's furniture with rental furniture. "They are going off the deep end," she said.

But having too much of your own stuff visible can distract potential buyers from seeing the house as something they would live in, she said. Dipping into her bag of sayings, Schwarz said: "Buyers and agents only know what they can see, not the way it's going to be."

But to Schwarz, the cheapest, simplest and most-effective way to get your house ready to sell is to employ the age-old adage: Clean up your room! And then clean up the yard.

Schwarz said she likes to take homeowners across the street so they can better see what their house looks like to potential buyers. The Hamilton's house, which she staged last week, was partially obscured by tall rhododendrons and other ornamental shrubs. The roof line and one window were about all that was visible.
"We don't want to sell one window," she tells Hamilton.

The attractive one-level house with three bedrooms, two baths and 2,200 square feet will be listed at $205,000. It has a hot tub on the back deck with a great view of the water and Olympic Mountains. But that's not enough, according to Schwarz. Lots of houses for sale on Whidbey Island share the same qualities.

So Hamilton picks up his shears and starts trimming the shrubs. This job will take more than a few minutes. The "For Sale" sign will have to wait a bit.