Successful Twinsburg Ohio Home Staging & Sale – Fall 2007

Seller’s Goal:

This Twinsburg Ohio home seller wanted to maximize their net proceeds and achieve a quick sale because the seller was quickly moving out of state. The seller wanted their home on the market in 7 days from our initial meeting due to the slower Fall selling season, so time was of the essence.

Problem:

Seller had TONS of furniture, stuff, toys, with lots of disorganization. Shutters and front door were a quirky color. Buyers would have a hard time not feeling claustrophobic.  Buyers could not easily navigate all the spaces and feel comfortable envisioning themselves living in this home with a massive overload of personal belongs.

Olsen Ziegler Solution:

Provide a detailed, same-day, comprehensive staging report (free of charge to the seller) with step-by-step instructions.  Seller rented a movable 16′ storage container in order to remove a large percentage of their belongings and move the storage container off-site. Paint shutters and front door from the quirky pea green color to a deep barn red. Free labor over 6 days provided by the sellers made this home ready to be placed on the market in a mere 7 days from our initial meeting.

Financials:

• Agent Recommended Staged List Price: $205,000
• Agent Recommended Non-Staged List Price: $195,000
• Agent Estimated Non-Staged Sales Price: $190,000
• Seller’s Actual Chosen Actual List Price: $209,000
• Actual Sold Price: $202,000
• Days on the Market: 23
• Total Staging Cost (materials only): $500 and 6-days of free labor the sellers provided (de-cluttering, etc.)

Outcome:

Home staging netted this seller an extra $12,000 for a $500 staging cost investment, or a 2,300% return on investment (ROI) (excluding seller-provided labor).

Seller Kudo:

Please read this seller’s kudo.

Before & After Photos:

Recap:

One of the main goals of staging this Twinsburg, Ohio home is to allow the buyer to envision this home as their own, to not allow the buyer to be distracted by unimportant elements in the home. To evoke a feeling of warmth, openness, calmness, peacefulness, a splash of color, a tiny bit of whimsy, and consistency from room to room.  Anything that can be done to encourage a buyer to spend more time in a home is a good thing and home staging can play a part, sometimes a big part, in separating one Twinsburg home for sale with another.

Staging this Twinsburg, Ohio home for this seller allowed them to achieve their goals faster and net more money, and in this particular case, a whopping 2,300% Return on Investment (ROI) of their $500 investment.  It still amazes me that even today, years after we successfully staged and sold this home for top dollar as the market was declining, heading into the slow season, and with the sub-prime mortgage meltdown in full bloom, that very few Twinsburg, Ohio homes are staged — at least the one’s I see when I show buyers homes not only in Twinsburg, but through many suburbs around Greater Cleveland Ohio.