Should I pay to "stage" my parents' 3BR condo? (agent, sale)

[mrwumpus]

I'm selling my parents' 3BR condo in Southern California. On another forum a few people said having it professionally staged makes a place sell better and higher.

This makes sense to me when the staging is very well done, although my parents place is mostly all original. Only upgrades are tile and carpet. Still, staging would look 5X better than their old furniture.

Still these stagings will cost about $1500- $2k.

The market there is good and the place will sell no matter what. I'm just trying to do right by my parents. I know it's hard to predict the value of this, but opinions are appreciated.

[LifeIsGood01]

When you have a condo with old kitchen and old outdated bathrooms and you stage it, it's like putting lipstick on a pig.

[Rakin]

Would it look better empty than without their old furniture. If it's a good market and will sale, dump the old furniture and sell with none.

[mrwumpus]

It would look better without furniture, I think (roomier anyway) but not sexy like it might staged.

[silibran]

Talk to your realtor. If the kitchen and baths are original, and if the carpet is old, I don't think staging it will improve it enough to justify the expense. But we cannot possibly know. An experienced realtor should. If he or she doesn't know, then I'd switch realtors.

It might be that removing things from the walls, touching up walls, and putting decorative objects away would be enough to make the condo look better. One person's keepsakes are another person's clutter. If you remove much of what is on the walls, you will be removing visual clutter.

Have the carpets cleaned, and have the condo extremely clean. Touch up trim where it needs it. Consider taking any window valances down.

Doing those things might be enough to improve how the place looks. But ask the realtor what she or he thinks.

[steiconi]

I think staging helps sell a property because it shows the place in its best possible light.
If your dated bath and kitchen are in good shape, a talented stager could play up a retro vibe and make them look fun.
If things are falling apart, you'd probably be better off paying a handyman than a stager.

some staging tips if you decide to do it yourself:
less stuff in a room makes it seem larger.
My realtor says no accessories smaller than a bowling ball. You can cheat this a little by displaying a small collection of closely related items (like seashells) grouped on a tray or platter.
Remove all personal stuff; photos, awards, trophies, handmade mementoes. Take down most of the stuff on the walls, and just put one large piece of wall art on the largest wall in the room.

3 pieces of furniture define a room. So a dining table only needs a couple of chairs, not the whole set of 12. Bed, nightstand, dresser. Desk, chair, file cabinet.

We've been selling all the furniture not needed for staging our house. Man, it seems so big!

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by mrwumpus

I'm selling my parents' 3BR condo in Southern California. On another forum a few people said having it professionally staged makes a place sell better and higher.

This makes sense to me when the staging is very well done, although my parents place is mostly all original. Only upgrades are tile and carpet. Still, staging would look 5X better than their old furniture.

Still these stagings will cost about $1500- $2k.

The market there is good and the place will sell no matter what. I'm just trying to do right by my parents. I know it's hard to predict the value of this, but opinions are appreciated.

"The market there is good and the place will sell no matter what."
That is a key point when considering adding an expense on the sellers' side.

If staged, vs. clean and empty, how much more will your parents net from the sale (factoring in the cost of staging also).
And how much quicker will the condo sell due to staging, reducing carrying costs?

Those are local questions, local to the complex, and your agent can help you determine.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by mrwumpus

I know it's hard to predict the value of this, but opinions are appreciated.

Focus on CLEAN and FUNCTIONAL.

That whatever is there WORKS and is okay enough to move in and live with for a while
regardless of how worn or old it might be. Thin out the worst/broken furniture.

[XRiteMA98]

Don't you have an artistic friend to do that for you? How about your realtor?

[emm74]

Even speaking as a person who always votes that they prefer viewing staged homes when this question comes up, I don't think it's worth it in this case. You aren't going to increase the price of a dated condo that needs a reno with staging.

It's been mentioned on some other threads but there are programs you can use that "stage" the photos so people will have some sense of what it looks like furnished from the photos, but then you show the actual space empty. Since chances are that most buyers will be looking to do a reno on the unit, so empty is better for them, they will want to get a good look at what needs to be done, take measurements, etc.