Consumers who watch many of the Staging programs on HGTV may be bemused by the number of times they hear phrases from the host like "We'll fool the buyer" or "We'll trick the eye", etc....Rugs or furniture may be used to cover worn spots; stains from leaks may be painted over; grass may be "tinted"; temporary screening may be put in place to hide the eyesore on the neighbor's property.
These can only be temporary measures, however, as any problems will most likely be found during the inspection and the discovery of the defects may impact the sale.
Responsible Stagers never indulge in that kind of behaviour. If a Stager finds a problem while preparing a home for sale s/he makes a note of it and informs the Realtor. The Realtor may then opt to have the Seller address the problem or include it in the disclosure information.
There are times when ethical questions are stickier. Sometimes an experienced Stager, working with a beginning Agent, may feel that the pricing of the property is problemmatic. However, the responsibility for the pricing iies with the Agent and his/her broker and not with the Stager, however experienced. The Stager's task is to support the Agent as well as to present the property at its best. The Agent, on his/her part, responsibly checks the comps as well as carefully assessing the strengths and challenges of the property to come up with a price.
They each do what they do best. As a team, they present a property looking its best and priced fairly to sell quickly.
It's not so much like the TV.
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