<p>Longprime is right, you should ask pima, and you would get the usual completely honest answer.</p>
<p>When we sold our last house, my husband actually staged it. We moved everything out of the house except the nice furniture (which there wasn’t much of). Completely cleaned and painted everything. He bought some nice area rugs, put flowers in vases, nice towels in the bathrooms, left a few paintings on the wall. No dirt, no clutter, and we got two full price offers the first day it went on the market.</p>
<p>Right now…The people I know that are selling immediately are under pricing their homes. Of course, those prices become the new values in the neighborhood. The neighbors are not thrilled when they see the sold prices.</p>
<p>I know two people that did this recently. There were broker open houses. I don’t know…maybe 75 agents showed up and the agents threw into a hat a piece of paper that had the expected sell price written on that paper.</p>
<p>So the homesellers received a range of expected sell prices. And both homesellers listed their homes at 5% less than the lowest expected price.</p>
<p>Both sold the first weekend.</p>
<p>My friend did a similar thing…except he priced his home a couple of
percent higher than the highest expected price. And now he has a stale
house. To be fair…there aren’t too many homes in his price range on the market. And few people are buying homes in that price range these
days. </p>
<p>I’m disappointed because I have a $200 bet with a third party. The bet is
my friend would sell his house, before the third party sold one of his two houses that are on the market. And the third party had a minimum price he had to hit on one of his houses. So thst house is eliminated. That house will never sell for the minimum. And the third party’s other house has a very limited market. An expensive vacation house on a lake. Nobody is interested in that kind of house these days.</p>
<p>Now it is almost a year later…and none of those three houses have sold.</p>
<p>My friend’s house is in a great location. Now it is priced at the low end of expected sale prices. It’s not moving. I never thought my friend would overprice his house. :)</p>
<p>HGTV.com has a ton of pages of advice on staging…some of which may be contradictory. But it comes down to clean, uncluttered, and repaired. A handyman to do all those little ‘round-to-it’ jobs is a good investment! </p>
<p>When you start calling stagers, ask if they provide things like pictures, furniture pieces, and accessories. A lot of them will take your stuff and show it off…moving an armchair to your bedroom, setting up a coffee table display, etc…but others will bring things in. That will cost more. </p>
<p>You should also ask where they were trained. Do they have an interior design degree? Ones who have is will probably charge more than someone who took a 5 day course. </p>
<p>Good luck! My mother’s house in FL has been on the market for about a year…no showings. She’s changing her agent. I think the lady lost enthusiasm for her work when the market went down so far. But some houses do sell…even in this market.</p>
<p>I can only tell you my experience. When I sold my parent’s house- initially, we staged it by removing all excess and showcasing only the nice but bland pieces. Total interior repaint, neutral colors, carpet cleaning. Fixed every minor thing. NO SALE- although many lookers during the listing period. (My mom was still living in the house at the time, but was scrupulous about showings). </p>
<p>We then waited another 6 months, during which time, we sold as much furniture as we could and moved her in with us. Once the house was totally empty- we relisted. House sold within a month at near the original asking price. A cash sale. </p>
<p>This was a 2400 sq foot 3-2.5-2 on 1/4 acre in Houston. Not the greatest neighborhood.</p>
<p>In retrospect, I think that even though we staged it the way the first realtor said- it was still obvious that it was the home of an older couple whose children were gone. Even though the blandness was there- it still sent a message. </p>
<p>(We had no money for a professional stager- so we really picked the realtor’s brain and watched HGTV).</p>
<p>Selling your house can be difficult, especially in this market. Pricing, staging and marketing all will play an important role of the quick sale of your home. If the area norm is to use a stager, the money spent will more than compensate you-because the sale will be quicker than if you don’t.
I have been a Realtor for 18 years/husband 35 years-in the SF Bay Area. Even in the tough markets-my husband and I can say we sold our homes in 45 days or less. (We have since retired) If the price is not on point-the buyer will not come forward w/an offer. Most Americans do not like to negotiate-but they do want to “win”. If you price it 5% less, you might even get two offers competing!
Staging a home should be done by professionals-as the wrong furniture/paint colors can devalue a home needlessly. The buyers in your area have come to expect the staging-and will subconsciously devalue your home if it is not. Go out on a Sunday to see the staging/asking prices in your neighborhood-the buyers have-and that is why they “know a deal” when they see it. You want to be that deal when your house goes on the market.
G’luck! and Enjoy the new chapter/new home.
