The value of staging ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our house was painted (we paid for this) where it hadn’t been painted in a while, we removed all extra furniture, pulled out the ugly ikea furniture to put in a generic sofa, pillows, took down family pictures and put up generic canvas art, removed tchotchkes except for a smattering, and put white fluffy towels where our beige ones had been. We had very nice pictures done including dusk shots of the beautiful outside space that’s really our biggest selling factor (we are in a meh neighborhood). It was very light staging, our realtor did it as part of her fee (FWIW our house was fairly nicely updated in most rooms for the neighborhood), and it sold over asking in the first 48 hours. It was purchased by someone looking online only. So I would say in our case it was worth it. Our house looked amazing in the pictures. It looked nice in person, too. Other homes in our neighborhood have been sitting longer.

It sounds like you did 90% of the work decluttering, getting it painted, and getting fluffy new towels and sofa pillows. Moreover, it's not really "staging" if you don't put all/most of your furniture in storage and bring in the realtor's (or their contractor's) furniture. Most of this--taking down family photos, new towels, painting--is stuff sellers like our parents have been doing forever. Apart from arranging the photos, what exactly did the realtor do?

The realtor gave us the list of items to remove/fix/repair/paint, organized their mover to come and pick up the extra furniture to storage/move in their furniture, picked paint colors, arranged/scheduled the painters, picked the carpet/kitchen flooring (forgot we did this!), arranged the installation of flooring, and provided all of the accessories, art, pillows, towels, area rugs, lamps, and furniture. They also came and arranged those things before pictures were taken. My realtor also hosted two open houses personally.

OK. But most of this isn't "staging," it's simply fixing up your house for sale. All of us do it anyway. It's what our parents did when they sold their houses--they painted, they decluttered, they rented a storage unit for all the stuff. You make the house look as nice as possible--this is different from staging.

I can see hiring the realtor to do these fixing-up and decluttering tasks because it takes a lot of the logistics off of you. But know that you're paying more if you go through a middleman (the realtor) and use their contractors. For example, if the realtor recommends paint colors, that's great, but your own painter will probably do it more cheaply than paying a middleman (your realtor) to call up their own painters (who won't give you the long-term customer discount we always get from the painters we always use). When we sold our starter house, we rented a storage unit and DH and his friends moved our extra furniture in temporarily. Installing new kitchen flooring sounds extra and does requires professionals, but again you don't need to pay a middleman (your realtor) to text their flooring contractor.

Actual "staging" is the part where they move out your furniture and put in beige, white and grey furniture. It sounds like they gave you a few pieces, like a sofa and some throw pillows?

Impressed that your realtor hosted two open houses personally, though. Ours hosted one (makes me wonder about how your realtor priced your house, but that's a different topic), but it sounds like lots of realtors just send a trainee to sit in your house during the open house.

That's not true about the contractors at all. My contractor does an amazing job and gives my clients a very reasonable rate bc I give him lots of business. He is competent and reliable so I always know that the work will be completed in time for professional photographers to come in. And, most of the time, unless your realtor is doing huge business, he/she will be doing the open. If they are not, you probably picked the wrong agent.

So now "staging" also means bringing in the realtor's contractors to paint or whatever fixes you're recommending be done? Do you know how shady this sounds? Also, some of us have long-term relationships with painters and handymen who take care of us for a good price and quickly.

Trying to help your client is shady huh? Did you forget to take your meds today? If you have a relationship with a contractor, great. Use him. Many people dont.

Yes, finding a bunch of things "wrong" with somebody's house and referring them to your own contractor for fixing is shady. Take your own meds (or find an insult that's not from 2010).

Most home owners have contractors. But if they don't, better would be to provide a list of contractors they could choose from.

DP.

I don't think "most" homeowners have their own contractors. We do; however, I believe we're in the minority judging from the number of calls I get from friends and acquaintances wanting to know whom to call. There is no reason for a realtor to provide a range of contractors. If you want to use your own, then you're free to do so.

Your posts on this make you sound unknolwedgeable and, frankly, pretty paranoid. If you won't trust your realtor on contractors, then why on earth are you trusting them with one of the largest transactions you'll ever make? You are not making any sense.

You can call me names like paranoid and unknowledgeable, but I actually have a finance degree. This kind of incestuous self-dealing is ripe for kickbacks and so on, and it's something people are well advised to stay far, far away from.

Yes, I trust my realtor to do the contract. But somebody who wants to sell me services from their stager and contractors, not so much.

LOL. A "finance degree." Thanks for the full-on belly laugh!

Have you ever heard the words "conflict of interest" or "self-dealing"? Someone should shut that sh!t down.

