News   Dec 20, 2024
 2.5K     8 
News   Dec 20, 2024
 1K     2 
News   Dec 20, 2024
 1.9K     0 

Terrible attempts at staging properties.


Those are a riot - thanks for that.

Even if one doesn't go so far as professional staging, there is middle ground between that and looking like a crime scene. I creep real estate listings sometimes and, seriously people - make the bed and take the dirty dishes out of the sink.
 
My condo never looked as good as when I was selling it.

First off, my real estate agent made me paint a few spots where he didn't agree with my colour choices. I don't necessarily think his colour suggestions were absolutely better, but they were definitely more mainstream. Second, he made me remove a ton of stuff. I filled up a storage locker, yet the place was still fully furnished. It's amazing how much bigger something looks when you remove a few extra pieces of furniture and also personal junk. He didn't ask me to do the baked oatmeal cookies thing though, but I did clean up every night and made my bed every morning. My staging was cheap though. My agent didn't suggest hiring anybody, or buying anything. It was just a bit of paint and paint supplies. The vast majority of the staging was just cleaning up and removing possessions. However, it worked in my scenario because my existing furniture and decor were already modern.

BTW, when we were looking for a place for my mom previously, the tenants at one place not only refused to leave the unit, they also refused to get out of bed. They let people come in, but just stayed in bed. WTF?!? Needless to say, we were less than thrilled with that place, even though the price was reasonable. Also, my sister got a condo for relatively cheap a while back partially because the existing tenant was being difficult about scheduling appointments for prospective buyers to come in a take a look, along with the fact that it was a higher priced unit and the sellers were a little bit optimistic about their asking price. The unit stayed on the market for far longer than was expected in a sellers' market.

P.S. The person that bought my place had to throw out an expensive couch because they couldn't get it into the unit. Classic mistake. When I purchased my place, I went back to my high school math and geometry to calculate the maximum size that could get into my place, and went with that. We were able to move it in with something like 1/2 an inch to spare. The furniture movers flat out told me they couldn't move it in, but I assured them I had done the math and it would work, and it did work.
 
Last edited:
My condo never looked as good as when I was selling it.

I think most people would agree. That's one of the reasons why the process is such a pain.


First off, my real estate agent made me paint a few spots where he didn't agree with my colour choices. I don't necessarily think his colour suggestions were absolutely better, but they were definitely more mainstream. Second, he made me remove a ton of stuff. I filled up a storage locker, yet the place was still fully furnished. It's amazing how much bigger something looks when you remove a few extra pieces of furniture and also personal junk. He didn't ask me to do the baked oatmeal cookies thing though, but I did clean up every night and made my bed every morning. My staging was cheap though. My agent didn't suggest hiring anybody, or buying anything. It was just a bit of paint and paint supplies. The vast majority of the staging was just cleaning up and removing possessions. However, it worked in my scenario because my existing furniture and decor were already modern.

Most agents will say that neutral tones are the 'safest' option.
Our daughter is currently getting ready to list their very small house. They have removed a ton of stuff and it is amazing how much bigger it looks. Luckily, they have a friend with an unused basement.


BTW, when we were looking for a place for my mom previously, the tenants at one place not only refused to leave the unit, they also refused to get out of bed.
They let people come in, but just stayed in bed. WTF?!? Needless to say, we were less than thrilled with that place, even though the price was reasonable. Also, my sister got a condo for relatively cheap a while back partially because the existing tenant was being difficult about scheduling appointments for prospective buyers to come in a take a look, along with the fact that it was a higher priced unit and the sellers were a little bit optimistic about their asking price. The unit stayed on the market for far longer than was expected in a sellers' market.

Seriously?!? That's creepy. You went farther than I - I would have turned and walked. It's a property showing, not a slumber party. I don't even like the owner around. Perhaps idling outside if circumstances dictate, but not being part of my viewing.

P.S. The person that bought my place had to throw out an expensive couch because they couldn't get it into the unit. Classic mistake. When I purchased my place, I went back to my high school math and geometry to calculate the maximum size that could get into my place, and went with that. We were able to move it in with something like 1/2 an inch to spare. The furniture movers flat out told me they couldn't move it in, but I assured them I had done the math and it would work, and it did work.

. . . . .
 
Off topic but... Speaking of furniture size and math for moving it in for condos...

The weirdest thing for me was when my neighbour went on vacation and asked me to take care of their plants. I walked in and... their place was not only a mirror image of mine in layout (which wasn't suprising given that it was a condo townhouse), they had the EXACT same living room furniture and EXACT same colour, arranged in a mirror image of mine. :confused:

Back when we first moved into those places, almost 20 years ago, there were not that many large retailers with condo-sized furniture. It turns out we both went to Ikea and both did the math on the available condo-sized furniture, and ended up picking up the exact same furniture, in the exact same colour. Either that or else they were spying on me and decided they liked my furniture. :eek:
 

Back
Top