Episode 18: Using a Stager Part 2. Interview with Victoria Lindstrum, the number one Stager in Our Area

Scott Williams: Sweet Home Santa Barbara, where the skies are so blue. Sweet Home Santa Barbara, what’s worked for me, can work for you.

Jonathan Robinson: Welcome back friends to Sweet Home Santa Barbara. I’m your co-host, Jonathan Robinson. And with my friend and co-host and realtor…

Scott: Scott Williams. Jonathan, we’re back again with Victoria Lindstrom, our favorite stager in Santa Barbara. So, this is conversation number 2 with Victoria. Welcome, Victoria.

Victoria Lindstrom: Hi everyone.

Jonathan: We found a lot of your question’s really to the point and very interesting and helpful. You change my ideas about staging. So, thank you for that.

Victoria: Of course.

Jonathan: When you go through a house, what goes through your mind as you do your – what are you kind of looking at?

Victoria: Well, one of the main things that we look at, from a stager’s point of view, is how the person’s going to walk through the house. As you know, when you sell a house, Scott, it’s not just you and your client, usually there might be a couple more people. We want to make sure that the traffic can hold all these people, so they can see each room. We want to make a room look big, light, bright, airy, and comfortable, and one that someone would want to live in. But we got to get the flow of traffic through every room as much as possible.

Scott: Yeah, that makes sense to me, too. I think of it as sort of like a track of, how does people run on as they go through the house and getting that looking good. Is that what you think?

Victoria: Yeah, and we talked about this all the time, you, and I, when we walk through a house. And we’ve even discussed, “Okay, what room are you going to start in? Oh, let’s go through the front door and pretend I’m a buyer. What do we need to do to help sell this home?” So, I know you and I will walk through a home together and say, “I’m going to show them this room. I’m going to show them this room. This is the track we’re taking.” Okay, so the flow of traffic needs to go this way. We need to make sure this hallway is empty in these spots. Or we need to make sure that that corner’s build because that’s going to draw their eye to a certain area, to show a good feature in the home. So yeah, I think it’s really important.

Scott: Yeah, for sure. You know, this is sort of like, what’s going through your mind, but what do you think you would say was the top 4 or 5 things that you would tell anybody about staging a home?

Victoria: Paint. As you know, you want to make sure that your house looks freshly painted. You want to make sure that your yard is clean because it’s the first thing they see. Front door is painted, and there aren’t any nicks or anything that would turn a client away because while you’re getting the key, they’re looking around already, right? So, you want to make sure that this is impressive to them from the get-go. Then, from there, you want to make it light, airy, and just so comfortable and welcoming that they just want to live there.

Jonathan: I’m surprised that you mentioned so many things about the outside. So, you do consult or give them tips about that, do you ever have them put plants in certain places or any of that type of stuff?

Victoria: I don’t provide those things, but I do recommend those things. Bark is really clean and simple to do, and an inexpensive way to clean things up, as well. So, bark, paint, staging, cleaning, power washing. A lot of times homes need to be power washed, windows washed. You want to put your best foot forward, and a lot of these little things can make all the difference in the world in selling a home.

Scott: You ever have to deal with smells, pets?

Victoria: Absolutely, yes. Well, cleaning helps a lot of times. If you got a smoker in the house, you have to put kills on the walls. You will have to paint. You’ll have to scrub, paint to get the smoke out of the room. Carpeting, sometimes has spoken it, correct? So, you might have to recarpet. Smells are a big deal. A lot of times you can use diffusers, or I know this sounds silly, but sometimes just putting one of those toilet cleaners to have in the toilet can make a huge difference. All those can help, or even putting a bar of soap in a drawer can help. Those are little things that can help with the smell of a home and make it more refreshing.

Jonathan: It’s quite a science. I would imagine that you have to deal with a certain amount of psychology of the people who you’re helping, in terms of, you’re bringing in furniture, you’re moving things around. Do people resist this process, and if they do, how do you deal with that?