DP. I agree with you that there’s a huge conflict of interest, but not necessarily that the recommended contractors will give or get a kick-back. It’s that agents have misaligned incentives - they don’t care if the seller spends a lot of money they won’t recoup in sales price because it’s not their money. Any increase in sales price benefits the agent. In addition the sellers agent doesn’t care if the seller gets sued for concealed defects. We have a bathroom with a leak that needs to be repaired and the seller’s agent tried to tell me we could just caulk and regrout and replace the water-stained drywall.

This is a major issue that most people don't see, although kickbacks are a very real thing too. The realtor doesn't care if you spend $40K of your own money to net $6K more (at a loss of $36K of your own money). It makes it easier for her to sell your house quickly and get her check.

To answer OP's question, it really depends on the home and the furnishings you already have. The last home we sold off market. Didn't do a thing and still got top dollar. The home before that, we fixed anything missing or broken (finally replaced a cabinet handle, repaired some flashing, etc.) and painted any rooms that were specific colors. We had already moved into the new home so we just left some sofas and stuff for staging. Did that trick of putting large boxes with an air mattress and made the "bed" for kids rooms. Bought some pillows, artwork, and other accessories from HomeGoods. You don't need to fully furnish a home, but yes I think some light staging makes a difference for most homes.

Yep on the money. We had a realtor come in and start listing the repairs/“freshening” she thought we should do - the list kept growing and probably would be upwards of $50k. I’m like - at a certain point I’m just going to sell to a flipper as is and pay zero RE fees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arranging staging is what realtors do to stay relevant in this era of online house listings. I

This 100%

I really find it useless and a side hustle. All buyers who say “well it gives a sense a scale” and I like to see what’s possible have inflated all home prices by $20-30k a year.

First get a tape measure or bring a folded up piece of cardboard the size of the queen mattress (it’s dc - the bedrooms will fit a Queen and the larger rooms will have more space after that).

Does your current couch dictate where you live?

Empty or tidy is my desire as a buyer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My home was stage but I don’t think it looked staged. Main thing was we cleared a lot of stuff out will still looking lived in. We still had clothes in the closets and dishes in the cabinets, just a lot less. We also removed everything from closet floors. Our house look fabulous and I think it helped sell the house.

+1

This isn't staging. This is decluttering.

Realtors have convinced us that "staging" includes decluttering and touching up the paint. But in fact these are very simple things people have probably been doing since our forefathers landed on these shores (and maybe back in the Old Country before that).

Your realtor really has no role to play in decluttering, apart from recommending you do it (as if you didn't already know to declutter) and pointing out that being able to see the floorboards makes a room look larger, and so on. Decluttering doesn't have to cost you anything, unless you rent a storage unit (vs. giving stuff to the Salvation Army or storing it in your parents' basement). There's certainly no reason to pay a realtor 5% to tell you what you already know about the benefits of decluttering, under the misapprehension that this is valuable advice about "staging."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our last house for $715K, the realtor paid for staging (2013). It was my understanding that a certain price point the realtors cover it. I'm not sure what price point that is.

You paid for it through your realtor's fee, which you could possibly have negotiated to be lower.

FWIW - we met with 3 realtors and considered the fees for all of them when deciding which one to pick.

Did all three offer to stage? If one or two weren't going to stage, did they have lower fees?

Almost all agents charge 5% nowadays. The ones that charge 4% do the bare minimum. I'm not going cheap on selling my house.

Lots of agents who charge 5% do the bare minimum too. That was our experience selling a parent's place.

Unless your place is a real pit in a horrible school district, it will probably sell itself in this market. Why throw thousands of dollars away on your feelings and a persuasive realtor.

It truly sounds like you've had some dud realtors while the rest of us have done our research and found people that will do work for the same amount of money. Next time, do a little more work in selecting an agent that meets your needs. We made sure to ask what was included in each realtor's service - the vast majority of them said they would coordinate contractors or give us a lockbox so we could do that coordination ourselves, many of them included a house cleaning, and some also included staging and yard work. We wanted the most bang for our buck, so we went with the ones that (a) we knew were familiar in the area and (b) offered the most services. Very happy with our choice. We *did not* go with the lady who was like "I sell all the houses in your neighborhood" because while she did sell the most houses in our neighborhood, we knew her service was all about selling quickly which included pricing low (and she didn't offer free staging).

Never change, DCUM.

A whole thread about why you shouldn't pay your agent to coordinate contractors, housecleaning, yard work, painting or ANYTHING else. And other threads about how 5% commission isn't worth it, and maybe not 4% either.

And here's either a realtor (most likely) or somebody who really needs their hand held, blaming somebody else for not sucking it up and paying 5%.

