Vacant staging, why is such a tough sell? It seems lately that i have given out many estimates on vacant staging but have yet to reap the rewards. So I ask myself, why is it such a tough sell? When you take in the cost of carry the mortgage plus the expenses (utilities), times that by the many months it has "sat" on the market, it can add up to a substantial amount! Staging a vacant home could potential save the home owners thousands of dollars, yet they cringe when you show them what the cost will be to stage their home.
Some stagers state the fact that the reason some home owners don't want to stage is due to the fact that they would actually have to put their hands into their pockets and dish out the money. Where reducing the listing price is just "paper money". This may be true, but if you had a chance to increase your profit why would you take it? Vacant homes are a tough sell because the buyers can not see the potential of the room. Have you ever looked at MLS listing of a vacant home? Could you tell what propose the room served? i recently had a call from a home owner who had a vacant home on the market. When I looked at the MLS listing i couldn't tell which room was the master bedroom, dining room or family room. The only room I could identify was the kitchen and that was for obvious reason (kitchen cabinets). This was a $3.6 million dollar home. I should have been "wowed" but i wasn't. It has been on the market for over 7 months! Image the expenses the home owner is carrying! Yet, when I told her what the cost of staging her vacant home would be, she didn't want to spend the money!! Call me crazy but i don't get it! When you break it down, vacant staging is worth the cost, so why can't home owners see that. The fact that they would rather continue hemorrhaging money is baffling to me. Vacant staging is such a tough sell but if you take in consideration what it will cost you in the long run, staging the home will actually save you money. And that my friends, is a fact you can take to the bank!
Vacant room before staging (has no purpose) Vacant room after staging (defined as an office)
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