Is staging (a vacant property) worth it?

Amberley18 · March 2012

Our condo has been on and off the market for a couple of years. Fortunately it was rented most of the time it was for sale, but it is now vacant. We recently put in new carpet and laminate flooring, and repainted the whole place.

I got a quote today for design/staging that is $1700-1900. I hate paying out even more, but would it really help it sell?

We are already listed at the bottom of comps, even though ours is a desirable top-floor, end unit on the hill up away from the main thoroughfare. Also, we are taking a considerable loss, so any money we put in and have put in is basically thrown away.

WWYD?

MommyLiberty5013 · March 2012

For me as a buyer, if a home looks new, clean, and fresh, and your's sounds this way with all of your updates, it doesn't matter if it has some staged furniture/decor in it or not, I will buy it if it fits my needs and wants.

But, there might be some less expensive things you can do on your own to stage it...

1. Lighting - make sure they are updated. You don't have to go with super trendy fixtures, but just stuff that makes the place appear newer. Lots of home improvment stores sell fairly inexpensive fixtures. Also, for me there is something about clear incandescent blubs that makes a space feel more inviting and warm. Make sure lights are all on for showings and open houses.

2. Windows - consider adding some drapery rods with white or off white sheers hung as panels to soften the lines of the space. Again, you can find less expensive options for rods and sheers at places like Target or even Wal-Mart online. As a bonus, you could have the treatments stay in the home. If there are existing vertical or horizontal blinds on the windows, consider pulling them back to allow for natural light to enter.

3. A welcome mat.

4. I've read that the color yellow invokes the urge to buy. So, maybe a yellow wreath or foral decor for the front door.

5. Hang some nicer/newer towels in the bathroom. Put out a decorative soap. Set out a little floral arrangement - maybe yellow.

6. Another bathroom idea is to remove the mirror if it is that boxey generic mirror type and find a decorative one to hang in its place. Again, Target or Walmart or even ebay or Craigslist.

7. Kitchen - consider updating hardware on drawers and cabinets. Put some greenery in there with a potted plant (if it's live just be sure to be around enough to water...)

Good luck. It's a tough market - we just sold our home, so I understand. Personally, I'd save the money and not do professional staging especially since you are already so low compared to other properties. Question, though: How long have you been with your REA? Maybe you need a new one who is more aggressive?

chickaboo1974 · March 2012

We just sold our vacant home. We just made sure everything was clean, in good repair, and refreshed the paint.

riiskybusiness · March 2012

I don't think it would be worth it, especially in the situation you described. Ditto PP- your REA might not be aggressive enough, especially if you are listed at the bottom of comps with a top-floor condo.

kaylie622 · March 2012

If everything was done professionally and there aren't any "goofs" with paint on the trim, I don't think it's worth it.

We have to get our rental rented so we can break our lease and since the owner poorly DIYed everything, having the furniture in helps the place look a lot better since it covers some of the oopsies. In a nice place though, I think having it empty is fine.

Amberley18 · March 2012

Thank you for your detailed response. My answers/comments are in italics.

MommyLiberty5013:

1. Lighting - All lighting is new aside from one of the bathrooms (brass Hollywood light). We installed brushed nickel/alabaster lighting and have new - chandelier, two flush mounts, and three ceiling fans.

2. Windows - Right now, all windows have vertical blinds -- which are not ideal, but existing and therefore free. We considered putting in vinyl horizontal blinds throughout, but the REA said she didn't think it would make a difference and therefore not worth the time and $100ish.

3. A welcome mat. - Good idea.

4. I've read that the color yellow invokes the urge to buy. So, maybe a yellow wreath or foral decor for the front door. - This would also be quick and cheap; will do.

5. Hang some nicer/newer towels in the bathroom. Put out a decorative soap. Set out a little floral arrangement - maybe yellow. - Also, good idea. I will look into this.

6. Another bathroom idea is to remove the mirror if it is that boxey generic mirror type and find a decorative one to hang in its place. Again, Target or Walmart or even ebay or Craigslist. -- I don't disagree, but worry you might be able to see where the mirror was painted around if we do this; I will look into it.

7. Kitchen - consider updating hardware on drawers and cabinets. Put some greenery in there with a potted plant (if it's live just be sure to be around enough to water...) The kitchen has also been completely updated with new hardware, counters, appliances etc. I will add a plant or two.

Question, though: How long have you been with your REA? Maybe you need a new one who is more aggressive? -- It is kind of a long, complicated story. We were with one for 6 months, then ended our contract and decided to keep renting for the time being. We hired #2 at the beginning of 2010 and really like her. She did well marketing, and seemed committed to selling our property; it just doesn't seem as though there are too many people interested in buying a condo. I think in an entire year we had 10 showings.