PS. You're talking to more than one person. There are more than one of us who have had bad experiences or just understand the economics of going with the realtors' lender or contractors, also the kickbacks.

Why on earth should I care if my realtor gets kickbacks from people whose services she paid for? She paid for staging, landscaping, cleaning - I don't care who she used as long as it looks good and I don't have to pay for it.

We used our own lender and contractors, so no kickbacks there.

Keep going, though, feel free.

DP. Ffs! Your realtor did not pay for those things. YOU paid for them, through her fee. This is basic economics.

OH MY GOD, SHUT UP. All the agents I talked to charged a 5% commission. Some included services that others didn't. That's all I'm trying to say. You're being a total b**ch about the words I'm using or you just don't get it. But seriously, go use Redfin and shut up about how much you hate realtors, blah blah blah.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our last house for $715K, the realtor paid for staging (2013). It was my understanding that a certain price point the realtors cover it. I'm not sure what price point that is.

You paid for it through your realtor's fee, which you could possibly have negotiated to be lower.

FWIW - we met with 3 realtors and considered the fees for all of them when deciding which one to pick.

Did all three offer to stage? If one or two weren't going to stage, did they have lower fees?

Almost all agents charge 5% nowadays. The ones that charge 4% do the bare minimum. I'm not going cheap on selling my house.

Lots of agents who charge 5% do the bare minimum too. That was our experience selling a parent's place.

Unless your place is a real pit in a horrible school district, it will probably sell itself in this market. Why throw thousands of dollars away on your feelings and a persuasive realtor.

It truly sounds like you've had some dud realtors while the rest of us have done our research and found people that will do work for the same amount of money. Next time, do a little more work in selecting an agent that meets your needs. We made sure to ask what was included in each realtor's service - the vast majority of them said they would coordinate contractors or give us a lockbox so we could do that coordination ourselves, many of them included a house cleaning, and some also included staging and yard work. We wanted the most bang for our buck, so we went with the ones that (a) we knew were familiar in the area and (b) offered the most services. Very happy with our choice. We *did not* go with the lady who was like "I sell all the houses in your neighborhood" because while she did sell the most houses in our neighborhood, we knew her service was all about selling quickly which included pricing low (and she didn't offer free staging).

Never change, DCUM.

A whole thread about why you shouldn't pay your agent to coordinate contractors, housecleaning, yard work, painting or ANYTHING else. And other threads about how 5% commission isn't worth it, and maybe not 4% either.

And here's either a realtor (most likely) or somebody who really needs their hand held, blaming somebody else for not sucking it up and paying 5%.

PS. You're talking to more than one person. There are more than one of us who have had bad experiences or just understand the economics of going with the realtors' lender or contractors, also the kickbacks.

Why on earth should I care if my realtor gets kickbacks from people whose services she paid for? She paid for staging, landscaping, cleaning - I don't care who she used as long as it looks good and I don't have to pay for it.

We used our own lender and contractors, so no kickbacks there.

Keep going, though, feel free.

DP. Ffs! Your realtor did not pay for those things. YOU paid for them, through her fee. This is basic economics.

OH MY GOD, SHUT UP. All the agents I talked to charged a 5% commission. Some included services that others didn't. That's all I'm trying to say. You're being a total b**ch about the words I'm using or you just don't get it. But seriously, go use Redfin and shut up about how much you hate realtors, blah blah blah.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our last house for $715K, the realtor paid for staging (2013). It was my understanding that a certain price point the realtors cover it. I'm not sure what price point that is.

You paid for it through your realtor's fee, which you could possibly have negotiated to be lower.

FWIW - we met with 3 realtors and considered the fees for all of them when deciding which one to pick.

Did all three offer to stage? If one or two weren't going to stage, did they have lower fees?

Almost all agents charge 5% nowadays. The ones that charge 4% do the bare minimum. I'm not going cheap on selling my house.

Lots of agents who charge 5% do the bare minimum too. That was our experience selling a parent's place.

Unless your place is a real pit in a horrible school district, it will probably sell itself in this market. Why throw thousands of dollars away on your feelings and a persuasive realtor.

It truly sounds like you've had some dud realtors while the rest of us have done our research and found people that will do work for the same amount of money. Next time, do a little more work in selecting an agent that meets your needs. We made sure to ask what was included in each realtor's service - the vast majority of them said they would coordinate contractors or give us a lockbox so we could do that coordination ourselves, many of them included a house cleaning, and some also included staging and yard work. We wanted the most bang for our buck, so we went with the ones that (a) we knew were familiar in the area and (b) offered the most services. Very happy with our choice. We *did not* go with the lady who was like "I sell all the houses in your neighborhood" because while she did sell the most houses in our neighborhood, we knew her service was all about selling quickly which included pricing low (and she didn't offer free staging).