Victoria: 100%, it’s probably the hardest part for me. And a lot of times I, 100%, always let the agent know because they need to know as well. Even if I have a little glitch, I always let the agent know, because a lot of times, the agents were really good about calming them down as well. They know him better than I do, I barely know the owner. So, a lot of times, I’m just trying to make them happier. Let’s say I’m doing – you know how I said I consult sometimes; I can see when someone’s eyes are glazing over. And then I tend to stop saying what I need to say, because they aren’t listening anymore, anyways. I try and get the biggest things out first, and get the smallest things out second, because there is a point when a lot of times the people’s eyes glaze over and that’s enough for them. In that case, you know there’s a line you can’t cross. So, we try to be very careful of that.

Jonathan: Yeah, yeah. We imagine it might be an ongoing part that you have to reassure them that they’re doing this for a good reason. And it can be stressful, I would imagine.

Victoria: Yeah, and I try to tell people too, and they don’t always listen. But it is in my contract, don’t come in until the process is over because if you get in and halfway through, you’re not going to get what we’re doing. You’re going to go, “What are you doing? Or I don’t like this, I don’t like that.” Well, maybe I don’t like it yet either. So, there’s a process to it. It’s best to wait until the very end, to see what we’re doing, to get a better feel. So, you bring in a table that is a little dirty, but we’ll clean it, and we’ll make sure it looks good in the end. But if you see it, when it’s not like that’s, you’re like, “What are you doing?” You know, it can be emotionally hard for people, but we do our best to make it better for them.

Jonathan: Does the realtor hire you? Or does the homeowner hire you? How does that work? How much are you in contact with Scott, and do other realtors work the same way?

Victoria: I generally like working with the realtor more than the owner, for this reason. I like dealing with the realtors because I know them better, and really, we’re a marketing tool, right? We are part of a marketing, and that’s their job. That’s one of the main jobs of realtors, is to market the product. And to me, a house is a product as well as a realtor is a product, whereas the owner, it’s their home. So, I really liked working with the agent best. The owner pays for it, but I mostly work with the realtor. If that makes sense.

Scott: I’ve got a question about the expensive houses. Will the house be too expensive to stage or is it…?

Victoria: No, I did a home that was $40 million, that was on the market for $40 million. And I’d worked with these buyers’ numerous times, and we staged their home. It worked out great, and I’ve worked with him numerous times since, so. People in that category, understand it a little better and understand why they need to do it.

Jonathan: Yeah. You’ve given us a lot of great information. Is there anything that we should be asking that we’ve missed that people might want to know?

Victoria: Well, I think people think, “Oh, staging is only for the more expensive homes.” But as I told you my mobile home story, I don’t always agree with that. I think that the lower end actually prospers more from it, than the upper end. I think people can see through the more expensive homes, whereas the less expensive homes had a lot of flaws. They might be dirty; they might have a funky floor plan. They might have a hole in the wall and, of course, that all needs to be disclosed. But I think people then can visually see themselves in this home in the future. I think that’s more helpful than anything.

Jonathan: Yeah, that makes sense. So, you convinced me that this is a good idea, and I know you like working with Scott. How can people get a hold of you, Scott, and how can people get a hold of Victoria?

Scott: Well, the best way to get a hold of me is through the email, scott@scottwilliams.com. And Victoria Lindstrom is the owner of Dramatic Choices, which is the name of her company here in Santa Barbara, and you can reach her there.

Jonathan: I learned a lot of good stuff, and I’m convinced. I hope our listeners got a bunch of value from it too. So, thanks for joining us, Victoria, on 2 episodes, and schooling us in the smart ways to stage your home. And for our listeners, we look forward to hearing from you again. Feel free to email Scott or Victoria if you have any questions. Thanks for listening to Sweet Home Santa Barbara.

Victoria: Thanks for having me. Have a great day.

Scott Williams: Thank you for listening. Please subscribe to our podcast on your favorite app. If you know someone preparing to sell their home, please tell them about the podcast. Visit scottwilliams.com to contact me and download the 2 free E-booklets. “Is My House Saleable Now?” And “How Not To Buy A Money Pit?” Thank you for listening.