Who typically pays for staging service - owner or listing agent?

[Anonymous]

We're looking to put our house on the market in the Fall and would like to use a staging service because our furniture is garbage and we have zero sense of style.

Questions:
1. Has anyone used a staging service they can recommend?
2. Does the listing agent pay for this or do we? I'm guessing it's the latter, but I have no idea.

[Anonymous]

When we sold our house in Richmond, our agent paid for a consultation with a stager and he was the the only agent we interviewed who did that. The stager came and gave us suggestions on each room, but it was up to us to either do nothing, make some/all of the changes she recommended, or pay for her to make the changes. The agent's contribution was limited to the consultation.

[Anonymous]

I dont know whats typical or if this is a good deal, but there's a daily deal for home staging here. http://my.angieslist.com/thebigdeal/default.aspx?itemid=%2bRbzy8Zi72I%3d&pid=4

[Anonymous]

Agent here - same as what 22:46 said. Some agents might not pay for anything. I pay for the consult and report, owners pay for the staging itself (or, given they have the report, they can also do as much of it as possible themselves).

Red house staging does a nice job. Email [e-mail] - 202-257-2072

[Anonymous]

We just sold our house, and the realtor paid for a stager to come by and do a walkthrough. She made suggestions, which we then (mostly) implemented. Our house was very close to being ready, before she came, and the suggestions mainly dealt with what to move or get rid of. All in all, it put a final "gloss" on the place that was helpful, but it wasn't transformative. If you're looking for something more instense, like on TV, I suspect you'll need to pay for it yourself.

[Anonymous]

Our agent paid for the initial consult and we paid for the stager to bring in some "generic" stuff that we replaced our stuff with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our house in Richmond, our agent paid for a consultation with a stager and he was the the only agent we interviewed who did that. The stager came and gave us suggestions on each room, but it was up to us to either do nothing, make some/all of the changes she recommended, or pay for her to make the changes. The agent's contribution was limited to the consultation.

Such a typical realtor move! Usually, the initial consultation is free...and, certainly, a stager will make that consultation free for a realtor bringing in a potential client. The realtor is acting like he/she is paying for something that is, most likely, free. Have the agent pay for the staging itself, after all, the realtor stands to make a lot of money from your sale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our house in Richmond, our agent paid for a consultation with a stager and he was the the only agent we interviewed who did that. The stager came and gave us suggestions on each room, but it was up to us to either do nothing, make some/all of the changes she recommended, or pay for her to make the changes. The agent's contribution was limited to the consultation.

Such a typical realtor move! Usually, the initial consultation is free...and, certainly, a stager will make that consultation free for a realtor bringing in a potential client. The realtor is acting like he/she is paying for something that is, most likely, free. Have the agent pay for the staging itself, after all, the realtor stands to make a lot of money from your sale.

I am not a realtor but really do not see the problem with the above. We all need to make a living and if the realtor has gotten the consultation for free, what is the problem with that? I just don't get it because the client is still getting a free consultation, probably gets some good ideas and has the choice to use the stager or not. If this all helps in selling the home, isn't that what both the realtor and client want from the onset?? I am really confused why the PP thinks there is anything worng with this. I think it is a win win for all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we sold our house in Richmond, our agent paid for a consultation with a stager and he was the the only agent we interviewed who did that. The stager came and gave us suggestions on each room, but it was up to us to either do nothing, make some/all of the changes she recommended, or pay for her to make the changes. The agent's contribution was limited to the consultation.

Such a typical realtor move! Usually, the initial consultation is free...and, certainly, a stager will make that consultation free for a realtor bringing in a potential client. The realtor is acting like he/she is paying for something that is, most likely, free. Have the agent pay for the staging itself, after all, the realtor stands to make a lot of money from your sale.

Please....I'm an agent, and you have no idea what you're talking about. It costs me $250 to have someone come and write up the consult. Sometimes, that's all that an owner needs, because they are hands on and can do the work themselves. Sometimes, a house might be vacant and need everything. In the latter case, you're talking about thousands of dollars. In the end, it is the agent's job to show the client what needs to be done to make their house show well, but it is not up to us to scrub it down and pay for furniture.

[Anonymous]

BTW, the reason the consult is NOT free is because an owner often WILL take the advice and do the work themselves. For someone to waste their time coming out and writing a report all for nothing would make no sense from a business perspective.

[Anonymous]

We just sold our house a few months ago. Our agent had her (on staff) "stager" come by. I use quotation marks because she was a complete joke--telling me assinine things like I should remove the bowl of fruit from the kitchen table....that's not really staging advice unless you're 3 minutes away from your open house.

Get a consult from someone whose work you can see. I staged our house myself, and we sold it in 7 days with 3 offers.

Also, look into www.mouseonhouse.com

Make your realtor pay for it. I did. It really helps the online traffic, and is great if you don't have a conventional center hall colonial layout.