Never change, DCUM.

A whole thread about why you shouldn't pay your agent to coordinate contractors, housecleaning, yard work, painting or ANYTHING else. And other threads about how 5% commission isn't worth it, and maybe not 4% either.

And here's either a realtor (most likely) or somebody who really needs their hand held, blaming somebody else for not sucking it up and paying 5%.

PS. You're talking to more than one person. There are more than one of us who have had bad experiences or just understand the economics of going with the realtors' lender or contractors, also the kickbacks.

Why on earth should I care if my realtor gets kickbacks from people whose services she paid for? She paid for staging, landscaping, cleaning - I don't care who she used as long as it looks good and I don't have to pay for it.

We used our own lender and contractors, so no kickbacks there.

Keep going, though, feel free.

DP. Ffs! Your realtor did not pay for those things. YOU paid for them, through her fee. This is basic economics.

OH MY GOD, SHUT UP. All the agents I talked to charged a 5% commission. Some included services that others didn't. That's all I'm trying to say. You're being a total b**ch about the words I'm using or you just don't get it. But seriously, go use Redfin and shut up about how much you hate realtors, blah blah blah.

LOL. Nice outburst from a PP who has just realized they didn't understand how the market works.

Nobody hates realtors. But some of us do look down on idiots who don't understand how the market works. Sure, your realtor staged your house for free out of the kindness of their heart. And I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

When you pay that 5% to your realtor, YOU--and nobody else--are REIMBURSING your realtor for the staging. Even if your realtor is using a more expensive stager because they get sweet kickbacks.

But hey, keep throwing away your money, surely you have lots of money to waste.

[Anonymous]

Is anyone getting a 4.5% commission from a listing agent? I saw a house that’s paying only 2.25% for the buyer’s agent and it seemed low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our last house for $715K, the realtor paid for staging (2013). It was my understanding that a certain price point the realtors cover it. I'm not sure what price point that is.

You paid for it through your realtor's fee, which you could possibly have negotiated to be lower.

FWIW - we met with 3 realtors and considered the fees for all of them when deciding which one to pick.

Did all three offer to stage? If one or two weren't going to stage, did they have lower fees?

Almost all agents charge 5% nowadays. The ones that charge 4% do the bare minimum. I'm not going cheap on selling my house.

Lots of agents who charge 5% do the bare minimum too. That was our experience selling a parent's place.

Unless your place is a real pit in a horrible school district, it will probably sell itself in this market. Why throw thousands of dollars away on your feelings and a persuasive realtor.

It truly sounds like you've had some dud realtors while the rest of us have done our research and found people that will do work for the same amount of money. Next time, do a little more work in selecting an agent that meets your needs. We made sure to ask what was included in each realtor's service - the vast majority of them said they would coordinate contractors or give us a lockbox so we could do that coordination ourselves, many of them included a house cleaning, and some also included staging and yard work. We wanted the most bang for our buck, so we went with the ones that (a) we knew were familiar in the area and (b) offered the most services. Very happy with our choice. We *did not* go with the lady who was like "I sell all the houses in your neighborhood" because while she did sell the most houses in our neighborhood, we knew her service was all about selling quickly which included pricing low (and she didn't offer free staging).

Never change, DCUM.

A whole thread about why you shouldn't pay your agent to coordinate contractors, housecleaning, yard work, painting or ANYTHING else. And other threads about how 5% commission isn't worth it, and maybe not 4% either.

And here's either a realtor (most likely) or somebody who really needs their hand held, blaming somebody else for not sucking it up and paying 5%.

PS. You're talking to more than one person. There are more than one of us who have had bad experiences or just understand the economics of going with the realtors' lender or contractors, also the kickbacks.

Why on earth should I care if my realtor gets kickbacks from people whose services she paid for? She paid for staging, landscaping, cleaning - I don't care who she used as long as it looks good and I don't have to pay for it.

We used our own lender and contractors, so no kickbacks there.

Keep going, though, feel free.

DP. Ffs! Your realtor did not pay for those things. YOU paid for them, through her fee. This is basic economics.

OH MY GOD, SHUT UP. All the agents I talked to charged a 5% commission. Some included services that others didn't. That's all I'm trying to say. You're being a total b**ch about the words I'm using or you just don't get it. But seriously, go use Redfin and shut up about how much you hate realtors, blah blah blah.

Sorry simple economics offends you.