At the beginning of this year, we took it off the market for a month, re-painted, re-did all the flooring and decided to consider other REAs. I interviewed two, liked them both, and hired REA #3. She didn't follow through on listing the place (it took more than two weeks), and I sent her an interested party for a showing and she let it fall through the cracks, so we terminated the contract. I contacted the other REA we had met with, but the commission at our price point is nill and she said she was too busy to commit to us.

I have always liked #2, and am considering re-listing with her, but agree maybe we need a new perspective and marketing approach.

Lastly, I am a long distance seller, so doing some of these things for the condo, but prove difficult but I am ready to do anything necessary to get it sold. Maybe I will plan to go up there in a couple of weeks and take care of all of this.

Juris11 · March 2012

As a buyer, I don't really mind vacant properties. It can be a little harder sometimes to get an idea of space (in the sense of "How much furniture can go in this room without being crowded?"). But I vastly prefer it to those where the people have all kinds of crap crammed in the rooms.

I don't think I would hire it done. I think a few nice touches like the ones PP mentioned would serve.

VMRRN23 · March 2012

Juris11:
As a buyer, I don't really mind vacant properties. It can be a little harder sometimes to get an idea of space (in the sense of "How much furniture can go in this room without being crowded?"). But I vastly prefer it to those where the people have all kinds of crap crammed in the rooms.

I don't think I would hire it done. I think a few nice touches like the ones PP mentioned would serve.

This. And in the homes we were contemplating or did put offers on, we brought a tape measure to measure the space so we would know how much furniture would fit. We loved it when the realtor would hand us the house info sheet with the dimensions of each room listed.

Julia-Henry · March 2012

When we were selling (also long-distance), I did a lot of research about staging etc. We decided to partially stage and to do it ourselves. We used mostly stuff we already owned, spent maybe $250 on 'things'. We did stuff like an aerobed (double thickness so 'normal' bed height) in a bedroom, with sheets etc, a patio table in the dining area (seats 2), a few fake plants/flowers (nicer ones), a chair (comfy, big) in living room and a couple of pictures on the wall. We wanted to show the purpose of the room, even if it was completely obvious (with or without a bed, that room upstairs with a closet is clearly meant as a bedroom etc). I think it helped people to get a sense of the space. total cost to us was minimal and it made our place look a whole lot better than just sitting empty.

My father's a realtor and he says the issue is always price - can you drop it any further, or are you stuck? if stuck, you may just need to rent for another couple of years.

Amberley18 · March 2012

Julia-Henry:

My father's a realtor and he says the issue is always price - can you drop it any further, or are you stuck? if stuck, you may just need to rent for another couple of years.

First, to your first point. I have been doing a little research this morning and have found that I can rent some basic furniture for the dining room and living room for around $350 for three months, then add our own "things" like end tables, art work etc. We might go this route.

Also, with price. As I said before, the price point is very low (ie. $65K -- down from $78K where we purchased it). We can go lower, but obviously don't want to if we can avoid it. We've reduced the price several times, having originally had it listed at $70K. Price reductions at this price point are just much smaller. Those that have sold were listed above ours, but sold around $60k and have mostly needed work; whereas ours is move-in-ready. We may just consider dropping the price to $62.5K or so.

StatlerWaldorf · March 2012

VMRRN23:
Juris11:
As a buyer, I don't really mind vacant properties. It can be a little harder sometimes to get an idea of space (in the sense of "How much furniture can go in this room without being crowded?"). But I vastly prefer it to those where the people have all kinds of crap crammed in the rooms.

I don't think I would hire it done. I think a few nice touches like the ones PP mentioned would serve.
This. And in the homes we were contemplating or did put offers on, we brought a tape measure to measure the space so we would know how much furniture would fit. We loved it when the realtor would hand us the house info sheet with the dimensions of each room listed.

I would do this. We recently bought a vacant property. The one thing is it felt like the bedrooms were smaller than they actually were without furniture. It was nice to be able to see all of the carpet/flooring, walls, and everything. It did bring attention to some problems that normally wouldn't be seen. There is a broken tile behind where the refrigerator would be, some damage to the trim, etc. that we may have missed if there was furniture.

LarissaB · March 2012

I don't think I would both with staging, I enjoy vacant homes as you do get to see the condition of everything (carpets, floors, trim). I don't have to worry that there's some huge pink stain hiding under the couch. For most of the houses we have been looking at the rooms and spaces are defined enough that I don't need furniture there. Sometimes the bedrooms do look small but we also bring a tape measure and try to get the dimensions of the rooms.

Now my opinion does change a bit if you have a very open floor plan in the kitchen/dinning room/living room. When I just see a big long open room with a kitchen on one end, I do have a harder time imagining how to define the spaces and if a living room and dinning area can actually be comfortably carved out of these spaces. So in that case, it would be nice to have a dining set and living room set to help give purpose to the areas.

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jenny1980 · April 2012

That's almost 3% of your asking price, which would be crazy to spend on staging. I would look into cheaper rentals and staging with what you already own.

Is staging (a vacant property) worth it?

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