Costs of a professional stager. Is it worth it?

Question

We are about to put a historic 1919 home renovation flip on the market next month, and we want the house to show especially well in order to highlight the type of renovation work our company is capable of (and to get top market price on the house)

For a complete staging on a 1,500 sq ft house I've been quoted $1,500. This includes furniture rental, all set up and take down, and "professional quality interior design."

To compare, I looked into rental furniture for doing the staging set up ourselves. The quote was around $1,500 for 3 months (minimum) of full room furniture and furnishings for each room in the house - though I think we could get by less items as recommended by the rental store and get it down closer to a thousand dollars.

Option C is spending ~2-3K to purchase furniture/furnishings and store it in a garage we already own and have ample space in.

The AVR of the house is ~175K, so we're looking at 1% of the price of the house.

Given we plan on flipping several houses a year, and we are creative  types with a some limited background in interior design, we'll likely go  with Option C and do it ourselves.

I'd be curious as to people's experiences with professional stagers, and whether you felt you got proper value and return on your investment at the end of the deal.

(and also to see how the rate of $1,500 for staging services compares in other parts of the country)

Dave Vogt · Answer

Hey Gregory,

I to am a house flipper in Canada and just recently found out that an american company Aaron's has moved into our area. We rented furniture for cheap through them. We got an entire living room for $89/month. We use inflatable beds from Canadian Tire a local hardware store, also available at Walmart. For the smaller rooms we use a twin. In the bigger rooms a double or a queen depending on the size. A cheap comforter set at any of the discount stores works.

We have purchased cheaper curtains from Jysk or Bou Clair and stores similar to these. Ikea would be another good place to buy inexpensive curtains and area rugs.

For us it just makes sense to have a few things on hand for staging as we continue to flip about 4-5 houses a year. A good investment over the long haul. You will only need a  few end tables for the bedrooms and some cheap pictures etc. to make it look nice. You don't need to spend a fortune to get this look. Look on craigs list for cheap finds for staging. Aaron's had area rugs, pictures, and even appliances if you want to add them in. They deliver and pick up when you are done. Yes you will have to arrange the furniture and do the staging yourself at that point, but for us that is half the fun.

Hope this helps, good luck with your sale.

Dave

Derek T. · Answer

Greg, I think staging is vital to getting top dollar for your renovation.  I know it's hard to fork out another $1500 or so after the renovation is done but your DOM will be less, you will get more interested buyers and will get more money at the end.  I currently pay for staging and I pay $1500-$2000 depending on the scope.  The designer is a professional who does lots of high end properties in DC so it is worth.  It would be wiser to buy my own furniture to reuse and stage myself however I am not much of a design person and I do like to outsource as much as possible.

By the way I see you are in the Richmond area.  At some point I would love to expand......how is the market/inventory down there; specifically Henrico County?

Chris Winterhalter · Answer

Can a moderator move this out of Commercial Real Estate Investing?

@Gregory Montalto

I would pay a stager to do the work for you unless you really love and have the time to decorate, move and store furniture.  Each house might call for a different style of furniture and design as well.  You can also lease furniture as opposed to buying it.  I know a stager that leases furniture when she gets extremely busy.  When we use to flip houses our stager was also a great source for buyer leads.  Just my two cents...

Shera Gregory · Answer

I would agree that option C makes the most sense if you are flipping several properties per year.  You didn't mention the source of the furniture to come up with the $2 to 3K estimate.  A couple of years ago we had to furnish my husband's new office space and I was amazed at what we were able to purchase via craigslist over just one weekend in the Richmond area.  If you stage it yourself with reasonably priced items and then decide not to continue that route you at least have the option to sell it off easily.  Best of luck!  My house is hitting the centennial mark this year (Woodland Heights).

Mike B. · Answer

i just reread your post and saw that the quote you received was for 3 months. You are actually getting a better price than me. I pay $1.50 per sq ft, that is for 3 months. Basically breaks down to $.50 per sq ft per month.

Location and price doesn't matter.

Gregory Montalto · Answer

What are typical costs of staging services in your area? Or how much do you plan for in your budget for staging?

Does it depend on the size of the house, selling price, and / or location?

Bryan Brashear · Answer

I agree that staging is worth the money. Especially for older homes. Don't over do it though. You really need to only stage the living, dining, bathroom and kitchen areas. I wouldn't suggest staging the bedrooms as it can make them appear smaller, as previously stated.

I just flipped a home built in 1954 and staged it with mid-century modern styling and everyone who saw the "jewelry" loved what I did with the place. It was under contract in under a week of being on the market.

Mike B. · Answer

Staging is worth it in my opinion. I stage all of my flips. I do pay less than you, but maybe that's the going rate in your market. I would advise you to stage this particular property based on the home being older. It is my experience that older homes have smaller bedrooms and you really have to hold the end buyers hand in order for them to see how the space can be utilized. Obviously you will have to use smaller furniture to make it appear that the bedroom sizes aren't as small as they actually are but the staging company should know how to do that for you.

If I'm wrong and the bedroom sizes are spacious I would still advise to stage it but it's not as necessary as the first example. I sell my properties a lot quicker since I've started staging them. The $1,500 is easy to pay when considering your holding costs if it takes longer to sell.

Costs of a professional stager. Is it worth it?

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