You always could have bargained to reduce the fee or get a credit for doing your own staging

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our last house for $715K, the realtor paid for staging (2013). It was my understanding that a certain price point the realtors cover it. I'm not sure what price point that is.

You paid for it through your realtor's fee, which you could possibly have negotiated to be lower.

FWIW - we met with 3 realtors and considered the fees for all of them when deciding which one to pick.

Did all three offer to stage? If one or two weren't going to stage, did they have lower fees?

Almost all agents charge 5% nowadays. The ones that charge 4% do the bare minimum. I'm not going cheap on selling my house.

Lots of agents who charge 5% do the bare minimum too. That was our experience selling a parent's place.

Unless your place is a real pit in a horrible school district, it will probably sell itself in this market. Why throw thousands of dollars away on your feelings and a persuasive realtor.

It truly sounds like you've had some dud realtors while the rest of us have done our research and found people that will do work for the same amount of money. Next time, do a little more work in selecting an agent that meets your needs. We made sure to ask what was included in each realtor's service - the vast majority of them said they would coordinate contractors or give us a lockbox so we could do that coordination ourselves, many of them included a house cleaning, and some also included staging and yard work. We wanted the most bang for our buck, so we went with the ones that (a) we knew were familiar in the area and (b) offered the most services. Very happy with our choice. We *did not* go with the lady who was like "I sell all the houses in your neighborhood" because while she did sell the most houses in our neighborhood, we knew her service was all about selling quickly which included pricing low (and she didn't offer free staging).

Never change, DCUM.

A whole thread about why you shouldn't pay your agent to coordinate contractors, housecleaning, yard work, painting or ANYTHING else. And other threads about how 5% commission isn't worth it, and maybe not 4% either.

And here's either a realtor (most likely) or somebody who really needs their hand held, blaming somebody else for not sucking it up and paying 5%.

PS. You're talking to more than one person. There are more than one of us who have had bad experiences or just understand the economics of going with the realtors' lender or contractors, also the kickbacks.

Why on earth should I care if my realtor gets kickbacks from people whose services she paid for? She paid for staging, landscaping, cleaning - I don't care who she used as long as it looks good and I don't have to pay for it.

We used our own lender and contractors, so no kickbacks there.

Keep going, though, feel free.

DP. Ffs! Your realtor did not pay for those things. YOU paid for them, through her fee. This is basic economics.

OH MY GOD, SHUT UP. All the agents I talked to charged a 5% commission. Some included services that others didn't. That's all I'm trying to say. You're being a total b**ch about the words I'm using or you just don't get it. But seriously, go use Redfin and shut up about how much you hate realtors, blah blah blah.

Sorry simple economics offends you.

You always could have bargained to reduce the fee or get a credit for doing your own staging

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone getting a 4.5% commission from a listing agent? I saw a house that’s paying only 2.25% for the buyer’s agent and it seemed low.

2.5% to the buyer's agent is the highest these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our last house for $715K, the realtor paid for staging (2013). It was my understanding that a certain price point the realtors cover it. I'm not sure what price point that is.

You paid for it through your realtor's fee, which you could possibly have negotiated to be lower.

FWIW - we met with 3 realtors and considered the fees for all of them when deciding which one to pick.

Did all three offer to stage? If one or two weren't going to stage, did they have lower fees?

Almost all agents charge 5% nowadays. The ones that charge 4% do the bare minimum. I'm not going cheap on selling my house.

Lots of agents who charge 5% do the bare minimum too. That was our experience selling a parent's place.

Unless your place is a real pit in a horrible school district, it will probably sell itself in this market. Why throw thousands of dollars away on your feelings and a persuasive realtor.

It truly sounds like you've had some dud realtors while the rest of us have done our research and found people that will do work for the same amount of money. Next time, do a little more work in selecting an agent that meets your needs. We made sure to ask what was included in each realtor's service - the vast majority of them said they would coordinate contractors or give us a lockbox so we could do that coordination ourselves, many of them included a house cleaning, and some also included staging and yard work. We wanted the most bang for our buck, so we went with the ones that (a) we knew were familiar in the area and (b) offered the most services. Very happy with our choice. We *did not* go with the lady who was like "I sell all the houses in your neighborhood" because while she did sell the most houses in our neighborhood, we knew her service was all about selling quickly which included pricing low (and she didn't offer free staging).

Never change, DCUM.

A whole thread about why you shouldn't pay your agent to coordinate contractors, housecleaning, yard work, painting or ANYTHING else. And other threads about how 5% commission isn't worth it, and maybe not 4% either.

And here's either a realtor (most likely) or somebody who really needs their hand held, blaming somebody else for not sucking it up and paying 5%.

