Occupied Listing Pre-Market Analysis Story for Drip Campaign
The full Occupied Consultation Story
I want to share a recent experience with you. Recently, I had one of the worst consultations of my career. A Realtor called me about a special listing. It was a beautifully designed, substantial, custom built waterfront, but a dated ‘90’s house, that has not been updated, and client was expecting to be listed for $3 million, or top dollar. She wanted to schedule a Pre-market Analysis appointment to view her newly signed listing. As I went through my series of typical questions I ask to get to know the property, before I agree to schedule a Pre-Market Analysis consultation, her answers lead us to more questions and discussion. The very best way I can serve my clients, is by understanding the the condition of the property, limitations and objections, difficulties they expect, and if there are unusual circumstances surrounding the sale. After all, I’m here to service my clients by solving the problems. All houses have issues, I don’t care if it’s a $500,000 townhome or $5,000,000, 6000 square foot intracoastal single family house, every house has its own set of nuances or circumstances that buyers won’t overlook. The more we discussed this property and the homeowner, the more I knew I could help my Realtor client with her seller, a recent widow and mother, currently occupying the property. I was told that the property didn’t show well, although there are nice and neutral furnishings, and the client was reluctant to the idea of home staging, and that a few rooms were off limits to showing, which is never a good sign. I knew that this would be a challenging consultation.
we meet.
I met the Realtor at the house driveway, and we entered together to meet the seller. I could tell within the first two minutes that the seller was not interested in having me there, but she had agreed to it, as the Realtor said to trust her, she was bringing in, a seasoned professional. We said our cordial hellos, and I immediately told her what an incredible home she had. I took a quick look around the grand entrance, stepped down to the living room and the dining space which led to a family room and kitchen. It was spotless, and neutral, well maintained and painted a lovely light warm white shade. The view out to water was spectacular. I asked if we could sit down so we could talk, as I start to explain to her that I’m a seasoned Designer, and trained, and certified as a Luxury Home Stager, about how we work, and how home staging can maximize the listings potential. I told her that everything I ask her, she should not take personally, as it is not a judgment on her or her lifestyle, and that how we all live comfortably at home, in our own way in our space, and that I wouldn’t question or judge about her specific choices, but that I was there to give her my highest and best recommendations from an expert stager perspective, and as I analyze from my trained professional perspective, how to get top dollar for her listing. I’m looking at this with a fresh set of eyes, like a potential buyer, unbiased and yet trained to get the best results. This translates to photos, having the best professional photos as possible, as buyers start their hunt with MLS listing photos. I started by showing her some of my portfolio and why we do what do, how we work with occupied listings, so she could see the impact of before and after photos. She was not so interested in seeing this, and immediately said that she would not be replacing any of her special antiques, heirlooms, or art. I explained that we wouldn’t remove any or all of that, and that we can work with what she has. When we talked about who would be buying the house, that ideal buyer was quite different from her at this stage, and would be interested in living differently..
preparing to let go
As we spoke further, within moments of asking some of the typical questions, the seller was getting uneasy, and uncomfortable even having to answer me. She hadn’t thought about what came next. Where would she go? What would she do? Where would her adult daughter, who had moved back in temporarily be moving to? Her daughter was going through a difficult period, and had become a hoarder, and her room was covered with goods. She didn’t want anyone to see the mess. I could see she didn’t have a plan, and her fear started to show. We both reassured her that she had time to formulate, and we were going to assist in the process. I explained she can take the best of my advice, and implement it at different levels, either a little or a lot, it was all entirely up to her. You could see her tension was mounting, and she was unhappy. The Realtor said we could end this at any time, but that we were just trying to get her to see the potential of how preparing the home for sale could make a great difference in how long the home may take to sell, and at what price. Based on her body language, and reluctance, I thought she was about to kick me out of the house! I offered I could return at a better time, if need be. We both reassured her further, it’s her house, her decision, and said she could end this at any time, if it were overwhelming. I told her that I would like to start the walkthrough, maybe just a little downstairs, and that I won’t take up too much time, just to give her an idea of our capabilities and how we can help, and if she were willing to listen, I will explain my thought behind my analysis, (meaning from curbside through every room or item I ask her to address).
As we went throughout the sprawling house, room after room, with seven bedrooms, little by little, I viewed decades worth of collectibles, multiple offices, clutter, personal items, worn out furnishings, poorly placed furniture, and under or over scaled items. It was a lifetime of a couple, well lived in, so you can understand one’s heavy emotions viewing a life gone by, where this woman had lost her husband. As trained in the psychology of a home, meaning that of a family who called this space home, we know there are people who live, or are born, or die within these doors. Children are raised, sometimes grandchildren too. Many milestones happen here.
We all know that occupied listings need depersonalizing and decluttering but staging just begins there. As we walked and talked, she began to listen and understand me more, as I explained the why’s, concerns and issues, why items worked, what didn’t need to be there, what needed to be removed, and what needed to be changed out. I asked her after a few rooms, if it was ok, to continue throughout the property. She listened more, engaged me more, shared more, and asked me some other questions; and as she let her guard down, you could see, she decided, that I was a knowledgeable and caring professional with many decades of experience. I knew I was winning her over with my sincere intention. I was there to help her through this journey of preparing, and letting go of it, as her home of many decades becomes a commodity in the marketplace, competing against the neighborhood comps and options for sale. I kept reassuring her, explaining the importance of why behind all my directions, and how she could make the most money on her biggest investment, her home, by following my advice. I could see, she was starting to trust me. We made it through the entire home! By the end, I even had totally relaxed and laughing, and understanding the process. Over two hours later, I left confident knowing that I turned this reluctant non-believer into an enlightened home seller, who was ready to let go of the attachment of her place and her stuff, to be able to prepare the property to profit greater, than how it was currently showing, as clean as it was. Now she was prepared to help the Realtor market the house the right way, showcasing the features and benefits of this well loved house to the next buyer who would call it home. She embraced the plan, the home was staged and... it has successfully sold, faster than they predicted.
We deliver the hard message.
It’s very difficult to get through to some clients, and Realtors don’t want to upset their client, for fear that they would loose the listing due to the nature of the hard conversation. That’s one of the main reasons you bring us, Domaine Luxe in. We are your secret weapon, the experts who delivers the hard message. We are a tool in your tool belt, one of the expert vendors on your team of pros. Utilize us to seal the deal. The Realtor has thanked us by saying “Thank you for your insights and professionalism”.
Thanks for listening to my story. We have all been there, right? Know we are here for you and any type of client scenario as we are trained and certified to handle the difficult situations.
Another job well done! Onto the next Pre-market Analysis, to help Realtors and homeowners, Prepare to Profit, to sell faster and for more. Are you next? Call me.