Introduction to Home Staging

I am tasked with selling my mother’s house now that she has gone into a nursing home. The realtor is insisting that I complete a long shopping/decorating list to "stage" the house for sale. I had assumed it would be sold empty, after a few necessary repairs and upgrades.

The idea of staging completely throws off my timeline in terms of having an estate sale to sell furniture, etc., having the house professionally cleaned by a service, having the hardwood floors refinished, etc., etc., etc. It makes a really complicated, stressful job a whole lot worse for me.

Is staging really necessary or can I just tell her I want to sell it empty? I’m not looking to soak every possible dollar out of the sale, I just want to get it done.

Thank you.

They are only suggesting what they think will sell the house more quickly. You are the seller and in control and remember they are working for you. So do what you want to do, if they insist, get another agent.
Good luck.

Our agent says we are priced below our comps and that we get a lot of traffic on the internet and at open houses. Our house has been on the market for 38 days and we have has a total of 2 viewings apart from our open houses. Our house is nicely staged and it looks like a model home. What gives? What should we be asking of our agent? We basically have about $25,000 wiggle room in the price and we were hoping to use that as a "haggling" cushion. Should we shave the price now? Our house is a 1928 tudor in a neighborhood where comps are really difficult as no 2 properties are alike. Is it too early for me to freak out? Should I be concerned about lack of showings if we’re doing well with open houses and on the web as far as hits? Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can impart!
Also our next door neighbor is our agent and friend so it’s a lot more of a sensitive issue –so we can’t go all Rambo on our agent
Oooooo—good point, Angie! I didn’t really think about that. Do you think there’s a conflict of interest here?

How long is the contract with your realitor? Conflict of interest or not – it is is not selling, list it with someone else or try it on your own for say 30 days.

Offer seller concessions of up to 6 percent of the closing costs may help. Offer to pay the appriasal. Print up flyers to hospitals, factories, businesses, grocery stores, with the picture of your home. Listing price, selling price, give up some equity in the home if need be. Good Luck to you. (ok)