PS. You're talking to more than one person. There are more than one of us who have had bad experiences or just understand the economics of going with the realtors' lender or contractors, also the kickbacks.

Why on earth should I care if my realtor gets kickbacks from people whose services she paid for? She paid for staging, landscaping, cleaning - I don't care who she used as long as it looks good and I don't have to pay for it.

We used our own lender and contractors, so no kickbacks there.

Keep going, though, feel free.

DP. Ffs! Your realtor did not pay for those things. YOU paid for them, through her fee. This is basic economics.

OH MY GOD, SHUT UP. All the agents I talked to charged a 5% commission. Some included services that others didn't. That's all I'm trying to say. You're being a total b**ch about the words I'm using or you just don't get it. But seriously, go use Redfin and shut up about how much you hate realtors, blah blah blah.

LOL. Nice outburst from a PP who has just realized they didn't understand how the market works.

Nobody hates realtors. But some of us do look down on idiots who don't understand how the market works. Sure, your realtor staged your house for free out of the kindness of their heart. And I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

When you pay that 5% to your realtor, YOU--and nobody else--are REIMBURSING your realtor for the staging. Even if your realtor is using a more expensive stager because they get sweet kickbacks.

But hey, keep throwing away your money, surely you have lots of money to waste.

Seriously, shut up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our last house for $715K, the realtor paid for staging (2013). It was my understanding that a certain price point the realtors cover it. I'm not sure what price point that is.

You paid for it through your realtor's fee, which you could possibly have negotiated to be lower.

FWIW - we met with 3 realtors and considered the fees for all of them when deciding which one to pick.

Did all three offer to stage? If one or two weren't going to stage, did they have lower fees?

Almost all agents charge 5% nowadays. The ones that charge 4% do the bare minimum. I'm not going cheap on selling my house.

Lots of agents who charge 5% do the bare minimum too. That was our experience selling a parent's place.

Unless your place is a real pit in a horrible school district, it will probably sell itself in this market. Why throw thousands of dollars away on your feelings and a persuasive realtor.

It truly sounds like you've had some dud realtors while the rest of us have done our research and found people that will do work for the same amount of money. Next time, do a little more work in selecting an agent that meets your needs. We made sure to ask what was included in each realtor's service - the vast majority of them said they would coordinate contractors or give us a lockbox so we could do that coordination ourselves, many of them included a house cleaning, and some also included staging and yard work. We wanted the most bang for our buck, so we went with the ones that (a) we knew were familiar in the area and (b) offered the most services. Very happy with our choice. We *did not* go with the lady who was like "I sell all the houses in your neighborhood" because while she did sell the most houses in our neighborhood, we knew her service was all about selling quickly which included pricing low (and she didn't offer free staging).

Never change, DCUM.

A whole thread about why you shouldn't pay your agent to coordinate contractors, housecleaning, yard work, painting or ANYTHING else. And other threads about how 5% commission isn't worth it, and maybe not 4% either.

And here's either a realtor (most likely) or somebody who really needs their hand held, blaming somebody else for not sucking it up and paying 5%.

PS. You're talking to more than one person. There are more than one of us who have had bad experiences or just understand the economics of going with the realtors' lender or contractors, also the kickbacks.

Why on earth should I care if my realtor gets kickbacks from people whose services she paid for? She paid for staging, landscaping, cleaning - I don't care who she used as long as it looks good and I don't have to pay for it.

We used our own lender and contractors, so no kickbacks there.

Keep going, though, feel free.

DP. Ffs! Your realtor did not pay for those things. YOU paid for them, through her fee. This is basic economics.

OH MY GOD, SHUT UP. All the agents I talked to charged a 5% commission. Some included services that others didn't. That's all I'm trying to say. You're being a total b**ch about the words I'm using or you just don't get it. But seriously, go use Redfin and shut up about how much you hate realtors, blah blah blah.

Sorry simple economics offends you.

You always could have bargained to reduce the fee or get a credit for doing your own staging

I don't know why you insist on arguing with someone who seems perfectly fine with what they paid and the services that were provided as part of that transaction. You're trying to convince me that I got scammed or something but I'm good. I think the staging 100% helped sell the house and I'm pleased with the price we got for the home, which was actually close to the same amount over list price as we will be paying in agent commissions, so it all works out in the end. We're good! Feel free to carry on with your insults and attempts to convince me otherwise, though, if that makes you happy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our last house for $715K, the realtor paid for staging (2013). It was my understanding that a certain price point the realtors cover it. I'm not sure what price point that is.

You paid for it through your realtor's fee, which you could possibly have negotiated to be lower.

FWIW - we met with 3 realtors and considered the fees for all of them when deciding which one to pick.

