STAGING SERVICES – TEXAS HILL COUNTRY & SAN ANTONIO
August 14th, 2008 categories: Real Estate Resourcing
IN A SOFT MARKET, HOMES NEED THAT EXTRA EDGE TO GET SOLD!
Because there is so much competition, it is necessary to go that extra mile to make listings really shine. Homes need warmth and a little “pop” to draw buyers in and give them a reason to purchase it. The purpose of staging is to emphasize the positives and play down the negatives and to give a buyer a “visual” of what a home would feel like at its best. Staging dramatically helps showings and brings in more offers.
Many people are staging their homes prior to putting the home on the market to take advantage of the optimal time that a house enters the market. See my recent blog post:
HILL COUNTRY HOME SELLERS: WHY YOU ARE GIVING AWAY YOUR PROFITS?
Others are waiting to stage the home when the house stays on the market without offers! The cost/benefit test for whether or not to stage a home at this point is easier: “Is the investment in Staging less than the price reduction necessary to bring the property back in favor so as to get it SOLD?”
Most often the answer to that question is YES! Right now price reductions in the Hill Country/San Antonio area that are actually having an impact are in the $7,500-$10,000 range (based on a $150K-$200K home). As a Realtor who watches the market regularly, I have been seeing even $20,000+ price drops on $150k-$200k priced homes. There’s a lot of competition out there and homes really need to be “top notch” in order to get attention!
As a real estate stager, I work with both Sellers and Real Estate Agents. I am a licensed real estate agent working in the hill country market; however, when I work for other agents, I add a non-compete provision in my standard agreement providing other real estate agents with the assurance that I will not go after their listing. I have the following accreditations: I am a Home Staging Expert (centerstagehome.com) and an Accredited Staging Realtor (stagedhomes.com).
My fees are as follows:
Furnished Homes (under 2000sf):
$1000 for: Consultation, Home Analysis and Staging Labor, payable ONE-HALF IN ADVANCE, ONE-HALF UPON COMPLETION. If extra accessory/furniture items are needed, I charge an extra $100 per hour for my time. I can give an estimate as to how long that will take. I am a frugal buyer .. so it’s worth it for me to buy what you need! A purchase account will have to be established for those purchases as set out below.
Unfurnished Homes (under 2000sf):
$2000 for Consultation, Home Analysis, Purchasing and Staging Labor, payable ONE-HALF in advance, ONE-HALF upon completion.
PLUS A Purchase Account to be deposited into a VISA type card for items to be purchased for staging. A realistic estimate for a budget for a 1500-2000 sf home using medium quality new or good quality used furniture is $5000. This would pay for only the absolute necessities to stage a living room, kitchen, master bedroom, 2 baths, and 2 extra rooms. All rooms in a home do not have to be staged … only the main ones and any that don’t have a clear function. I will try my best to work within a homeowner’s budget buying only the most important items based on my evaluation of the home. With the budget, I will shop for the best buys of furniture, delivery, accessories and plants. The Purchase Account Card will give an absolute accounting of the items purchased (although I will also prepare a written accounting too).
Other Terms:
I will need approx. 1 week to gather and stage a vacant house, several days for a furnished home.
I prefer to work alone (or with my own assistant).
I will require that a short agreement be signed by all of the parties which will define what I will do, the payment terms and give me permission to actually stage the home.
With regard to the actual furniture once the home is sold, the seller can: Include the furniture with the home (which helps sell it) or sell the furniture afterwards to a Consignment Store bringing about approximately a 20% cost recovery (This is not a guarantee, just an estimate of what you might get). If you want to really be creative, you also can put purchase prices on the furniture for people to see during showings. Agents will often contact you (and put their names on lists to purchase the items) if they are priced right.
If you are interested, give me a call. Julie Quest-Brooks 210-535-9463.
RESPOND WITH YOUR MOOS & VIEWS HERE
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