~APOL</p>
<p>Individual anecdotes aside-I’ve read that many market analysis studies show that empty homes in general sell for far less than immaculate, furnished, well decorated homes and stay on the market for quite a bit longer.</p>
<p>I think a stager can be helpful, and is sometimes necessary, depending on the owner, their personal ability to make changes, and the market they are in.</p>
<p>When we sold several years ago I had a grid that spanned several months with things to do by week. Baseboards were painted, hardware changed, cute baskets put in the laundry to organize, neutral bedding swapped out. stickers and nick-nacks taken out of kids bedrooms. The hardwoods were cared for and repaired where needed, furniture removed, carpet replaced, ALL family photos removed. I kept new ‘show ready’ pillowcases and towels set aside to be swapped out if the house needed to be shown. There was a bucket list of last minute things you forget (remove all shampoo bottles, etc., wipe down sinks, remove laundry baskets…yup this all got put in my car). We had tile work done. The playroom was organized in the closet by containers labeled ‘lego’, ‘matchbox’, etc. We had given away at least half of what was in our closets and painted the back of the boys closets where they were marked from tossing shoes in. The garage was organized, etc. You could turn cartwheels in my storage room.</p>
<p>People need to walk in and see their family living there, not yours. If you live in a neighborhood where the investment is worth it, you don’t have time, or you simply can’t bear to pack away the 50 figurines in the dining room…, a stager can really help. I was able to do it myself, BUT I had the time, made it a top priority, made my family more than a bit miserable, and was not in the top real estate bracket where the trendiest furniture was expected. Neutral and clean was fine.</p>
<p>I will say, changing the carpet is really a good idea. Even if you make an allowance at closing, people will make the assumption that other items have been neglected as well. It detracts from the other wonderful selling features of your home.</p>
<p>nrd- I think you are correct in your overall general stats. I’m certainly not recommending that anyone empty their house completely in order to sell. </p>
<p>I also think that whether a stager is needed is dependent on the neighborhood and the likelihood that competitive houses will have been staged. Is the market for the OP’s house one in which professional staging is an expectation?</p>
<p>In my mom’s market, I doubt anyone ever staged a home, other than the do it yourself style staging. The market just wasn’t that type. Her home sold for 120K. And, as it turned out, an empty house was better than a DIY staged house in that market, even though we thought we knew what we were doing in presentation. </p>
<p>But, this is a very individual thing- dependent on market, style of furnishings available and ability to pay for professional staging, among other things.</p>
<p>I think the design portion is worth the $2000-$3000 most charge. I also think for the average home in average condition you want to budget 1% of the price for repairs/updates or say $5000 on a $500,000 house. Unless your furniture is just awful I think creative moving and editing is enough. Renting an entire house worth is crazy. I actually prefer to look at empty homes (hard to hide bad floors and walls, etc) but I think most people need to see it all done. I think it helps but the right price and good maintenance and location still rule. Over pricing is the biggest mistake. Good luck.
Another thing coming into use is some seller financing. As you are savvy in that area it might make a better deal and faster sale. Good luck</p>
<p>We sold our townhouse this summer, after living there for 23 years. When we first consulted with our Realtor in April, he told us he would list it for $209K but we’d be lucky to get over $200K. He also told us to paint and get new carpet–off-white paint and light beige carpet. I asked him about just giving a carpet allowance, but he said buyers almost always want a house they can move into without the hassle of buying new carpet.</p>
<p>We rented a storage unit, removed 2/3 of our furniture, and emptied the closets. All photos and knick-knacks were packed away. The house was painted, and we got new carpet along with vinyl floors in the bathrooms. I cleaned the whole house from top to bottom, and hired someone to clean all of the windows (you’d be amazed at the difference clean windows can make!). We also spruced up the yard with colorful flowers and fresh mulch.</p>
<p>When the Realtor came back in late July, he was blown away by how good the place looked. He decided to put the house on the market on a Wednesday at $239K, and said in the listing that all offers would be reviewed on Monday. We received an offer of $245K on Friday, with the provision that we had to respond by 8 PM that night. They didn’t want to risk being aced out by another offer over the weekend. We accepted the offer (a bird in the hand, etc…) instead of waiting until Monday.</p>
<p>dstark - It sounds like you’ll pretty well set on hiring a stager, so I’d suggest going to some open houses and finding out who staged the ones you like. I’m surprised that your realtor isn’t more helpful, though. When I auditioned a couple of realtors to list our house this coming spring, both were really good about saying what improvements were worth making. They both emphasized de-cluttering, removing a bunch of furniture, cleaning, and painting inside. They were also big on outdoor space cleanup, pruning and painting. They didn’t encourage me to do things like change counters, though that could be different in your own house. </p>
