Just last month, we staged an upscale foreclosed home in Beaverton Oregon because the bank wanted it to appeal to the target buyer. My previous post about it mentioned that this home was built in 2006 and was on the market as a vacant property for nearly 3 YEARS!
This smart bank made an investment in the property ~ by hiring Room Solutions Staging to present the property to its best advantage so that buyers could imagine living in it, by having a few rooms freshly painted, and by having new landscaping installed. During the three years this home was actively marketed by the builder, it had several price reductions.
The result? This home SOLD just one month after staging! This is a great testimonial to home staging but also it shows that foreclosed homes should be presented to their very best advantage so that they sell quickly.
Using a team concept with a great listing agent and partnering with a professional staging company and competent contractors, the bank's objective of a quick sale was satisfied.
What's next for this smart bank? They've now hired us to stage another outstanding foreclosed home, also on the market for three years. We hope it will have results as good as this one ...
~ If you want your home or listing to sell quickly, hire a professional home stager who can advise the best solutions for preparing your property for a quick sale, and price it right. ~
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Do you have a home in the Portland or Beaverton Oregon metro area that's languishing on the market? Give Room Solutions Staging a call @ 503-246-1800. Our professional staging techniques can help homes sell faster!
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Great pictures! I wonder whatt was "wrong" with it for it to not sell in 3 years! Did they adjust the pricing along with your staging?
Ditto what Donna asked??
There are a lot of factors that go into the sale of a home. I find it hard to accept that staging alone is going to make THE difference.
Congratulations on a great staging job. I'm sure it helped present the home in a more attractive manner that appealed to buyers far more than a vacant home could.
Donna ~ the home is very well built, but all of the main rooms had large picture windows that looked out onto what amounted to a pile of dirt. Here in Oregon we're fanatics about our gardens, and previous buyers may have felt it was too big a project to take on. During the three years this home was on the market, there were a number of price reductions.
Lenn ~ In addition to the landscaping which includes a fantastic water feature, the bank also felt that staging this home would help in a few key areas -- and they were right. Before, the kitchen looked disjointed and bare. Staging made it possible for buyers to imagine entertaining and spending time with family and friends. The home has a different vibe all together.
Margaret ~ thanks for your feedback. The agents' held an Open House every Saturday and Sunday for 4 weeks and really gave this home some good exposure. The bank promoted special financing for it as well. The entire team worked hard and the results speak for themselves!
Congrats M: Another BIG WIN for the stagers.... Great job.
Maureen ~ As usual, you did a fantastic job! Glad to hear it sold and that this bank is on board to do what it takes to get these properties sold.
Todd ~ It's funny how when we do our job well, there are still some skeptics out there (see comment above LOL). Thanks for weighing in.
Kathy ~ We're looking forward to staging their next property later this week and hope it sells quickly too!
What a great success story! I'll bet the agent and bank are very pleased. Getting everything taken care of that wasn't quite right, is all part of staging a home. The furnishings are just the final, but vital, touch. We keep seeing this over and over: house on the market a long time. Then Staged...Sold!
Great news, Maureen! I'm glad that the entire team was on-board to get the home sold. I often tell our clients that staging is the frosting on a delicious cake, (but who wants to eat a cake without frosting?)
Peg ~ Yes, they're very happy. Even though I've staged homes that were on the market for a year, this is the first one that was for sale for 3 years -- and the results are very satisfying for everyone involved.
Diana ~ I like that analogy ... cakes without frosting are boring!
That is great! I wonder when more banks are going to go this route in these types of circumstances.
Heather ~ I really hope this idea will catch on! Wouldn't it be great if the foreclosed homes were "rescued" instead of being left to drag down all the adjoining property values? Thanks for your input.
Fabulous news Maureen! Congratulations!
Thanks Cathy, it was great to find out that this home sold so quickly ~ and that the bank had so much confidence in the staging that they hired us to do another one!
Hi Maureen! This is fabulous! What a beautiful home and your staging made all the difference. Best of luck with the next bank owned...I'm sure that one will be a success too! This is also a great testimonial to market to other banks that staging is the key that gets those properties sold!
Hi Maureen, Great news! After you posted about this before I jumped on the phone contacting different lenders in my area. Most said no way...but I did have 3 that were interested and wanted my website and contact info. They all said that this was something they had never done in the past but had been talking about doing it. I'm going to follow up with these lenders and at least keep my name in front of them. Way to go...this will help lenders take notice!!!
Maureen, "smart banks"...hmmm that's novel. When I spoke to the mortgage gal at WF she looked at me like I was nuts. I did tell her about your experience and her comment was "well no one around here does that." So I said "why not be the first?" She didn't answer just laughed.
Sounds like you've got the ball rolling...hope it continues!
Teresa ~ I hope that other banks will start considering staging as a means to sell their properties faster.
Donna and Ginger ~ Good for you both for pursuing this option with your local lenders! Be persistent and they may reconsider. As you know there are many levels of staging so perhaps starting with some of the more reasonably priced services would work. Good luck!
Bravo Maureen! The home looks greats and I'm not surprised that it sold so quickly ~
Congratulations and wishing you much success on the second home!
Tosha ~Thanks for your kind words. I hope more stagers will pursue this type of business in their areas.
Maureen, great pictures, great post and what a beautiful area. Another testament to the power of Staging.
Maureen - Excellent testimonial for you and all Stagers. Great work. And great to see you today!
Kathy ~ Many thanks, we love it when staging works don't we?
David ~ Great to see you & Nik at the RESA/ASHSR meeting today too! Thanks for your feedback.
Hi Maureen, what a great testimonial. I think I'll start calling some banks around here as well. And thank you for making this a public posting. That way, we will be able to send interested parties to look at your befores and afters so that there is a VISUAL tied with the concept of staging foreclosed properties.
Also appreciated your comment about "rescuing" these properties so that the neighborhood doesn't go down as well.
Maureen: Staging a foreclosure, that's very novel. Cheers on your success.
Janis ~ Good idea to call some local banks and see how they feel about staging... they may need to "warm up" to the concept, but keep after them. They'd be smart to rescue those foreclosed properties and our equity would be preserved -- good luck!
Matt ~ This bank is just plain smart. They're aggressive and put a great plan into place, and it seems to be working!
Great work! If only more banks were this smart, boy what a difference it would make. I'm sure this one will be staging more of their properties now!
Jessica ~ We hope that more banks take this direction ... thanks for stopping by.
Wow, looks great Maureen. No wonder the house sold so quickly after you staged it. I hope more banks consider the advantage that home staging gives to ANY home on the market. Congratulations.
Wow, three years prior to staging? Hope you got a great testimonial Maureen! Way to go!
Lisa ~ The client was the Bank, and they are very happy. We've just staged another one of their outstanding properties and look forward to another good outcome. Thanks for your comment!