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Old 08-22-2016, 03:18 PM   #1
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Has anyone here used a home staging company (full furnishing)? Care to share your experiences and recommendations?
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Old 08-22-2016, 03:42 PM   #2
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Are you looking to stage for a sale or to rent out your property fully furnished?

Staging is not cheap so it is important to get it right on the first try and make sure you have a clear understanding of what is going in and how it will be set up. Look at previous stages the staging company has done and look closely at the quality of furniture. The quality or at least perceived quality of the furniture will make a huge difference.

If you are going to save some money and only stage part of the house, I would ensure the main floor and master bedroom/ensuite are staged. Additional bedrooms and rec rooms are easy for a buyer to picture without furniture.

Small trinkets play a HUGE factor so do not overlook setting up a ensuite as if someone lives there, kitchen accessories on the countertops and a fully set dining room table!
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Old 08-22-2016, 04:22 PM   #3
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I haven't used a home staging company but I've talked with a couple. As the Realtor mentioned it is not cheap. The price was the reason why I didn't use the home staging companies. This was around 4 years ago so I don't remember the details but my a two bedroom, 900 sqft condo they wanted around $2000 for a flat fee to get the place set up and after that there was a weekly charge ($100-something per week.) It seemed like a big rip off to me.

Again, as Realtor mentioned staging can be critical for showcasing a space to potential buyers. Some buyers have poor spatial awareness and can't visualize the potential of an empty room.
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Old 08-22-2016, 05:31 PM   #4
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On average how much of a difference does staging make (% increase in sale price) compared to homes that aren't staged? Ive seen places so nicely staged that the furniture is actually nicer than the place
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Old 08-23-2016, 10:12 AM   #5
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Considering staging for a sale. I talked to a local builder, and they said as soon as they stage a house it sells right away. In this market, i'm thinking i need to display what the house looks like furnished to get an advantage...but i'm just not sure what that is worth.
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Old 08-23-2016, 01:40 PM   #6
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Every property is different. Your realtor will be able to give you advice on whether or not the cost is worth it. Without a doubt, it will help sell over a place that is not staged however the cost analysis needs to be considered.
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Old 08-25-2016, 10:30 AM   #7
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Here's my anecdotal staging story...

A family member and I owned houses on the same street in the burbs. His house was appraised at about $20K higher due to a finished basement and a corner large lot.

Our realtor includes staging as part of her fee, so we didn't pay for it directly. Our place was furnished, so the stager came in and just told us the best way to set up our furniture and then added a few of her own touches. All in all, it took a few hours of her telling is what to do, 10-12 hours of cleaning and decluttering and maybe $200 of total materials.

My family member didn't want to use a stager and ended up spending about $5000 and 3 weeks to get their house ready for listing.

Our house sold in 5 days and their house sold in 21 days (sales were 30 days apart, so same market). He did end up getting the $20K higher sales price, but he also sunk in way more money and effort.

I was not a big believer in stagers before our experience, but ours really did an amazing job and made our house look way bigger and more modern. I definitely believe it made a difference. Also, she made listing way less work as she gave us a very detailed list of what was a top priority and then little things that didn't really matter.
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Old 08-25-2016, 11:06 AM   #8
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Was the house staged or did you just clean and re arrange furniture with $200 in small touches?

I am curious because you mentioned that the realtor included staging in their fees and I do not see where the room to cover this is unless the raise the fees to essentially cover the staging. Actual staging can easily run 5k for 2 months (I just spent $2800 for a half stage and 1 month).

All in all, I agree with everything you had said. What a homeowner sees in their own home is often much different than a typical buyer with no emotional attachment will see. One of the not so fun parts of being a realtor is having to tell people in a polite way which furnishings need to go. The majority of people respond well however you get a few who take it personal!

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Originally Posted by bagofpucks View Post
Here's my anecdotal staging story...

A family member and I owned houses on the same street in the burbs. His house was appraised at about $20K higher due to a finished basement and a corner large lot.

Our realtor includes staging as part of her fee, so we didn't pay for it directly. Our place was furnished, so the stager came in and just told us the best way to set up our furniture and then added a few of her own touches. All in all, it took a few hours of her telling is what to do, 10-12 hours of cleaning and decluttering and maybe $200 of total materials.

My family member didn't want to use a stager and ended up spending about $5000 and 3 weeks to get their house ready for listing.

Our house sold in 5 days and their house sold in 21 days (sales were 30 days apart, so same market). He did end up getting the $20K higher sales price, but he also sunk in way more money and effort.

I was not a big believer in stagers before our experience, but ours really did an amazing job and made our house look way bigger and more modern. I definitely believe it made a difference. Also, she made listing way less work as she gave us a very detailed list of what was a top priority and then little things that didn't really matter.
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Old 08-25-2016, 12:25 PM   #9
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How common is it for a realtor to include staging in their fee? Assuming they all charge the same fee (or close) wouldn't it make the most sense to go with someone who includes staging?
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Old 08-25-2016, 02:32 PM   #10
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That is what had me curious to bagofpucks post. Everything is negotiable in real estate including commissions. If staging is going to run 3-5k over a couple of months, plus a couple thousand dollars in marketing material, there is no profit to be had selling the average property.

If it means paying my stager for a in home consult and suggestions it makes much more sense.
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Old 08-25-2016, 07:09 PM   #11
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Sorry, yes, just the consult and moving around our furniture, I meant to include that in the original post. One other clarification was the $200 was for paint and cleaning supplies, no furniture.

She did explain the process if we wanted to use her furniture, but she did not believe we needed to since our furniture was fine. For me, the most value we got out of the consult was having a very detailed list of what absolutely needed to be done for pictures and listing and what would not be worth our time.
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Old 08-25-2016, 07:47 PM   #12
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Thank you for the clarification and yes, minor details/suggestions from a professional can make a big difference.

One very minor detail that we just corrected on a new listing for tomorrow is lightbulbs. Having different tone bulbs in the same room is not overly obvious in real life but in photos, it will draw buyers eyes from the real picture.

There have been listings where I go through the home with the seller and point out dozens of small things that can be changed. I was sitting an open house for a seller not long ago and re arranged the furniture in their living room lol (with permission obviously).

Your homes features/offerings & price is less than 75% of the battle in selling. How it shows to potential buyers is extremely overlooked. Anyone who has shopped for houses with me knows I often ask myself out loud why certain things are they way they are.
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Old 08-25-2016, 10:00 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Realtor 1 View Post

Your homes features/offerings & price is less than 75% of the battle in selling. How it shows to potential buyers is extremely overlooked. Anyone who has shopped for houses with me knows I often ask myself out loud why certain things are they way they are.
Was it you who doesn't like when the screws in the light faceplates don't point in the same direction? I can't remember if you told me that or someone else and now every time I look at a light cover it bothers me
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Old 08-25-2016, 10:16 PM   #14
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Quote:
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Was it you who doesn't like when the screws in the light faceplates don't point in the same direction? I can't remember if you told me that or someone else and now every time I look at a light cover it bothers me
I'm like that too. I think all my face plate screws are vertical.
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Old 08-26-2016, 07:30 AM   #15
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Wow there are more of us??
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