<p>You could probably do this on your own if you want to, and have some good basic furniture. If you go over to the gardenweb forums, try not to feel inferior! Those are some design divas over there, but they’re extremely helpful if you have the patience to ask questions, post photos, etc. </p>
<p>I agree with posts above about changing the carpet to a light earth tone - beige is still the way to go, with low pile or Berber style. </p>
<p>Paint colors are trending toward khakis and warm grays, plus the pale blues. If you go to Restoration Hardware and look at their paint colors, that’s what you’ll see in most of the staged houses (but don’t buy your paint there if you want to save $ - I know our local Resto. has its paint made by Rodda). </p>
<p>You mentioned counters, so I’ll tackle that one based on my vast expertise developed through watching HGTV: if you’re in a super high end house, marble counters seem to be the current big deal. Below that, adding granite counters in the kitchen is really valuable, apparently. In the baths, people still seem very impressed by granite, but the Restoration Hardware style with Carerra marble vanity tops is hugely popular. Undermount sinks are a nice addition if you’re already changing out the counters, but it can be a lot cheaper to stick with self-rimming.</p>
<p>I’ve only read the first page so far, but want to comment on 2 points:
12 inch tile will be great for the bath UNLESS this is a much older home with architecture and other finishes in which that would look out of place.<br>
Carpet colors: as a starting pint, I’d suggest light colored neutrals. They will not offend anyone and they will tend to make the rooms look larger.</p>
<p>dstark, can I ask something?.. must you replace the carpet right away? This is just my two cents but maybe you should leave it as it is and tell the potential buyer that you will replace it with whatever they like (within reason). (although if it’s super duper bad and would turn people off the moment they walk in the house then it may be better to replace it right away)… But what if you make it more of an incentive for the buyer that if they buy the house you will replace the carpet with whatever they want it to be up to x amount of dollars. That way they get carpet in whatever color they want to match whatever they have. Maybe that’s a bad idea but just thought I’d throw it out there… Might be worth asking someone about.</p>
<p>When I bought my house it had carpet that was complete crap. They were going to replace it with the purchase of the house with whatever I picked out. During my negotiations I wiggled them down about 25k on the price and one of the last things done before they finally agreed to my counter offer was that I could have my price but that I was on my own for the cost of new carpet. I wound up tearing it up and finding gorgeous hardwood underneath. Refinished it for about 500 bucks, bought a couple of area rugs and it worked out great… plus it looks so much better now… definitely added value to the home.</p>
<p>I watch a lot of the staging shows on HGTV… My best friends Realtor was a stager also, so she lucked out when selling her house. They used some of her existing furniture but switched out a little of it. I personally thought they under priced the house a tiny bit but they must have known what they were doing because it sold in 3 days. They didn’t want to over price and have it be stuck on the market for months on end.</p>
<p>Personally, when I looked at houses… I much rather enjoyed looking at the empty houses over the ones with furniture in them (staged or not). I went from house to house, picturing where my couch would go, where my tv would go, how MY stuff would fit in the space. But I am a very visual artistic person, so that might just be me. I love designing rooms and laying out furniture and whatnot.</p>
<p>Well…a part of me would just like to empty out the house…not change anything, including the carpets, discount the price, sell it as is…</p>
<p>I have started looking at homes for sale…and it seems to me that the homes that have been staged and fixed up… sell. Most people seem to want the homes move-in ready.</p>
<p>“Well…a part of me would just like to empty out the house…not change anything, including the carpets, discount the price, sell it as is…”</p>
<p>I wonder if a real estate agent would tell you to just make everything neutral. People can’t always see what “can be”, they won’t look past everything for a price (unless it is really cheap). If you have lived there for a long time, and even if you like your style, that may not sell. Of course if the carpet is in reasonably good shape, and not obnoxious colors, then why bother replacing it?</p>
<p>But…another personal story. We had a house in Memphis to sell. It was a nice house, in a great neighborhood, with a pool, for a good price with few homes selling nearby. Should have sold quickly. People kept telling our realtor that they couldn’t see beyond the awful colors in the house (wine red carpet, dark green walls). When we initially moved into the house, I told my husband we had to paint/recarpet immediately. But we never did, and just got used to it. We finally agreed to put the money in to make the carpet neutral, and the walls cream colored. It sold instantly (albeit us being out 6K for carpet/paint). The realtor even made us strip our son’s room (super cool glow in the dark space wallpaper). He was right.</p>