Real Estate Blog - "I have a $500 budget and only need a few pieces of furniture can you stage for this amount?"

Home : Blogs : Karen Otto, Home Stager, Plano, TX 469)964-0516 www.homestarstaging.com : North Texas Home Staging - Not Your PlanO Staging Blog!

"I have a $500 budget and only need a few pieces of furniture can you stage for this amount?"

This question was recently asked of me by a prospective client who requested "key room staging" with furniture. These were the areas requested:

Living room
Dining room
Master bedroom

For what was needed in the price point of home in question and from my company's perspective the answer was No.

Let me explain why.

My company does not carry large furniture pieces as part of our accessory prop inventory.

Home Star Staging utilizes the services of reputable, national furniture rental companies to supply the large furniture inventory for our home staging projects that require this service.

I define "large furniture" as any that I cannot personally lift or move by myself.

It was a business decision I made as I got into the home staging industry over 3 years ago.

In my opinion furniture rental, which entails

purchasing,
warehousing
maintenance
manpower
service vehicles
delivery
insurance
and much more

is another business in and of itself and one I personally do not want to be in.

I find that working with national furniture rental companies has suited the needs of my business and my client's very well. I do however, keep a large accessory, small furniture and prop inventory that I warehouse for use in my client's properties. This service is available for a cost effective investment if needed.

Locally, the 2 major furniture rental companies I work with work very well with the home staging industry however both companies require monthly minimums on staging rental packages.

I'd like to explain why and how working with a professional home stager, should you need rental furniture, will be easier, more cost effective and provide you with the best result in this process.

As a professional home stagerI've educated myself on this subject and made it my business to work in conjunction with the furniture rental companies to bring their service to my clients in an effortless and efficient manner with NO UPCHARGING of their furniture to my clients.

In fact, working with a professional home stager will provide you with additional savings over walking in off the street because we provide a valued service to the rental companies as well. In essence, we are an independent sales force that brings customers to their doors who may normally never consider them as an option or understand how to work with them. Over the last few years I've developed an understanding, a solid working relationship and a partnership not only with the furniture rental companies for my business but for serving my clients as well.

My knowledge of how to work with furniture rental companies for staging a home is at your service.

For Realtors and clients interested in understanding how rental furniture companies work with home staging projects in North Texas I'd like to provide an general overview and explanation of how they work. I find myself laying out this subject at least once a week when a call or email comes through inquiring about this service.

I will also explain why working with a professional home stager can make this prospect easier, more cost effective and with successful results.

How Furniture Rental companies work when staging a home:

Monthly rental fees at minimum are between $250 - 300 (and depending on the size, style and price point of your home, number of rooms to be staged, this fee can be more)
A minimum 3 month lease agreement is required for jobs under $1,000 in monthly furniture rental (however, if you rent over $1,000 in furniture a month, a 2 month minimum is allowed)
A damage waiver, tax and one time delivery charge (with delivery and pick up included) will also be applied
You can expect to pay in total - at minimum - approximately $1,000 over the 3 month lease agreement for the furniture and this does not include staging services or accessory prop inventory.
Should the property sell in less than 3 months (many times the case) you will still be required to fulfill the full 3 month terms of the agreement but you will not have the carrying costs of the home to consider any longer nor price reductions, which can easily be triple the initial investment in staging your home! However, should the property go longer than the initial 3 month agreement, you are free to cancel the contract or choose to lease on a month by month basis until the property sells. I have had instances where these contracts can be transferred to another staging client and both clients save money, however this is a somewhat complicated and time sensitive circumstance however I can easily make this happen when conditions are right.

Why working with a professional home stager makes it easier & more cost effective to lease furniture:

We've developed a solid working knowledge and relationship with the rental companies & know what to ask for and how to get it done quickly, efficiently & most cost effectively
We work with them for you, saving you time and money
We know their product lines and which ones will be best suited for your individual property
We know how to get the most furniture (which pieces work well together and which don't) for the best price and pass the savings on to you

It is my hope that this blog will explain some of the questions clients may have regarding costs and benefits of staging a home, particularly a vacant home, using the services of a professional home stager in conjunction with renting furniture.

**********************************************************************************************

For expert advice on preparing a home for sale contact Home Star Staging, a Real Estate Staging and Consulting company. Home Star Staging is here for you North Texas!

By TwitterButtons.com

Posted by Karen Otto, Home Stager, Plano, TX 469)964-0516 www.homestarstaging.com on 09/04/2009 05:31 PM

Comments (26)

Home Staging Advice in the Home Selling Channel

staging vacant properties, vacant property staging, working with furniture rental companies, home staging, home stager

Originally posted at: North Texas Home Staging - Not Your PlanO Staging Blog!: "I have a $500 budget and only need a few pieces of furniture can you stage for this amount?"

