Exit Stage Right

Packed/Cleaned

We finished packing the moving pod and the service picked it up to take it to Denver. We are still finalizing the details of move-in, but we’re soooo close. A pod is totally the way to go. There are several brands now and the cost varies greatly, so that’s worth researching for your next move. Our friend S told us it would be easier to pack and while we agreed with her no-ramp logic, we had no idea just how much easier it would be!

After we got the house emptied, the cleaners came. They wanted to be early, of course, and we had to wave them off until the scheduled time. We finished the last bit as they returned right on time.

Staged

Against my (L’s) gut feeling, we had the place staged by a qualified professional. This seemed odd to me in this massively-sellers’ market and for a house going up in As Is condition.

Her work is fine. It’s not my style and some of it is silly confusing:
– Why would there be make up remover pads and q-tips in the powder room*? Are guests going to wash faces and clean their ears between drinks and dinner? We should have traded that set for something innocuous (like a plant) from the owner’s bath.
– For the ugliest floor in the place, she brought a dinky* “fluffy” rug. That’s where a cheap Big Lots rug would have come in handy.
– There was a kitchen thing in the living room*. Again, just trade it.

I don’t mind things being pretty. I even like it. But it has to make *sense.

But it’s fine. It made the place look nicer for the photos.

However, KS of BH Realty gets one star from me. (Message me privately if you are hiring someone, and I’ll confirm it’s not her.)
– She has a contract that is very one-sided. We had to pay her 100%, even if we canceled before she did any of the physical work. There is no way to anticipate problems before it’s too late. This should have been a huge red flag; we should have walked away from this language and the ambiguous “deposit” requirement that wasn’t clear.
– She wanted to start a day early even though she knew we were still packing up and that the cleaners hadn’t yet arrived.
– Communication was also quite weak and she did the opposite of some things we told her and then had to come re-do them. She went to a big effort to remove the rugs we had under the beds; they are there to protect the floor from scratches. In short, she didn’t listen to a thing I said and then just did what she wanted. She came back and fixed most of it after E told her how upset I was.
– She unplugged our router, which we noticed almost immediately. We texted her to plug it back in, so she knew we had “eyes” on the place. And still…
– For some reason, she removed big hooks from the patio. Hooks that had been there since the dawn of time. Hooks that are perfect for gardening tools, fly swatters, beach towels, hats, and other outdoor stuff.
– She threw away stuff that was a) our’s, b) should have been set aside for Goodwill, and c) should have been recycled (Could she not see the giant pile of cardboard in our garage waiting to go out?). She tossed our rugs, curtains, and curtain rods onto the dirty garage floor. Part of what she trashed was the brackets and tie backs for the curtain rods (that all four of us had agreed to leave mounted). So, then, even if we didn’t want the rods and the new owners don’t want them, they aren’t of any use for a donation. I dug several things out of the dumpster and trash can and washed them.
– And then she lied to me. And then we see (from her husband’s truck) that they are GOP. At least their politics match the ineptitude and lies.

In a fit of anger, I told our Realtor, “I could have dipped this house in Pepto Bismol and it would still go for over-asking in this market….Hiring a professional shouldn’t make things more difficult.”

Hiring her was not cheap and put an enormous stress on me. I won’t make that mistake again. If you are going to hire a stager,
– make sure you see the contract well in advance, and insist on a way to back out and only pay for the time spent thus far,
– see a portfolio of their actual work (and not just some Pinterest board of “I can do this for you” stuff),
– get several references, and
– bring up politics to ferret them out as honest or not.

Make them justify the pricing and hours of work. Make sure you like their style of showcasing. Have some early communication so you can see if they even can communicate.

Photographed/Listed

The photographer was on time, went through our Realtor, and did a phenomenal job with the drone and interior shots.

It’s in the MLS, and there is a lot of buzz/interest.

Offered

We had one over-asking offer before it was empty/clean (See? No staging needed.) It went up on Thursday and we’ve already had another generous over-asking offer (but with a few strings). We are expecting two more today. The Open House is tomorrow/Saturday, so that will draw a few more. The “best and final offers” deadline is Monday at 5pm. It’s going to sell for over asking; and it’s going to go quickly.

Now, if the weather would just cooperate, we could have some fun while we wait.

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