Tess Dwyer (left), with Charlotte Severinsen, Sonia Park and Ebony Williams, have found a niche for their skills helping to market homes for sale in Whanganui. Photo / Bevan Conley
Tess Dwyer (left), with Charlotte Severinsen, Sonia Park and Ebony Williams, have found a niche for their skills helping to market homes for sale in Whanganui. Photo / Bevan Conley
A group of young Whanganui women are proving the old adage about asking a busy person to get things done is true.
They are known as Upstaged Home Staging and they have prepared almost 100 Whanganui homes for sale during the past two years.
The team are all mothers wholike to work during school hours and they are a multi-talented bunch.
"We are fit and strong because we do this all the time," founder Tess Dwyer said.
"We do everything from moving fridges up and down steep sections to placing a vase of flowers in just the right place."
Home staging is the preparation of a private residence for sale and the goal is to attract a high number of potential buyers and get the best price for the vendor.
Dwyer said even in a fast-paced Whanganui property market, some houses can take a while to sell.
"Even when houses are selling fast there are some that sit on the market and staging helps to attract the right buyer.
"Sometimes it takes a few small touches to present a home in its best light or we might need to paint walls or lift the carpet."
Ebony Williams (left), Charlotte Severinsen, Tess Dwyer and Sonia Park have built a successful home staging business in Whanganui.
Photo / Bevan Conley
Dwyer started the business two years ago after selling her own home with Ritesh Verma of Property Brokers.
"Ritesh complimented me on how well I presented my home and that planted the seed because I wanted to do something that fitted with school hours.
"I had been living in Melbourne where home staging is very popular and I was inspired to try it in Whanganui. I pitched my idea to Ritesh and he advised me to take a month to come up with a plan."
Verma said he was impressed by Dwyer's can-do attitude and savvy in spotting an opportunity.
"No-one else was doing staging in Whanganui so she was very smart to see that gap.
"It took a bit of convincing for vendors at first but it is about spending money to make money and it really works.
"When buyers look at an empty home it is hard for them to visualise how their furniture will fit into a space so having a sofa or bed nicely placed and presented makes it far more attractive."
One vendor who recently hired Upstaged when selling her home said they went above and beyond to reduce her stress levels.
"They totally saved my butt, taking loads to the op shop and more loads to my storage locker so we could be ready in time for the photographs.
"Tess was the one taking my 7am desperate phone calls and letting me know it was all going to be all right."
Dwyer said the business has a storage facility where they keep a range of furnishings and decor to suit most homes and she will purchase specific items to add special touches to suit particular properties.
She has become adept at assembling flat-pack furniture and is always on the lookout for items that can add special points of interest, such as an antique wooden ladder used as a towel rail.
"The house was a beautifully restored older home with polished wooden floors and a new bathroom so the old timber provided continuity with the rest of the house.
"I'm always on the lookout for things that will suit a particular home."
As the business has grown, Dwyer has recruited a talented team from her network of mothers and they have developed an efficient roster that fits in well with the needs of their children.
They are now looking forward to celebrating their 100th Whanganui home staged.