This post has been included in Texas Information Collin County, TX Information Plano, TX Information
Post is included in group: Stage It Forward...
Post is included in group: Realtors®
Post is included in group: Lone Star Real Estate Professionals
Post is included in group: Collin County, TX Real Estate Professionals
Post is included in group: Advice for Sellers

26 Comments on "I have a $500 budget and only need a few pieces of furniture can you stage for this amount?"

SEP

Really excellent post - I've had these requests as well - and I don't do vacant home staging at all any more partly because of the storage of stuff and the physical labor aspect of it. I didn't like working with the rental companies either. This type of staging isn't for me but people often don't understand that their minimum fee may very well be YOUR fee to even do it. We've all gone above and beyond for clients so many times but this post really helps clarify some of the financial aspects of our profession.

Having this knowledge can help a client understand the commitment by the stager that is involved as well as the financial realities

Hi Liz, thank you for sharing that. Yes vacant properties are a unique service and many don't understand how much work is involved. I hear of home stagers who go out and buy furniture and say they can do it cheaper than the rental companies... of course they can at first but in a very short time they find that they cannot keep up the supply at the demand of "savings" because once you set the standard (or lower your bar) you can't go back. We need to educate our clients on the value and the work involved.

AMEN & Alleluia!!! You must have read my mind when you reTweeted my "be realistic about budgets when calling a Pro Home Stager" ;) !!!!

That tweet was prompted by a client who also actually only had a $500 budget, and although it was only for one room - it was a HUGE master bedroom.... and even at the minimum monthly cost you quoted (which are the same here) they were still looking at $1,000 over 3 months and just like you said with #4 this does not include staging services or accessory prop inventory

I am so over unrealistic budgets Connie! We really need to continue to educate the masses on the process and the costs involved in this value added service we love and KNOW WORKS called home staging.

Hi Karen, this is an EXCELLENT discussion of the Stager-Rental furniture company interaction. People need to know it is not the stager that inventories all this and the ballpark pricing.

Great post and one that is needed to open the eyes of sellers who have an unrealistic budget in mind. I don't have furniture and like Liz have decided to stay clear of "rentals" and vacant properties. I prefer owner occupied consultations.

Thank you Gary for your comment!

I love consultations too Sharon.

A very good explanations for the consumers and agents alike! Good job, Karen.

Thanks for spelling it out so clearly Karen, I don't think anyone has done a post like this.

I'm with you as far as inventory. The smaller items and accessories/art I have make my jobs look unique but I use basic rental pieces of furniture. One of the main reason I decided not to buy inventory is that when you own inventory, you may become inclined to force a round peg into a square hole. For instance a dining room that really needs a table for 10 but you own a table for 6. If you use the table for 6, you are not doing your clients home justice. Not to mention the financial consideration you brought up.

EXcetional Post Karen! Really well written!!

Ditto Allegra. The stagers in my area with their own furniture too many times place round dining tables in rectangle spaces or vice versa and Tuscan pieces in Modern homes...not a good example of staging!!

Karen,

How long have I been reading your blog, and I didn't know this! Makes perfect sense, though. Now I know.

Mike in Tucson

I once had a man that wanted to get his entire home furnished for $500 and that was to include my fee. He was very serioius, and was very upset when I told him it couldn't be done. I don't know why or where he would get such info.

SEP

What an extremely insightful post, Karen.

I too use a national company for the lease of the furniture items. As a result, I'm able to match the style of the furniture with that of the home as well as the demographics of the buyer as the selection is huge.

In addition, last year, I had 37 homes staged at one time. I couldn't imagine owning 37 homes worth of furniture as the storage alone that would be needed would be astronomical.

Kathy

Thank you Loreena!

Your point about fitting a round peg in a square hole is so perfect Allegra once you set the precedent to purchase and offer large furniture as part of your service it's very difficult to just work with a few pieces, you'll end up spending more on furniture and warehousing that you could ever make as a home stager- especially if one is just starting out.

Thank you for sharing that Cathy!

I'm glad you learned something Mike =) I may not be writing as many blogs these days but I'm always aiming to eductate in most of them. So nice to see you =)

Maybe those TV shows where they can rebuild an entire kitchen, paint and have new furniture all for $1000 Cindy.

Hi Kathy thank you for reading. Just what you wrote here, having 37 homes at one time staged, the prop inventory alone for that is massive, I could not imagine having the large furniture for that scale of work either. The furniture also wouldn't pay for itself the first time out - a constant rotation would be needed (and then the wear and tear, replacment costs etc.) to make a profit.

Hi Karen, I don't think the public realizes what goes into working with a rental company and all the fees and work involved. This is great post and one that I hoped is read by many!

