Staging a home to help sell....

**cptacek** · 01-15-2008, 09:15 PM

I didn't really "stage" mine. I spent about $7000 on fixing up the house (paint, new vinyl tile floors, fixed the bathroom from some water damage, new light fixtures, new carpet...and had a LOT of help from family and friends to make it come out that cheap), and boxed up anything that looked like clutter and put it in the garage. The same house (same layout, same square footage) down the street couldn't even sell for $25,000 less than what they paid me for mine after mine was on the market for only 2 weeks.

I know she already moved, but could she spare SOME furniture to put back in the house and do it herself? Don't stuff it to the gills, but just make it look clean and neat and like someone could just move in? A few dishes in the cabinets, a small table with a few chairs in the kitchen, a few chairs/couch with a lamp, etc in the living room, a set up / made bed in the bedroom? If she just moved across town (and not out of the state) maybe that would work if she has some nice elements.

**cschin4** · 01-16-2008, 09:20 AM

If she has already moved out, I would suggest that she just go back to the home, get the bleach and clean everything. Then, buy several gallons of white and beige paint and paint all the trim and the walls if necessary. A little clean, bright paint makes a world of difference. It will be much cheaper than $1500. If that doesn't work, then consider the stager.

**jIM_Ohio** · 01-16-2008, 09:24 AM

I put in new carpet and new tile in one bathroom prior to selling. Cost me close to $500 to sell a $189k condo.

**LuxLiving** · 01-16-2008, 10:07 AM

ehhh, I've dressed FIL's house myself w/just a few things from my home. In each room a chair and side table. A large art piece on just one the walls in each room, a VERY FEW nicknacks, etc. I did move a small dining table back in there along w/four chairs and put a holder w/ink pens by the phone...just enough room for folks to sit down w/their realtor to write a nice offer and have the ink to do it with!

His home is a three bedroom - so I did one room feminine, one masculine and the in the third I put a gumball machine and a dart board on the wall to simulate a kids room in the buyers minds.

Our dressing it ourselves didn't cost me any more than my time, energy and the gas to drive the things we already had over there.

If she's still local, I'd suggest she do it herself and save herself the money.

**Landwatch** · 01-17-2008, 09:14 PM

Though staging is a nice way to present your house before the buyers, still a good house can very much do without it. Mostly the buyers would want to see the house empty as it will give them a fair idea about the accommodation space of the house. However, using the same may cost a less amount of money to get the house fixed and will certainly boost your sale.

**cptacek** · 01-17-2008, 10:10 PM

Maybe most buyers want it empty, maybe not. But I think the important thing you need to do when marketing your house is to make them think, "Wow, this looks nice. I could just move in." I mean, how many times on those shows on HGTV do the prospective buyers sit on the nice recliner and say how comfortable it is, or make comments on how messy the pantry is? They aren't getting the nice recliner, and the pantry will be cleaned out before they move in, but they still comment on it. Presentation is important.

**mom-from-missouri** · 01-17-2008, 10:13 PM

Originally posted by herm4 View Post

Has anyone ever staged their home ( put in nice furniture and decor just to make the house look nice) to help sell it? My friend is going to try it. She has moved out of her home already and it is empty so she talked to a lady who does "staging". She is going to charge her $1,500! Just wondering if that is a fair price for the service?

Are you for real? She is paying for this???

The last house I sold a local furniture company PAID ME to put their furniture in it and brochures with it and a thing with their business cards. They PAID ME $250 a month. They offered me a pay outright deal (which is what I took) or, if any sales came from the staging that people saw at my house a commission.

Everyone who came thru the house saw their furniture and their name.

I really didn't know people paid for this!

**Russ G** · 01-18-2008, 01:11 AM

Personally, I'd prefer to see a house empty if I was buying - When I've bought a house I'm always visualising how my furniture would look in each room and it's easier to get an idea of the size when it's empty.

When I've sold I've always freshened up with new paint as suggested above and made sure the coffee pot is on!

