Designs by TAP
What is Involved with Staging?
IN HOME CONSULTATION
A consultation is the first step no matter what your project is. Every home is unique and so the budget is as well. The initial consultation process allows you to tell me what it is you would like to achieve and I can tell you what options I can offer you and how much that will cost. You may want to do the work yourself but would like some suggestions of what needs doing and priorities in preparing your home for sale. If you decide on staging the home then the consultation fee gets absorbed into that fee. Start with the call and let's get together so I can meet you and your home. No obligation to pay until we agree on the service you would like.
ONE STOP CONSULTATION
I do a tour of your home with you, room by room analysis of what would help to improve the space ideally for resale. I can help answer questions about painting, repairing, improvements, what furniture to remove or add or move around. We discuss what you can do on your own or how I can help and what those costs might look like. We look at all that could be done to get your home in tip top shape, how to highlight it and make it stand out. I take photos of each room and follow up this visit with an in depth email summary of everything we talked with a list of priorities for each room. This can be a very helpful tool if you know your house needs attention but you just don't know what to prioritize and weigh the costs of what's worth the effort. The cost of this consultation will depend on the size of your home and scope of work.(minimum is $150)
STAGING SERVICE
If you decide to have your home staged the initial consult fee will be rolled into that. My goal in staging a home is to highlight the best parts and give the home a welcoming and comfortable feel. I use a mixture of styles and materials trying to make the final product showcase each room to it's best advantage but at the same time trying not to make it "look like its staged". The rental fee for furniture or staging decor brought into the home is a monthly charge determined by how much is needed. Every home is different, the costs will vary depending on how big the scope of the staging is, empty? occupied? one room, all rooms, outside areas, etc. There are two parts to the fee structure: the monthly rental fee for staging materials, the installation and removal fee. If your home doesn't sell in the first month you simply pay the rental fee in the following month.
STAGING AN OCCUPIED HOME
Quite often, if the home is occupied then we try to work with what you have already in the home. Sometimes furniture or decor is re-arranged, some things moved or removed. Then we add what ever works to highlight and fill in the gaps to bring each room to picture perfect stage. This might include bringing in items such a vases, flowers, cushions, bedding, and art work. The critical aspect of staging an occupied home is that it works for you and how you live in it while the sale is active.
STAGING A VACANT HOME:
There is no question that a properly staged room is far more welcoming than a vacant room. A room actually appears smaller when it has no furniture in it, and depth of field is lost in a photo. Staging a vacant space makes a huge difference to how your home will be viewed, especially in on line photos, which is where your buyer first sees the listing.
Depending on the size and value of the home you can scale up or scale down what goes into the staging but the 3 most important rooms are the living, master bedroom and kitchen (kitchen of course doesn't require much furniture unless it is part of the open design dining area). What is cheapest doesn't always work with staging, it's not just about filling empty rooms or adding a flower pot and a pile of books on the coffee table. The room as a whole must evoke a feeling of comfort and and a sense of welcome. Attaining this emotional connection is a bit of a trick where the professional eye can help.
COST:
For staging a vacant home expect to pay $1600-$2500, a small price to pay for the approximate $10,000 value it will add to your sale price. If you're tied to a super tight budget there are always ways to make it work, just make that first call for the consultation to see what we can do. Once I come and see the house I can give you a quote with various options depending on how many rooms you would like staged and if you need any additions to the exterior of the home on patios or entryways. Just set up the initial, no obligation, visit.