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What Will a Home Stager Ask You to Spend Money On?

By Julia Maher

Home Stager with Nestings: Connecticut Home Staging and Model Homes

August 27, 2010 12:36 AM

What will a Home Stager ask you to spend money on? In a prior post, I outlined some of the questions a Home Stager will ask a seller. One of the questions involved setting a budget to prepare the house for the market. This post will flesh out some of the things a professional Home Stager may ask you to pay for. These items are not frivolous; most will stay with the house. Keep in mind this is an investment in selling your house quickly!

Paint can

In the past, I have asked sellers to invest in:

Storage unit or pod
Paint/professional painters
Wallpaper removal
Carpet removal/replacement/cleaning
New kitchen flooring/counters
New bed linens for the Master Bedroom
New towels (usually white, and only for show)
Mulch
Shrubs, flowers
New mailbox
House numbers
Updated light fixtures
Simple drapery panels
Regular, brighter light bulbs (not CFLs)
Large, neutral art
Tall indoor tree
White 8x10' shag rug (Hey - $89 from Home Depot - can't beat it! And it ROCKED!)
Rental furniture
Accessories rental from Nestings
Slipcovers
Cabinet hardware

Most important:

New "Welcome" mat!

A professional Home Stager can work with any budget to help sell a house quickly. Be prepared.

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Nancy Timberlake

RE/MAX Shoreline - Portland, ME

REALTOR - Southern Maine

I like your list. It's great when owners actually go out and buy these things. What a difference, too.

Aug 27, 2010 12:40 AM

Chris Hill

Century 21 New Millennium - California, MD

Your Southern Maryland Real Estate Professional

It's a great list, I actually use a list similar to this when meeting with a new listing to help clients on their own come to some realizations. #1 They may require a stager to help. Thanks for sharing your list.

Aug 27, 2010 12:47 AM

Karen Otto

Home Star Staging - Plano, TX

Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

I'm very much enjoying these posts Julia, it's fun to see what others recommend and apparently we are all on the same wave length!

Aug 27, 2010 01:47 AM

Kathleen Emhof

Buffalo, Amherst, Orchard Park and Western New York - Buffalo, NY

Home Staging and Redesign, Experts in Transition

That's a perfect list, Julia!

Aug 27, 2010 03:22 AM

Kathy Burke

Sensational Home Staging~~Danville, CA - Danville, CA

S.F. East Bay Home Staging

That is a great list.....really sums it up. Only item I would add is.....have the home professionally cleaned BEFORE staging!

Aug 27, 2010 03:35 AM

Leanne Allen

Center Stage, LLC - Burlington, IA

I love these posts, Julia! You're doing a great job of educating the public and giving people a good idea of what to expect when they work with a home stager. Keep 'em coming!

Aug 27, 2010 05:30 AM

Sally Weatherley

EXIT STAGE RIGHT - Vancouver, BC

Vancouver Home Staging, Home Stager Vancouver, B.C

Julie - Great list - note to self - run out and buy a welcome mat! I actually don't have one in my inventory. Yikes!

Aug 27, 2010 05:49 AM

Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging

Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR

"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

Julie -- excellent list for sellers, things that I recommend too -- I also often suggest new throw pillows to give some new life to a sofa or chair. Just yesterday I advised a seller client to purchase a new front doormat, which we don't carry in our own inventory. (The 8x10 white shag rug sounds like a hot bargain!!)

Aug 27, 2010 06:22 AM

Julia Maher

Nestings: Connecticut Home Staging and Model Homes - Fairfield, CT

Connecticut Home Stager

Sally: If you carry an item like a Welcome mat in inventory, you may not want it back - LOL! Sell it to them!

Maureen: Yeah, the shag rug made a huge difference in a room that needed some updating. They actually liked it.

Chris: Hopefully clients will see the need for a Stager's guidance.

Nancy, Karen & Kathleen: This list is REAL, too - and really there's nothing frivolous.

Kathy & Maureen: Good additions - all budget dependent, of course.

Aug 27, 2010 07:14 AM

SHARON CHARBONEAU

UPSTAGING YOUR HOMES - Sechelt, BC

Excellent list. Thanks for sharing.

For the Sellers & realtors who don't understand the value of home staging & why they can't do it themselves, these are all of the things that professional stagers think about as they enter a clients house to do the consultation.

Aug 27, 2010 08:20 AM

Sharon - Thank you! Very thoughtful - and yes, those wheels are constantly turning in my head as I go through each property!

Aug 27, 2010 08:43 AM

Birgit Anich

Birgit Anich Staging & Interiors, 203.807.4040 - Norwalk, CT

CT Home Stager Fairfield & New Haven County

This is a great list Julie! We are all on the same page here.

Aug 27, 2010 09:40 AM

Anonymous

Christine Spitale (Sunflower Staging)

excellent list... love it! I also recommend light bulbs and light fixtures and if the budget is really tight, we have recommended 'mini lampshades' to breath new life into a dated chandelier.

Aug 27, 2010 11:24 AM

#13

Sharon Tara

Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH

Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

I have asked sellers to spend money on all those things too...and when they take your suggestions and their house sells...it's a wonderful feeling!

Aug 27, 2010 12:08 PM

Cindy Bryant

Redesign Etc. Home Staging - Houston, TX

"Houston Home Staging Pros"

An $89 shag rug at Home Depot...not that's a deal! The CFL can cast a strange look into a room and take a little longer to come on, good call on the bulbs.

Aug 27, 2010 04:57 PM

Cathy Lee

CL Design Services Home Staging - Danville, CA

ASP, IAHSP, RESA Danville, CA

Excellent list!! New front door mat is so important and new front door hardware is welcoming too!

Aug 27, 2010 07:21 PM

Thanks, Birgit - being on the same page with you is a great place to be!

Cathy: Mat, fresh paint on the door, polished hardware...I need to get busy on my own!

Christine & Cindy: Some people can live with one or two chandelier bulbs out - buyers won't. CFLs just don't cast the right light...lampshades have not caught up w/ the technology.

Sharon: Smart sellers look at this spending as an investment.

Aug 28, 2010 12:47 AM

Kate Talarico

Kates Home Staging and Interior Design - Goshen, NY

RESA, Top Orange County Home Decorator & Stager

Exellent list, I am glad we all think the same way.

Aug 31, 2010 10:35 AM

What Will a Home Stager Ask You to Spend Money On?

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