Did all three offer to stage? If one or two weren't going to stage, did they have lower fees?

Almost all agents charge 5% nowadays. The ones that charge 4% do the bare minimum. I'm not going cheap on selling my house.

Lots of agents who charge 5% do the bare minimum too. That was our experience selling a parent's place.

Unless your place is a real pit in a horrible school district, it will probably sell itself in this market. Why throw thousands of dollars away on your feelings and a persuasive realtor.

It truly sounds like you've had some dud realtors while the rest of us have done our research and found people that will do work for the same amount of money. Next time, do a little more work in selecting an agent that meets your needs. We made sure to ask what was included in each realtor's service - the vast majority of them said they would coordinate contractors or give us a lockbox so we could do that coordination ourselves, many of them included a house cleaning, and some also included staging and yard work. We wanted the most bang for our buck, so we went with the ones that (a) we knew were familiar in the area and (b) offered the most services. Very happy with our choice. We *did not* go with the lady who was like "I sell all the houses in your neighborhood" because while she did sell the most houses in our neighborhood, we knew her service was all about selling quickly which included pricing low (and she didn't offer free staging).

Never change, DCUM.

A whole thread about why you shouldn't pay your agent to coordinate contractors, housecleaning, yard work, painting or ANYTHING else. And other threads about how 5% commission isn't worth it, and maybe not 4% either.

And here's either a realtor (most likely) or somebody who really needs their hand held, blaming somebody else for not sucking it up and paying 5%.

PS. You're talking to more than one person. There are more than one of us who have had bad experiences or just understand the economics of going with the realtors' lender or contractors, also the kickbacks.

Why on earth should I care if my realtor gets kickbacks from people whose services she paid for? She paid for staging, landscaping, cleaning - I don't care who she used as long as it looks good and I don't have to pay for it.

We used our own lender and contractors, so no kickbacks there.

Keep going, though, feel free.

DP. Ffs! Your realtor did not pay for those things. YOU paid for them, through her fee. This is basic economics.

OH MY GOD, SHUT UP. All the agents I talked to charged a 5% commission. Some included services that others didn't. That's all I'm trying to say. You're being a total b**ch about the words I'm using or you just don't get it. But seriously, go use Redfin and shut up about how much you hate realtors, blah blah blah.

LOL. Nice outburst from a PP who has just realized they didn't understand how the market works.

Nobody hates realtors. But some of us do look down on idiots who don't understand how the market works. Sure, your realtor staged your house for free out of the kindness of their heart. And I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

When you pay that 5% to your realtor, YOU--and nobody else--are REIMBURSING your realtor for the staging. Even if your realtor is using a more expensive stager because they get sweet kickbacks.

But hey, keep throwing away your money, surely you have lots of money to waste.

Seriously, shut up.

Good one. How about trying to rebut the argument instead of trying to shut it down?

Also, you’re talking to multiple posters. I’m not 14:31, 14:51 or 19:35, and those are just on this page.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our last house for $715K, the realtor paid for staging (2013). It was my understanding that a certain price point the realtors cover it. I'm not sure what price point that is.

You paid for it through your realtor's fee, which you could possibly have negotiated to be lower.

FWIW - we met with 3 realtors and considered the fees for all of them when deciding which one to pick.

Did all three offer to stage? If one or two weren't going to stage, did they have lower fees?

Almost all agents charge 5% nowadays. The ones that charge 4% do the bare minimum. I'm not going cheap on selling my house.

Lots of agents who charge 5% do the bare minimum too. That was our experience selling a parent's place.

Unless your place is a real pit in a horrible school district, it will probably sell itself in this market. Why throw thousands of dollars away on your feelings and a persuasive realtor.

It truly sounds like you've had some dud realtors while the rest of us have done our research and found people that will do work for the same amount of money. Next time, do a little more work in selecting an agent that meets your needs. We made sure to ask what was included in each realtor's service - the vast majority of them said they would coordinate contractors or give us a lockbox so we could do that coordination ourselves, many of them included a house cleaning, and some also included staging and yard work. We wanted the most bang for our buck, so we went with the ones that (a) we knew were familiar in the area and (b) offered the most services. Very happy with our choice. We *did not* go with the lady who was like "I sell all the houses in your neighborhood" because while she did sell the most houses in our neighborhood, we knew her service was all about selling quickly which included pricing low (and she didn't offer free staging).

Never change, DCUM.

A whole thread about why you shouldn't pay your agent to coordinate contractors, housecleaning, yard work, painting or ANYTHING else. And other threads about how 5% commission isn't worth it, and maybe not 4% either.

And here's either a realtor (most likely) or somebody who really needs their hand held, blaming somebody else for not sucking it up and paying 5%.

