Tips for staging house

mi-key

Are people really that lacking in imagination though that they need a bed in a spare room to be able to visualise it as a bedroom?

Staging seems to be a fairly modern concept designed to make money for people who give advice on staging your house, probably for the same people who can't visualise a non staged house when buying their next one, and would be put off by it not looking like something from homes and gardens.

I have viewed houses from completely empty, to full of stuff as the owner and multiple kids were still living there, and it made no difference to how I thought about the viewing. I always assumed I would be moving my own stuff in, and they would move theirs out ( particularly the kids ! ) 

youth_leader

I did a few of my viewings mi-key and people did ask if a single bed would fit into my smallest bedroom.  I ended up making a single sized bed out of boxes with a cover over it.  

EssexHebridean

One thing we did pre photos was to rearrange the furniture in our second bedroom a bit - it's currently doubling as MrEH's office (one of the reasons we're looking to move!) and we just rearranged things a bit to make sure that there was a clear view right through to the back wall in one place (which made the room look bigger) and also to "zone" it specifically into "work" and "sleep" just to underline that it is possible to WFH comfortably in the flat. It was a small change but ironically we wished we'd done it far sooner as it's a far nicer environment for himself to work in now! 

gwynlas

NornIronRose said:

Thanks for all the tips of things I hadn't thought of! 
Today is day 1 of my mission to get the house looking great to get it ready to go on the market. 
Planning to get an EA round to value. Do I need to do all of the decluttering, painting wee bits etc BEFORE the valuation? Or can I go ahead at least with that? 

Yes EAs size you up on first meeting and will value as is rather than beleive that you are going to get all those little jobs done and as soon as they are in want to list asap possiblly telling you that they have viewers lined up. It is better to make it look as a show house that you are overnighting in than a family home with full laundry basket, half used toileteries etc.
I have used the boxes into a bed on a few occasions it is useful to have somewhere to hide your packing away. Duvets and pillows can be bought anywhere and a fresh set of new bedding completes the picture/ I am now using a set bought over ten years ago that I call my investment bedding as I bought it purely to dress a flat for rental then put it away for years. 

Slinky

Those saying they will buy a property despite how it is presented aren't going to be put off by a cluttered grubby house with odd jobs left undone. They aren't going to be put off by a nicely presented house either. But many people will be put off by clutter and odd smells etc. They cannot picture themselves living like that and it's as though they think they will be dragged down to living as the vendor does, rather than them dragging the house up to their standards. It's why some people will pay premium prices for tiny box new builds with everything shiny shiny.

It's your biggest asset; spending a few hours tidying up and clearing out junk could work out at the highest ever hourly rate you've worked in your life if you get even 2 or 3K more.

eddddy

youth_leader said:

I did a few of my viewings mi-key and people did ask if a single bed would fit into my smallest bedroom.  I ended up making a single sized bed out of boxes with a cover over it.  

Yep - I knew somebody who did that when they were selling a house. An they were really worried that an elderly or infirm viewer (or maybe a child) would want a rest and sit on the bed. And the cardboard boxes would crumple underneath them.

But fortunately, it didn't happen.

BikingBud

youth_leader said:

I did a few of my viewings mi-key and people did ask if a single bed would fit into my smallest bedroom.  I ended up making a single sized bed out of boxes with a cover over it.  

Hence my comment about accurate floor plans.

Going to view take a tape measure as I don't trust EAs.

BikingBud

gwynlas said:

NornIronRose said:

Thanks for all the tips of things I hadn't thought of! 
Today is day 1 of my mission to get the house looking great to get it ready to go on the market. 
Planning to get an EA round to value. Do I need to do all of the decluttering, painting wee bits etc BEFORE the valuation? Or can I go ahead at least with that? 

Yes EAs size you up on first meeting and will value as is rather than beleive that you are going to get all those little jobs done and as soon as they are in want to list asap possiblly telling you that they have viewers lined up. It is better to make it look as a show house that you are overnighting in than a family home with full laundry basket, half used toileteries etc.
I have used the boxes into a bed on a few occasions it is useful to have somewhere to hide your packing away. Duvets and pillows can be bought anywhere and a fresh set of new bedding completes the picture/ I am now using a set bought over ten years ago that I call my investment bedding as I bought it purely to dress a flat for rental then put it away for years. 

And how long does the show house last with, kids, pets, life all going on?  All the while getting stressed if there is laundry by the washing machine or the dishwasher has not been put on or the bin needs emptying or the post is on the worktop and the shower gel is left in the shower and the lid left off the toothpaste off etc etc.

If you live on your own in a sterile minimalist environment you may be able to sustain this but for most I would suggest not really practical. 

BikingBud

eddddy said:

youth_leader said:

I did a few of my viewings mi-key and people did ask if a single bed would fit into my smallest bedroom.  I ended up making a single sized bed out of boxes with a cover over it.  

Yep - I knew somebody who did that when they were selling a house. An they were really worried that an elderly or infirm viewer (or maybe a child) would want a rest and sit on the bed. And the cardboard boxes would crumple underneath them.

But fortunately, it didn't happen.

That would be an interesting situation, I wonder how it would be managed if there was as serious injury?

That said if I viewed and somebody had gone to the extent of putting a false bed in I would wonder what other tricks had been deployed.  

NornIronRose

I love the comment that a few hours' decluttering would pay dividends. 
Definitely going to be more than a few hours! 25 years of marriage, 2 kids and 7 years in this house will take more than that! 
I know it will feel great once it's done though. Already the bits that I have done are making me so happy. 
Oh, the biggest bonus? I've promised my teenager a couple of hundred from the sale if she manages to keep her toom as tidy as it is now. It's now been tidier than I have ever seen it (apart from when I couldn't bear it and gave in and did it myself) for 2 whole weeks! Wonders will never cease