Who should pay for staging? The Seller or the Realtor?

When a seller has nice or at least decent-looking furnishings but needs to pare down or re-arrange, the consultation fee of a stager is worth every penny. To sweeten the pot, I have thought of paying half the fee (I would spend that much for advertising if the house is on market a long time) and promise to credit the seller at closing for the balance if they do what the stager recommends. This way they actually must do something to earn back that consultation fee. If you just pay it, send the stager and then hope the seller will come through, you will likely be out good money.

Great post!  What I have done is agree to pay for the consultation or maybe a month's of staging, however I don't pay it up front.  I tell the seller they will pay for it and then at closing, I will reimburse them.  So many times I have paid for staging consultations to have the seller not do anything the stager recommended.

Great Post! I feel that is the sellers responsibility to have their house staged.

Hi Greg, we believe it should be the seller either directly or higher compensation on selling.

I will pay for an initial consultation to a max of $150 (depending on house and situation). But past that, it's up to the seller. It's their property in the end.

Hi Greg, here in Santa Clara/San Jose, I've mostly been getting calls from agents that are searching for stagers such as myself, then passing the bids to the seller for them to decide on which stager they would like.  The agent has been the middle-man regarding scheduling and payment, but about 80% have been paid by the seller.  The other 20% have been the agents that are offering "free" staging as part of their listing package which can valued between $1500-$5000 for full staging.  Just depends on the size of the home and if the client wants all the rooms staged.  A few high producing agents can afford to pay out of their pocket but the majority of sellers pay for the consultation fees as well as the staging fees.  I never have the client pay with two checks.  When I provide a bid, my pricing is a flat rate that includes everything I do from prepping, to coordinating with the rental company to staging and de-staging.  I am the middle person when it comes to paying the rental company since it's easier for me and less stress on the client.  I have some furniture that I provide, but I do not have my own warehouse and perfer it this way.  The company I rent from has inventory for over 100 homes and it's nice to be able to pick and choose pieces that will compliment the home.  Most stagers require that payment is paid upfront and rarely do we accept paying at the end of escrow.  Like everyone has mentioned, you never know if a buyer will back out at the last minute or if the contract ends for whatever reason.  Stagers have been busy in our area and a lot of homes have been receiving multiple offers of $20k - $40k over asking price.  

As a stager and a broker, I can tell you that I include a consultation only as part of my value added service. If clients need furniture rental, decluttering, repairs, painting, updates etc. that is on them.  This is customary in the Charlotte, NC market. For agents that are not stagers in this market some offer a selection to the seller (to pick one); they can have the LA pay for a home warranty, staging consult or even an inspection.  Some LA's pay a stager to provide the consultation on every listing they take while others offer to split the consult fee with the seller.  I don't know of very many agents that will pay for a full blown staging (myself included) There are too many variables many which you mentioned.

I will pay, and have, for staging consultations to help the sellers improve the looks of their home. Not really any different than paying for a professional photographer and about the same cost, perhaps less. I do not pay for any staging itself, if recommended, although I am happy to share things from my storgae, including towels, artwork and knick knacks to spruce things up.

In my professional (home staging) opinion it's best to have the sellers pay.  They value the service far more when they pay.  

As a new Home stager, having done a few jobs for Realtors, the seller was the one who picked up the bill.  Only one Realtor paid my consultation, as a gift for her clients, who had given her some referrals...small investment to say thank you.

#56  Completely agree.

When the Realtor pays the initial consultation it encourages the seller to think creatively about presentation of the home. Much can be done with the seller's own furnishings by rearranging things and scaling back on clutter. I think this first step is so important that I WILL pay, but that's where I draw the line. I tell the seller upfront that any additional services the stager offers would be at their expense. In most cases, the seller decides to take advantage of the initial consultation and implement the suggestions of the stager on their own  rather than utilize the stager for an hourly fee or pay to rent furnishings.

I do not feel that it is the agent's responsibility to stage a home. They are hired to market the home, negotiate the offer and bring it through successful closing. If someone is willing to pay over the typical commission then I may consider doing it.

I believe I would have the seller pay for it. Listing agent spending money out of pocket before the home is sold. Too risky! Spend the money on marketing the property to attract buyers.

I would not pay for staging either. This is a hard question.

I think you have this right.  I might be willing to give them a credit at closing for some staging cost.  But there are a lot of variables. 

Great post and always something to consider when getting a new listing. I agree with the light staging (never thought of calling it that) as I have done this as well. It takes more time and effort to do this, but in the end you save everyone money and get a pretty good end result.

I don't think I would be paying for staging.  However, I may consider sharing the cost for a Staging Consultation, as I have done before.  I've found that 90% of the time when the customer gets the quote for the staging job, they are flabbergasted at the cost! So this could be a strategy that agent's could use in order to make their seller's understand how costly staging can  be.  I'm sure it doesn't feel too good when they realize the total cost that they're asking an agent to pay, for staging their home!   They wouldn't ask a surgeon to pay for the prep work that's needed in order to perform surgery!                  

Under present market conditions, high demand and low supply, I feel that staging is generally unnecessary unless the sellers are looking to "push" the market (exceed the market).  If they are looking for a home run then proper staging is usually going to be a plus (we're all consumers and most of us are suckers... myself included... for "polish").  That said... the seller should pay.  They stand to gain the most from staging and should be willing to make the investment.

I love staging and I believe that it money well spent by the Seller.

Compass Real Estate, a very fast growing bokerage now in about 25 markets across the US, offers to pay for staging, deep cleaning, painting, cosmetic renovations and landscaping, to be reimbursed at COE. There is no cost to the home seller to use this program, other than having the agreed upon expenses paid to Compass when escrow closes. No interest, no additional fees. The vendors get paid up front for their services, paid by Compass. I think this is the new face of real estate. If you are not offering to pay for staging and painting and the Compass agent is, everything else being equal, there's a pretty good chance the Compass agent is going to get the listing.

Excluding Compass agents, in my market in Los Angeles, most staging is paid by the home seller. In certain areas with a high concentration of Asian agents, we sometimes see the agent offer to pay for staging in order to get the listing.  As a stager, I prefer that the home seller pay for staging, as they have "more skin in the game" and are more likely to take the home selling process seriously. I always counsel the agents I work with to reimburse the seller at COE for any expenses they agree to share, in order to protect the agent. The seller pays any costs up front.