**cschin4** · 01-18-2008, 04:40 AM

I always thought it was much easier to look at an empty home as well. However, my realtor thought people really liked to see furniture because it gave them a better idea of how their furniture would fit into the house and gave it a homey feel. I always found looking at homes with stuff in them to be very distracting as you just tend to look at the owner's taste and decor.

**herm4** · 01-18-2008, 08:01 AM

Well the house is empy right now and is not selling. Has been on the market for 9 months. Nothing sells fast around here. ( Omaha) We have a over stock of NEW homes so anyone trying to sell a house that is not brand new as a huge didadvantage. Anyway....my friend has decided NOT to pay the lady to stage her home. Just too expensive!

**chumlyb** · 01-19-2008, 06:17 PM

$1500 seems very reasonable to me. I'm a real estate agent in Massachusetts and staging has become much more common in our area. It's a great idea - people definitely react better (and often they may not *think* they're affected but they are) to a nicely decorated place and it is almost always more difficult to sell an empty property.

Though the bill can be hard to swallow it's really worth it and if you're paying much less you won't be getting much - no matter where you are. It costs a lot of money to do well - there's time in planning the design, there are large costs associated with amassing all that you need to do this right, there's time and transportation costs for the move-in and move-out, time to put it in place (the women I work with often end up in the property until 3 and 4 in the morning because it ends up taking so much time - and we never give them enough time!), storage costs for what the stager owns, rental costs for what's rented, etc. Sellers often spend $3500 to $5000 and more in this area and then pay $500 to $1000 for the montly rentals (and that's when the stager owns the stuff - it could be more from a furniture rental place. The stager needs to be compensated for her things being tied up for however long it takes.) In every case it's been worth it. If you think of how much you may have to reduce your price in order to get your house sold the cost of staging begins to seem like a bargain.

I've never had a seller who can work the magic that a stager can. Even if the seller thinks he or she can do it there is no comparison. Stagers that we use are enormously talented - they're interior designers by profession or avocation. I have a nicely decorated house and I see the work that stagers do all the time so I pick up some tricks but I don't begin to think I can do what they do.

Good luck to your friend - she's on the right track.

**Seeker** · 01-19-2008, 07:55 PM

Originally posted by chumlyb View Post

I'm a real estate agent in Massachusetts and staging has become much more common in our area. It's a great idea - people definitely react better (and often they may not *think* they're affected but they are) to a nicely decorated place and it is almost always more difficult to sell an empty property.=

Actually I disagree.

I would much rather see freshly painted walls, clean carpet, etc. without all the distractions. I'd much rather know that there's not going to be damage (dings to the walls, scratches, etc) when all the stuff is moved out; or maybe hidden damage already behind some of those furnishings.

For some strange reason, I feel rather uncomfortable coming into a home that someone else lives in and even knowing that they want to sell their place... I just feel like an intruder. I feel more comfortable in a completely empty place.

Maybe "staging" is different.

When I was home-hunting I choose to make an offer on an empty place. It was just me and a realtor; no friends, no distractions.

I remember the realtor making comments like "though this is empty, can you visualize your furniture here?" and yes, I had a much greater perspective of distances and sizes and possibilities without all the distractions that furnishings or decorations produce in me.

Maybe I'm just different.

**PrincessPerky** · 01-20-2008, 06:02 AM

Ditto seeker, when we were hunting we came across several lived in...I always felt my decorating skills would never do the place justice...considering I don't buy anything to decorate only hand me downs, they couldn't...

**Aleta** · 01-20-2008, 05:10 PM

I personally like the idea of staging. These people are professionals and can be neutral and can see the flaws that buyers will see and not cause the house to sell. Alot of times our houses could be too feminine and would turn off potential male buyers. They attempt to decorate the house for male and female. They also work on your landscaping if it needs it. If it helps to sell your house, why not? Some people spend an unbelievable amount on getting the house ready before selling it anyway. It depends how long the house has been on the market and how fast you need it to sell.

Staging a home to help sell....