topic Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company? in Home

Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

JamicaJammer — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:41:29 GMT

Just exploring all possible careers, and around here, nobody even washes their windows or rakes their yard before listing their home for sale. Realtors here are 99% just money takers...even the owner/broker of the largest offices here hold open houses that are so filthy you have to dodge the cobwebs of home that are currently being lived in. And not just the low priced homes, either - all prices ranges look like this.

A few yrs ago there was a staging company here in town but it went bust. So, I'm trying to figure out if it's just too costly, or what.

Homes here sell in about 90 days or less, so perhaps nobody NEEDS that service.

Thoughts? Have you used a stager to sell? How was their fee structured?

TIA.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

151949 — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:47:24 GMT

I think people who are desperate to try and sell a house may fall for this but if a home is decently clean and cared for and properly priced it will sell on it's own.generally when a house does not sell it is because it is OVERPRICED.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

brii — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:52:38 GMT

I've sold 3 homes and never used a staging company.

My thought is if it's clean and clutter free and priced right, it will sell. Staging is a rip off, IMO.

We have looked at a lot of homes. And I cannot believe how people live. It's frightening sometimes. These were not inexpensive homes either.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

Jaspersmom — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:53:06 GMT

It would seem to me if houses sell within 90 days in spite of their condition, there is no need for staging. Usually staging is done so houses will sell quickly. Ninety days seems pretty fast. In my area, there are houses that have been on the market for over a year or more and with very small reductions in prices. You could always volunteer to stage a house. If it sells faster than expected, then the owners could spread the word about your services and you could set a fee. Sometimes just a good cleaning service and an organizer can help stage the house to make it presentable. If you do consider doing staging, just remember it's about de-cluttering and creating balance in a room.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

Sooner — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 17:03:12 GMT

If your furniture and decor are out of date and you have too much in the house, staging I think would pay off big time. Some fresh paint and nicer furniture (and often LESS) makes a world of difference. I know sometimes I've gone in a house that is nice, but I can't get past the clutter and the furniture.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

Bestdressed — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 17:12:23 GMT

We cleared out all the clutter, took out all the small knick knacks, family pics and have a just a few larger decorations. I had nothing on the counter top except my decorative polish pottery canister set and coffee pot. We even took out a few pieces of furniture to make the rooms look larger. We cleaned the windows, took out the screens to make the house seem brighter. (all realtor suggestions.) Every time we had an appt I would go through house dust and vacuum.

I think if the house is neat, and not look cluttered it will sell. I pretend I am going to look at the house and change what would turn me off.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

KathyPet — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 17:58:21 GMT

I used a very experienced realtor the last time we sold. She made some very good suggestions on how to present the house to best advantage which I followed. I had to store some furniture pieces, remove wallpaper and repainting two rooms in a neutral color (my daughter's bright purple bedroom did not pass muster) . House sold much quicker than the average time on market.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

scotnovel — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 18:21:29 GMT

I would never pay for a staging company. If you have any common sense at all, clean, declutter (inside and out), neutralize the colors in your house, and follow the suggestions of your realtor you do not need a third party to stage your house.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

Mominohio — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 20:05:13 GMT

I would never use a staging company, as we are pretty much do it yourselfers, but the world is full of people who hire everything done. We never pay anyone to mow, landscape, clean house, wash or detail a car, interior decorate, babysit, etc. but those are all big businesses everywhere now. Many people are paying for these services and more every day.

I think if this interests you, try to hook up with a good Realtor that you know and do a couple of places for them for a very low fee. See if there might be a market. I'd try to start through a realtor rather than marketing yourself to the sellers right away, as the realtor will be able to put you directly in touch with clients who need the service.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

Debbie1426 — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 20:18:48 GMT

One of my friends used a staging company and got 18% (net of staging fees) over the highest bid from only 2 months earlier! Her home was absolutely lovely before but she sent me pictures and OMG, the change was rather dramatic - modern, updated, and sold within 2 weeks of being relisted. She got the recommendation from a realtor so, as mominohio suggests, that would be a great place for you to start. I know in NY they are commonplace and a huge business.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

deeva — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 20:28:52 GMT

We did in 2012 when we sold our last home. Our realtor gave us four hours free with a stager. She had some good ideas. She told us that we had removed too much furniture from our home. We got a contract in 27 days. We've sold three other homes without a stager. Never had a home on the market longer than 7 weeks.

I've viewed a lot of homes in the past four years and I was appalled at how some people live. We had appointments to see all of the homes and some home owners don't even clean their kitchens. One home reeked of curry and garlic. Another had grease all over the stove. I've encountered homes with wall to wall mauve carpet and at least a dozen area rugs on top of the carpet.

