Staging with owners living there (house, buyers, first impression, showing)

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by southbel

Like I said when I posted those pictures, I knew there would be one. While you may think the before is better and from what you said prefer more cluttered homes, you are the exception not the rule.

Where did I say that?

I merely like the color scheme in the original photo better. If that insults your design "know-how", so be it.

[psichick]

This thread cracked me up. Mostly because I watch those home shows and all I can say is, most buyers have absolutely no imagination. They can't see beyond wall color, furniture, mess, etc. So yes, SOME staging is needed.

And putting away toiletries is easy. My ex and I would use the back part of hanging towels, so it looked nice in the front, but we didn't have to put out clean ones every time we left. We kept a cloth in a drawer to wipe down the sink area after we were done. Honestly, easy maintenance things. Heck, 7 years later and I still do a lot of these things out of habit AND it just looks nice.

If you don't want to do it, don't do it. The consequences will be your own doing (good or bad). As long as you can live with it, do what you want.

[fitzy24]

Originally Posted by pikabike

When I have looked at houses, I prefer vacant ones, since nothing blocks visibility or moving around. But most houses are still lived in. In that case, I can get past a reasonable amount of stuff being there. But a few huge no-nos, to me, are these:

- Bad smells of any kind. That includes cigarette smoke, kitty litter, sweaty clothes, dog dander or (ugh) waste, and odors that often ARE part of life. Remove those, bag and seal them, open windows, put them outdoors away from the house, just get the stink out of the house.

- Furniture that is so big it blocks doorways or other passages. We once looked at a house that was being rented, and the tenants had huge furniture blocking half a doorway, plus we could smell a kitty box despite not seeing one, and the bedrooms reeked of unwashed scalp.

- Garages that are dirty or stuffed or have uncleaned fluid spills. That tells me it serves as a dumping ground for junk and trash. It doesn't need to be eat-off-the-floor clean--after all, it is a garage--but I want to know the owners did not treat it as not worth taking care of.

Staging does not impress me. It looks fake.

Wondering what that smells like.

[ss20ts]

When we bought our current house, it came down to 2 houses. House A was much larger, on a larger lot, had many more updates, was tens of thousands less. House B was smaller, on a smaller lot, had far fewer updates, and cost tens of thousands more. We ended up going with House B.

Why? My husband took one look at the photos I took of both houses while I toured them. He said absolutely no way to House A and had no idea why since I was HEAVILY leaning that way...bigger house....bigger lot....more updates...cheaper! No brainer, right? My husband said there was absolutely no way possible for them to empty that house in 4 weeks which is when our closing was. He said they'd have to have dumpsters there already and started packing/cleaning. The garage alone was STUFFED with pieces and parts. Both bays and the attic were jammed packed....it was oozing out into the driveway.

We went with House B and for us, it ended up being quite perfect. Yes, we have to remodel and add on, but we'll get exactly what we want. House A sold months after ours. Their closing took about 2 months. I always wondered how much they were able to actually empty or if they just left all the crap there. The place looked like the owners kept everything they had ever purchased. I've never seen so many clothes! And they knew I was coming for a showing.....totally not prepared for it!

[LowonLuck]

Originally Posted by aliss2

I don't get the cat thing. Can't they just go in a crate and then in the car? I have two kids and a dog. Showings are inconvenient, but I pile everyone in the car and wait down the block. 90% of people are on time. I dislike cats and would leave if I saw one (bit of a phobia/allergy thing). The whole point of doing these things is to cater to all buyers, and let them focus on the house.

We have one cat that we only see once in awhile in the house. It would take me days to try to trap her, to leave for a showing.

[LowonLuck]

Originally Posted by southbel

Oh for flipping sake - look it DOES make a difference. Here's a perfect before and after of my last living room. Problems I couldn't change included way too many doors into the space and it was a very, very small room.

