Is staging an occupied home necessary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. If you want to get top dollar, and the realtor tells you to stage, do it. Your taste in decor is not as nice as you think.

No. Tell the realtor no staging. Empty houses sell faster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. If you want to get top dollar, and the realtor tells you to stage, do it. Your taste in decor is not as nice as you think.

No. Tell the realtor no staging. Empty houses sell faster.

Virtually all of the data says otherwise. Can you provide an actual link?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. If you want to get top dollar, and the realtor tells you to stage, do it. Your taste in decor is not as nice as you think.

OP here….No, the realtor paid for the staging consult after we asked for it.

The stager gave good advice which we acted upon ( updated lighting and hardware). She said our furniture is great and she would not change anything about that - a couple of previous home buyers have negotiated our furniture so I know I have decent taste. However, I did take the stager’s advice and bought modern table lamps for 3 rooms. I can take feedback too. 😊

Our realtor came in after we painted and decluttered a bit, and said he could get traffic in here based on how good it looked.

I was a bit worried that he was just being nice. This morning, another home in our price point came on the market and I would say ours should look better. Just stress!

[Anonymous]

Op again.

Btw, the stager’s assistant who I was talking to yesterday was shocked that we had been quoted 16k to stage our home. She thought a max of 6K including changing out lights (that was not included in our quote and cost around 1k). Our realtor said an average of 3-5K. When we turned her down, she said she had made a mistake in the quote, but had declined to answer my earlier question about it. I don’t know her or what was going on! It felt like a money grab to me.

[Anonymous]

My house was not staged when we bought it: family just toned it down and had it absolutely extra tidy and clean. It got a LOT of interest and a bidding war. I think most families like to project themselves in a home, so warmth and "real" helps more than staging would.

[Anonymous]

We just removed some of the furniture so it looked less crowded. When rooms are full of furniture, even nice, well-placed furniture, it can look smaller than it actually is.

[Anonymous]

No need to stage and definitely no need to pay thousands. Clean and declutter. I prefer to view a house set up to be functional for a family. Stagers often remove way too much to make rooms look bigger.

I want to see a tv in the family room and dressers in the bedrooms. It helps us visualize our own furniture set up and placement.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op again.

Btw, the stager’s assistant who I was talking to yesterday was shocked that we had been quoted 16k to stage our home. She thought a max of 6K including changing out lights (that was not included in our quote and cost around 1k). Our realtor said an average of 3-5K. When we turned her down, she said she had made a mistake in the quote, but had declined to answer my earlier question about it. I don’t know her or what was going on! It felt like a money grab to me.

I work for a staging company. There is NO WAY to justify a 15K quote to stage an occupied house. A vacant house with tons of furniture is most often at or around $4000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op again.

Btw, the stager’s assistant who I was talking to yesterday was shocked that we had been quoted 16k to stage our home. She thought a max of 6K including changing out lights (that was not included in our quote and cost around 1k). Our realtor said an average of 3-5K. When we turned her down, she said she had made a mistake in the quote, but had declined to answer my earlier question about it. I don’t know her or what was going on! It felt like a money grab to me.

I work for a staging company. There is NO WAY to justify a 15K quote to stage an occupied house. A vacant house with tons of furniture is most often at or around $4000.

What is the term for that rate, i.e., how long does the staging stay in the house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op again.

Btw, the stager’s assistant who I was talking to yesterday was shocked that we had been quoted 16k to stage our home. She thought a max of 6K including changing out lights (that was not included in our quote and cost around 1k). Our realtor said an average of 3-5K. When we turned her down, she said she had made a mistake in the quote, but had declined to answer my earlier question about it. I don’t know her or what was going on! It felt like a money grab to me.

I work for a staging company. There is NO WAY to justify a 15K quote to stage an occupied house. A vacant house with tons of furniture is most often at or around $4000.

Op here. Thank you for this.

[Anonymous]

Our stager came in and used what we had. It looked way better afterwards). Mainly she had us remove things. She also moved mirrors and then did have us purchase a few things (mainly pillows for bed staging). She spent a couple hours going through each room and giving us a to-do list.
$15k is insanity.

[Anonymous]

Your home probably looks lovely w/all the things that you have already done to it.
It appears that you made an effort to present your home in the best way possible! 😃
I would only use a stager if no one places an offer in the next few weeks!

I wish you all the best in selling your home! 🏡

[Anonymous]

OI think staging makes a difference to many buyers.

I think staged homes give prospective buyers an optimal idea of just how good the house can look w/a bit of creativity.

I like to personally get an idea if a queen bed can fit in a bedroom or not.

I like the idea of asking a friend w/good, decorative taste to look around your home and offer suggestions on how it is decorated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. If you want to get top dollar, and the realtor tells you to stage, do it. Your taste in decor is not as nice as you think.

For 15K? Is realtor replacing their entire furniture and essentially "moving" the owner out? My friends sold a house and had partial staging. Realtor brought a few smaller furniture pieces for accenting, and some art work, also moved some of their existing furniture around and had them sell some pieces (they were already going to get rid of most of it, so was no loss).

I am guessing realtor is buying high end furniture, having the seller finance it and later going to use it for personal use
If I have to spend 15K on furniture, I am going to keep it for myself, not "rent" it as part of staging. What a waste.