Another eyesore is filthy front doors, leaves and other debris not removed from the front entrance, peeling paint or damaged screens.

Common sense isn't so common when people think their unkept home deserves top dollar.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

Puppy Lips — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 20:32:58 GMT

Well I have a nightmare story about "staging". Our house was for sale in 2007, a tough year for the real estate market. Our Realtor hooked up with a company that was "training" people how to stage. So they used our home as a practice, so we did not pay for the service.

We had to leave our home for several hours and let 6 or 8 or so women loose in my house. They moved a bunch of stuff to the garage, which was fine and then rearranged the furniture. All that was fine, but they did so many stupid things.

Someone threw some items in one of our plastic storage bins and used permanent marker to mark the box. Someone broke a decorative plate that was my grandmother's. Someone cut branches and leaves from our backyard trees and used that sticky stuff to stick it to our walls. Not only did the fresh "greenery" die in a few days, the sticky stuff took the paint off the walls, making another problem for me. Someone took my husband's old album covers and stuck them to our basement walls. I could go on, but you get the idea. When we got home, all the women were standing in our foyer staring at me, waiting for my reaction. I couldn't wait for them all to leave. Then later I was looking for some very important papers that I had on my nightstand. I was freaking out because I could not find them. The Realtor had to come over to help me, and we found them in the garage.

Yes the house did sell. But it made the whole situation that much more stressful. If I ever used a stager again (and I doubt I will), I will stay home with them.

I know this does not answer your question OP, but after all these years, that bad experience is still so fresh in my mind.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

Sooner — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 12:55:28 GMT

On 3/17/2014 Puppy Lips said:
Well I have a nightmare story about "staging". Our house was for sale in 2007, a tough year for the real estate market. Our Realtor hooked up with a company that was "training" people how to stage. So they used our home as a practice, so we did not pay for the service.

We had to leave our home for several hours and let 6 or 8 or so women loose in my house. They moved a bunch of stuff to the garage, which was fine and then rearranged the furniture. All that was fine, but they did so many stupid things.

Someone threw some items in one of our plastic storage bins and used permanent marker to mark the box. Someone broke a decorative plate that was my grandmother's. Someone cut branches and leaves from our backyard trees and used that sticky stuff to stick it to our walls. Not only did the fresh "greenery" die in a few days, the sticky stuff took the paint off the walls, making another problem for me. Someone took my husband's old album covers and stuck them to our basement walls. I could go on, but you get the idea. When we got home, all the women were standing in our foyer staring at me, waiting for my reaction. I couldn't wait for them all to leave. Then later I was looking for some very important papers that I had on my nightstand. I was freaking out because I could not find them. The Realtor had to come over to help me, and we found them in the garage.

Yes the house did sell. But it made the whole situation that much more stressful. If I ever used a stager again (and I doubt I will), I will stay home with them.

I know this does not answer your question OP, but after all these years, that bad experience is still so fresh in my mind.

I don't let people loose in the house. The only one is the plumber who is a good friend.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

VaBelle35 — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 13:20:21 GMT

My sister's realtor had a stager that she used, basically an interior designer specialist. It wasn't necessary to bring in furniture and fixtures like they do on the show Flip or Flop on HGTV, but they did rent a storage box for the driveway and everything and anything went in there as they culled the place down and re-staged her furniture and knick knacks for optimum flow and space and color.

He did little things like remove the faux panels out between her windows to make them look bigger (we didn't even know those were faux panels and could be removed), wall paint color suggestion, replacing a few old fixtures, cleaning up little things that you don't notice living there but you do notice when the place is empty and freshly painted.

It didn't cost her anything, he was paid by the realtor out of her cut, but it was very beneficial in terms of the number of offers they received in one open house day.

I think that just having a fresh pair of eyes on your house looking at it objectively and without emotional attachment is a big help.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

151949 — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 13:59:22 GMT

the only 'staging"" we did was paint - and I think most people do that before they put the house on the market. We painted the entire house a pretty neutral ivory.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

colliemom4 — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 14:57:06 GMT

My neighbor had a house staged just to rent it out. I found that odd but it did look great.

Re: Anyone Here Use a Home Staging Company?

millieshops — Tue, 18 Mar 2014 15:33:14 GMT

Two things matter most to sellers: how long will it take to sell and what will I get for my house in today's market?

You already told us lots of houses in your area sell within 90 days. That's excellent in many markets, so staging probably wouldn't make a whole lot of difference.

You don't tell us what percentage of their listing price the owners are getting. Find that out. If they're getting anywhere within 90% or more of their price, then staging might just cost too much to be worthwhile.