Staging a home for sale

[RLD4ISU]

Did you stage your home when you sold it? Did you do it yourself or hire a consultant?
For those that are buying, did it make a difference if the house was staged?

I staged a home we sold in 2018. I also took pictures for the realtor. Now that we're considering another move, I'm starting to prep this house so we can stage it. There are three other homes in our neighborhood that are for sale and after looking at the pictures, it's obvious they didn't stage things.

I'm also amazed at some of the homes I see on Realtor or Redfin that are full of the owner's stuff, toilet seats up, wild crazy colored walls or the realtor has about 10 close up pictures of the flower garden.

 

[DeereClone]

When we sold our house in town we were still living in it when we sold so we didn’t stage it but we removed a lot of unnecessary items and moved them to storage at the farm. Same with garage and basement. The thought was the less stuff in the house and the less clutter, the bigger it feels to the buyer.

I personally don’t think bringing stuff in to an empty house just to stage it and make it look “homey” has a big impact.

 

[helechopper]

Unless you have impeccable taste, get someone to help you stage your home. When we sold, we had advice from a realtor, but it was my wife that bought new furniture where needed and buffed the place out. We sold in a few days.

 

[SCNCY]

I would remove clutter around the house to make it look clean. I would also go around and make sure you fix anything imperfections or broken (dings in walls, cabinets, loose screws/bolts, etc.). But in todays market, depending on where you live, demand should be high enough to sell.

 

[AllInForISU]

If you are selling in Ames, there could be dog crap in the floor and you would probably sell 15k over asking.

 

[bellzisu]

Sold my house in 12 hours. Realtor put my house live without letting me know. Had no pictures taken yet, and 7 viewings scheduled from 12:30 pm to 7 pm.

This was 3 weeks ago.

We had nothing ready. Pictures still on walls. Beds barely made. Kids stuff on floor. Crazy

 

[throwittoblythe]

In this market, I'd say tidy the place up, remove clutter, and call it good. As long as there isn't crap everywhere nor any bad smells/stains, you should be fine.

We did not stage either of the houses we've sold. First place we had a lot of stuff for a small house. We cleared a lot of the furniture and stuff out and put it in the garage. Buyers could obviously tell we had the garage fill of stuff from the house, but it made the inside of the house look bigger. Second place we just cleaned everything and removed clutter from countertops/surfaces.

 

[Angie]

I also think that, at least right now, remove clutter and unnecessary furniture that make it look like crowding. Personal effects should go, anything on countertops. Make it look as big as possible, and get rid of any dings/dents/paint issues, and you'll do great.

 

[TXCyclones]

In this current market, if your home is under $450k, don't worry about staging. If it's over $500k then you'll want to take the time, clear as much out as possible, and have your realtor hire somebody to stage it.

 

[SCarolinaCy]

Usually done in a soft market. Realtors like to push for it. The more money the owner/seller puts into the property at the time of the listing the more likely the seller will commit to negotiation the closing. As a side bonus the realtor usually gets an override from the stager.

 

[RLD4ISU]

My sister was a realtor for many years and helped with suggestions for staging the last home we sold. Remove clutter, personal items, etc.

It'll probably be a few months before we list, but I'm starting the process now with getting the house ready to stage. Cleaning closets, removing extra furniture, etc. And buying what I need to help with the presentation of the home. Our plan is to also have the garage and attic areas clean & de-cluttered.

When we bought this place, we assumed we would be selling it again in 2-6 years so I decorated it with that in mind. We've also been on top of maintenance and made a few improvements.

 

[RLD4ISU]

If you are selling in Ames, there could be dog crap in the floor and you would probably sell 15k over asking.

Crazy, isn't it?

The first house we bought was a pit. It had been vacant for awhile, but occasionally still used by the former renter's college age boys as a party place. Stuff all over the house, nasty condition, bowed in basement wall with a view to outside, stage built in the garage and hundreds of empty beer cans. Somehow we were able to look past all that and see the potential. But we didn't pay 15k over asking.

 

[NorthCyd]

I would say anything that keeps you from getting your house on the market asap is not worth it. Market is hot right now. That could all change if mortgage rates make a drastic rise for some reason.

 

[BCClone]

If you want to sell, go quickly. Heard there is a little softening due to rates and the large wave that has hit.

 

[cyfan92]

In this current market, if your home is under $450k, don't worry about staging. If it's over $500k then you'll want to take the time, clear as much out as possible, and have your realtor hire somebody to stage it.

^^^ This. If you are selling a high dollar home. Staging is worth it. Anything less expensive than a custom home range and you are likely wasting money. Just clean your crap up and put some in storage or the garage

 

[RLD4ISU]

In this current market, if your home is under $450k, don't worry about staging. If it's over $500k then you'll want to take the time, clear as much out as possible, and have your realtor hire somebody to stage it.

^^^ This. If you are selling a high dollar home. Staging is worth it. Anything less expensive than a custom home range and you are likely wasting money. Just clean your crap up and put some in storage or the garage

I'm staging it myself, so no $$ wasted.

This is a career would love to get into.

 

[CYdTracked]

Last sold a house in 2013 and rented a PODS unit to pack up and store anything not needed in the short term. An experienced realtor should be able to help you stage your house and if they can't well then you may not have picked a good one. No need to waste money on paying someone else to stage it, just de-clutter as much as you can, take down any pictures or personal stuff and present it in a manner that a potential buyer doesn't see it as your home but can imagine what they would do with the space. As crazy as the market is right now it may not take much effort either as I have heard of people getting multiple above asking price offers on their house within days of going on the market so the demand is so high at the moment most buyers probably don't have time to pick over the little things and risk losing the chance to buy the home.

 

[PineClone]

This is a pain but...Box up 80% of the stuff from your closets to make them look more spacious.

 

[carvers4math]

We sold one in a day on the market back in 2003 so things may have changed, but it was completely empty except I had bought new shower curtains and we put in new carpeting in bedrooms. Comments from the offers we got all liked the shower curtain so we left it for them.