We just need to continually educate Cynthia and I know for many it's hard to put what we do into words. Even when I thought of writing this blog I started to get a little overwhelmed with the information and trying to put in into words that anyone can understand.

You seem to have written a timely post once more. I too had a house flipper tell me that he has a stager who stages a 3 bedroom house with finished basment for a very low number which included the staging fee, props, accessories and destaging. I haven't seen one of his houses so I cannot comment on the type of staging taking place, however, I do know that a professional staging company using a rental furniture company could not do the work on that budget.

Karen: Great explanation of working with furniture rental companies and with home stagers. Like you, I have chosen not to warehouse large furniture. I crunched the numbers, and discovered that I would have to charge more if I owned my own rental furniture, not less. The cost of warehousing furniture and hiring labor to install it are cost prohibitive here in Los Angeles. Most of the local home stagers who have their own furniture inventory in the Los Angeles area are going out of business due to high overhead.I have a 1500 sq. ft. warehouse to house all my artwork, accessories, silk plants, bedding, throw pillows & towels. This works out real well when I can rent the furniture.

Working with a furniture rental company gives me a huge inventory of furniture in many different styles to choose from. If they don't have the sofa I've requested, there are 20 or 30 others to choose from. No way I could afford to stock that much furniture.And keeping all that furniture in good condition is a full time job in itself. No thanks!

SEP

Great post. I own enough furniture to stage about 15 homes but after that I rent from a national company. I doubt that I will purchase a lot more large pieces and instead will rent those pieces. It is just too expensive to move the larger peices, warehouse them, and to rotate them out of inventory when they are out of date or damaged.

Hmmm. I've been thinking about all of these things recently. I know several stagers through a staging organization. A few have maintained their own inventories. Two of them are going out of business, partially because the income is so low and partially because of all the physical work that requires. One of them still in business is charging really low prices, to get business. She thinks she'll be able to raise her price after she's proved how well staging works. I don't know--how can your raise your prices significantly?

I'm glad I chose to rent my large pieces. The only real drawback is there are only 2 rental companies in St. Louis, and because so many who own their own inventory aren't charging much, I can't compete on vacants. I may elect to focus on occupied properties and recommend some of my staging sisters. Thanks so much for you timely blog!

SEP

HI Karen! I too choose to rent the big pieces of furniture for my clients, as most of us do. The companies I rent from have a free delivery for a minimum 500.00 order, or they charge an extra 150 for delivery.

Because of this, the "small" jobs (just a vacant room type of thing or a 500 sq. ft. condo) tend to be pricier than a standard vacant home, where rental is always higher than the minimum fee. In these cases I find I have problems closing the deals and at one point I was thinking to invest in some pieces of furniture myself. But just thinking on carrying these pieces back and forth, back and forth, I realized it won't work for me.

There are those who will do it as cheaply as possible to get the job or work Michelle and as tempting as it may be to do it during the slow times it sets a precedent that is hard to maintain. I value the quality of work I do as well.

That's interesting Michelle that you figured it would cost more to own and rent your own large furniture and I can understand how. The costs of keeping that inventory not only in good condition but fresh, modern and to the styles needed for the variety homes would put me out of business. The accessory inventory is more than enough for me to handle.

Wow that's a lot Wanda but it has worked for you and you also made the decision that anything after 15 houses you choose to rent.

Hi Cathy, you touched on many of the topics and dilemas facing all home stagers who offer vacant property staging - it is not a cheap investment to start or maintain and it's important for others to understand that and why we charge what we do.

Unfortunately Monica the industry has no real standards for pricing it seems and without consistency in pricing - and companies/individual stagers who can undercut for a time before realizing it's a no win situation - clients are often confused as to what the real value and costs of vacant home staging are. While I'm not suggesting set pricing for all home staging companies there are certain costs when you have to rely on rental furniture companies that a good majority of home staging businesses (that are actually STAYING IN BUSINESS) face.

SEP

Really good post Karen. Very insightful.

I asked in a recent post, if there is no objection that a price reduction cannot overcome, how much reduction is anticipated before the cost of staging is no longer an objection? My point is that when TV shows show staging costing thousands if not tens of thousands, and we offer to stage for considerably LESS, it would SEEM like a price reduction that could overcome the price...but it often doesn't...clearly tossing $500 out as bait will be snatched up by a stager trying to get started and the cycle will continue! VERY well written post!

SEP

Thanks for reading Gynell!

You're right Cheryl, it is like a bait that will be taken by some. For those who understand the true cost, work and value provided in their services, compromise is not at option. We could all be very busy for free.

SEP

Great Blog, Karen: Well written and a reminder that I need to sell of some inventory. Going to book mark it!

I did not get into Home Staging to be a furniture company, but, lo and behold, it happened.

The Stage Coach - Austin Home Stager

This blog does not allow anonymous comments