In the before photo, too much clutter, too dark, and way too much furniture. Solution was to paint the wall white, added very inexpensive planking to the fireplace walls, and new furniture. Here's the thing on that furniture - a whopping $100 from craigslist for the sofa, <$200 for the coffee table from Pier 1, $150 for the chair from Pier 1 because they were floor models and 'damaged' (couldn't see it though) and some accessories from Hobby Lobby. So yes, I paid money to put in 'new' furniture but the return on investment (in excess of $15K) far, far, far exceeded the cost of the staging (maybe $2K total for the whole house). On top of that, the house sold in one hour with multiple offers from the pictures alone. And note for those who think 'staging' looks bare, I don't think it looks bare at all - nor did anyone else (I'm sure this board will find one though).

The top picture is the nicer room. It is cozy and inviting.

[Avalon08]

My Mom was so allergic to cats that she'd start sneezing even if the cat wasn't there.

When I'm selling, I am a maniac about decluttering and basically not even reminding people that someone lives there. For example, not leaving the damp towel hanging on the back of the bathroom door. NO small appliances on kitchen counter. NO family photos. Dog bowls hidden. Refrigerator and cabinets uncluttered and organized. Most of my clothes removed from the closet so it looks nice and spacious. The problem is finding places to hide all this stuff, because buyers will look EVERYWHERE, even in your drawers. ;-) Really a pain in the butt, but I've always sold relatively quickly -- last place was in one day.

I've been looking on-line at places in an over-55 development built in the 70's. Some have never been updated, but they are clearly staged. Painted in a soft grayish or muted color, minimalist furniture, accessories placed strategically -- it definitely takes away the feeling that the place is dated.

[Koale]

Originally Posted by Jo48

Florida. We are from up North and not only my decorations reflect this, but all my Colonial (antiques included) furniture as well which we are taking with us.

Agent's stager did not like this. This has to go. Maybe RENT "something more tropical?" Excuse me? We, owners not renters, are still living here. I am not about to rent tropical Tommy Bahama decor, put my things in storage, to "please" any Florida buyer. There will be NOTHING here when they move in.

Put all personal items away for pictures? Fine, but do not expect me to put away shavers, toothpaste, coffee pots, etc., every time a buyer is viewing. Sorry, but this not a vacant furniture showroom, but a a very clean, tidy house where people are actually LIVING IN. Find an empty, vacant home if you do not like my non-tropical decor.

We went through this, once. Fortunately for us we had the best RE/PM and LL in the entire world. We sat down and talked about the selling of the condo and came to a decided conclusion that photos would take about 30 minutes and how would we 'like to proceed'. We staged the place ourselves...put everything personal away for the afternoon so good photos could be taken. Couldn't have found a better stager than us. The place looked immaculate and allowed photography of all areas of any interest to potential buyers.
Place sold in a month. We don't put up with pushy, arrogant REA...at all. If they want to push, we can push back just as hard. You simply don't let them in the front door w/out consent and agreement as to what they are doing. I've turned many RE and their prospective clients away at the door w/out proper notice. They're REA for goodness sakes...not God.
Koale

[Koale]

Originally Posted by Spottednikes

I have my sellers hang new white towels over the towel bars tied with raffia. I tell them to hang their damp used towels over a plastic hanger an hang in their closet. Counters are mostly clear except for something decorative. Razors, toothbrushes, etc get put away in drawers or under sink in a cabinet.
Kitchen counters are mostly clear. A coffee pot is fine. A bunch of small appliances are not.
No need to buy new furniture, but really minimize, and maybe get a light colored slipcover if the couch is really dark.

Are you high? Who ties the raffia every day? You are joking, right? Buy, Buy, Buy...ya know what, they're 'selling' not buying. Do you offer to make the purchases and tie the pretty white towels each day? I doubt it. Geez...this RE thing is such a gimmick it's ridiculous. However, maybe you are right. We had one REA who actually loved our home. Now think how much 'nicer' it would have been if we had actually taken his advice and knocked out a kitchen wall and added the second bathroom suggested...LOL, seriously...
Koale

[pikabike]

Hang damp towels in the closet? Ewwww, good way to create a mildewy smell.

You can hang them outdoors in the sun, not right at the entrance or anything, but geez, OUTSIDE.