MPB Continued

How do I know who the Most Probable Buyer (MPB) is? And how do I know what they want?

Excellent questions!

If the house is listed, I have a long talk with the agent. If the seller is an House Investor, we have the same talk. Agents and Investors use their knowledge of the MPB to guide many of their marketing and renovation decisions. And they are very motivated to do whatever they can to ensure the staging is going to appeal to that MPB.

Recently, I put a sofa that was not clearly contemporary into a vacant house that clearly is. Before I could bring in the rest of the furnishings, the Investor (bless him, I love working with intelligent, concerned people) called to express concern. I assured him that, although the sofa was transitional, the end result was going to be contemporary. When he understood I was keeping his MPB in mind, the Investor was happy. And when I added contemporary accessories and additional furniture, the sofa "picked up" on the theme and fit right in. I used that sofa to save the Investor money. And, that worked too.

If the seller is not an Investor and is planning to sell FSBO or has not yet selected an agent, then I talk to the seller. Who has recently moved into the neighborhood? Who lives there? Young families with small children? Retirees? Singletons?

We live in a pretty atomized society. Sometimes the seller knows nothing about their neighbors.

What do I do then?

Well, I look at the seller's own furnishings. There is a very good chance they are representative of the MPB. Of course, there is always a risk that the seller loves shabby chic and lives in a warehouse loft conversion. The seller may be representative of nothing but their own individuality.

I attend Open Houses. And I make a lot of notes about each neighborhood and about what I find in each house. I keep those notes and use them as reference before I begin staging.

How do I know what what an MPB expects and needs in a house? Those Open House notes are invaluable. Beyond the notes, I read decorating/design magazines and blogs by the long ton. And, bet you guessed this, as I read I make notes.

Here are some simplified examples:
Neighborhood A is a retirement community. The MPB wants to know where the grandchildren are going to sleep and play when they come to visit. And they want a room where they can craft/read/paint/sew/do their own thing.

Neighborhood B is McMansion all the way. The MPB is a married couple, both are probably employed, with 2.34 children. They want to know where the children are going to sleep/play/do homework. They want to have plenty of space to entertain business contacts, a formal dining room is a must. And they want to know where they are going to find space for personal downtime. They may never use it, but they want to know there is a space they can use as a retreat. A really opulent master bath can really work for them.

Neighborhood C is a warehouse converted open-concept loft homes. The MPB is probably single or married, has no children, do most of their business entertaining at restaurents, and consider the whole loft to be their personal space. Contemporary/modern, sleek, and extremely uncluttered/simplified/spare is going to catch their imaginations. They need a good place to put the laptop(s), they need to see where the huge but flat TV will go.

This discussion will complete tomorrow. Does anyone have requests for the next topic?

I hope you have a great day!