Niki Britton: Doing it and doing it well
Every time we stage for Niki, she knocks it out of the park. Here she describes selling a rehabbed stunner in North Houston in just 2 weeks, and a renovated Cottage Grove townhome in only 24 hours!
“I listed the home at 10pm. By 8am the next day we had 13 showing requests and by 9:48am, we had 3 offers: 2 of them were full price offers with no contingencies.”
We ended up going with the full price offer and a 24 day close! I was actually hunting at a high-fence ranch with my husband at the time with zero wifi and little cell reception, but my team helped and made it work!
Background: The home on Kiam was just renovated so we had little to do except to pick the best staging company to come in and showcase the home’s potential value. This home had all new flooring, new lighting, new paint throughout, and new bathroom remodels. Home renovations were under $20k.
Kiam: Before and after (renovation + staging)Price: We were at the top of comps in the area. We were competing with the newer builds and were at a similar price-per-sqft as those new builds. We sold at $207.06 a sqft. I believe it would have sat on the market for over 30 days if it was not staged.I knew this home would sell for the top of the comps as long as we had it staged to show how big the home actually was. The home definitely looked small without furniture. Furniture sold this home.
.jpg)
The worst thing that you can do is over price a home and have it sit on the market for an extended period of time. Having a knowledgeable Realtor on your side helps a lot! Making sure that you hit the market strong with staging in place, marketing is sent out, and pictures looking amazing will make sure you are never too high!
But price isn’t the only thing
Honestly I think the lack of marketing and staging will make a house stay on the market for even longer. I have seen so many great homes stay on the market for over 30 days just because the home isn’t staged well, not staged at all, or there is little to no marketing happening on the listing.Baywood Park: Staged to highlight the gorgeous work done
Baywood Park: Big rooms love furniture too…
Our Baywood home was a special one. It was a rehab that was previously damaged due to a fire from the neighbors home. My investors completely rehabbed the entire home literally from the roof down.This was a huge home and without the staging we wouldn’t have sold as fast as we did. Baywood was under contract in less than 1 week but the buyer’s financing fell through. Just 2 weeks after we got the home back under contract with a cash buyer and closed just 15 days later!
My top 3 keys are:1. Presentation – Without the proper staging, photography and marketing you’ll never sell for top dollar!
2. Communication – Without this the entire sale would fall through. Communication is so important during all stages of a home sale. Including our listing team, photographer, stager, buying and/or selling agent, your client, title agents, contractors, inspectors, appraisers and warranty agents… without constant communication to all parties you’ll never be successful!
3. Trust – This is the most important! If your clients don’t trust you then you have nothing! If other agents don’t trust you then you have nothing!! Trust is the biggest key to a successful sale!
How to Choose a Stager
I mainly look at their prior work and if they are “current” with their styles. I have to trust the stager so that I don’t have to micro-manage.
This is why I love Shelley!! I let her loose and she wins every time!