PS. You're talking to more than one person. There are more than one of us who have had bad experiences or just understand the economics of going with the realtors' lender or contractors, also the kickbacks.

Why on earth should I care if my realtor gets kickbacks from people whose services she paid for? She paid for staging, landscaping, cleaning - I don't care who she used as long as it looks good and I don't have to pay for it.

We used our own lender and contractors, so no kickbacks there.

Keep going, though, feel free.

DP. Ffs! Your realtor did not pay for those things. YOU paid for them, through her fee. This is basic economics.

OH MY GOD, SHUT UP. All the agents I talked to charged a 5% commission. Some included services that others didn't. That's all I'm trying to say. You're being a total b**ch about the words I'm using or you just don't get it. But seriously, go use Redfin and shut up about how much you hate realtors, blah blah blah.

Sorry simple economics offends you.

You always could have bargained to reduce the fee or get a credit for doing your own staging

I don't know why you insist on arguing with someone who seems perfectly fine with what they paid and the services that were provided as part of that transaction. You're trying to convince me that I got scammed or something but I'm good. I think the staging 100% helped sell the house and I'm pleased with the price we got for the home, which was actually close to the same amount over list price as we will be paying in agent commissions, so it all works out in the end. We're good! Feel free to carry on with your insults and attempts to convince me otherwise, though, if that makes you happy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our last house for $715K, the realtor paid for staging (2013). It was my understanding that a certain price point the realtors cover it. I'm not sure what price point that is.

You paid for it through your realtor's fee, which you could possibly have negotiated to be lower.

FWIW - we met with 3 realtors and considered the fees for all of them when deciding which one to pick.

Did all three offer to stage? If one or two weren't going to stage, did they have lower fees?

Almost all agents charge 5% nowadays. The ones that charge 4% do the bare minimum. I'm not going cheap on selling my house.

Lots of agents who charge 5% do the bare minimum too. That was our experience selling a parent's place.

Unless your place is a real pit in a horrible school district, it will probably sell itself in this market. Why throw thousands of dollars away on your feelings and a persuasive realtor.

It truly sounds like you've had some dud realtors while the rest of us have done our research and found people that will do work for the same amount of money. Next time, do a little more work in selecting an agent that meets your needs. We made sure to ask what was included in each realtor's service - the vast majority of them said they would coordinate contractors or give us a lockbox so we could do that coordination ourselves, many of them included a house cleaning, and some also included staging and yard work. We wanted the most bang for our buck, so we went with the ones that (a) we knew were familiar in the area and (b) offered the most services. Very happy with our choice. We *did not* go with the lady who was like "I sell all the houses in your neighborhood" because while she did sell the most houses in our neighborhood, we knew her service was all about selling quickly which included pricing low (and she didn't offer free staging).

Never change, DCUM.

A whole thread about why you shouldn't pay your agent to coordinate contractors, housecleaning, yard work, painting or ANYTHING else. And other threads about how 5% commission isn't worth it, and maybe not 4% either.

And here's either a realtor (most likely) or somebody who really needs their hand held, blaming somebody else for not sucking it up and paying 5%.

PS. You're talking to more than one person. There are more than one of us who have had bad experiences or just understand the economics of going with the realtors' lender or contractors, also the kickbacks.

Why on earth should I care if my realtor gets kickbacks from people whose services she paid for? She paid for staging, landscaping, cleaning - I don't care who she used as long as it looks good and I don't have to pay for it.

We used our own lender and contractors, so no kickbacks there.

Keep going, though, feel free.

DP. Ffs! Your realtor did not pay for those things. YOU paid for them, through her fee. This is basic economics.

OH MY GOD, SHUT UP. All the agents I talked to charged a 5% commission. Some included services that others didn't. That's all I'm trying to say. You're being a total b**ch about the words I'm using or you just don't get it. But seriously, go use Redfin and shut up about how much you hate realtors, blah blah blah.

Sorry simple economics offends you.

You always could have bargained to reduce the fee or get a credit for doing your own staging

I don't know why you insist on arguing with someone who seems perfectly fine with what they paid and the services that were provided as part of that transaction. You're trying to convince me that I got scammed or something but I'm good. I think the staging 100% helped sell the house and I'm pleased with the price we got for the home, which was actually close to the same amount over list price as we will be paying in agent commissions, so it all works out in the end. We're good! Feel free to carry on with your insults and attempts to convince me otherwise, though, if that makes you happy!

Happy for you. Your agent listed under market to start a bidding war, which is really common to the point of being almost standard these days, and you think you got a real deal and are straight-up abusive to anybody who says otherwise. Okaaay….