Reader’s Question: Staging is Used to Hide Problems?
My new friend Pamela, a real estate agent in Saint Louis, Missouri had asked me to pitch in on her blog There’s No Place Like Home to answer her readers’ questions in regards to staging.
Both are excellent questions. I think I will touch on James’ question first in this post.
James said:
Hi Pamela! I think this is a great idea. I have some questions about using a home stager. Is it really worth it? I have seen some articles by real estate agents stating its only used to hide problems. Is it true? Thanks!
Here are some of the comments that I received from the real estate community on AR:
It sounds like the report does not emphasize that buyers should always do home inspections which would uncover most problems (would not uncover problems that are intentionally concealed). Buyers should appreciate staged homes as they provide more opportunity to look at a home in its best light and make sure they get the home thoroughly inspected and all should be fine. Intentional non-disclosure of material facts will come to haunt the seller and seller’s agent when the time comes.
As a long-time real estate investor, I know that a knowledgeable buyer will be able to look past the staging or lack of….however, most people are unable to visualize whether or not a particular home will be right for them. I think mixing in property fraud with home staging is really pathetic. There is a huge difference and though there are some less-than-upfront realtors and property owners who can be dishonest, STAGING should not have to take the blame for major flaws in a home. The next thing we will get blamed for is that the bathroom tile is 40 years old and why hasn’t the stager forced such a change?? LOL!! Thanks for the information Cindy…it is always good to be in the loop!! (negative or positive news!) Regards-Kathleen
I just came across this article, and came into the rain to post a blog on this…sooooo happy to see you already had! As a stager, I felt rather offended – if there is a serious problem with the home, hiding it won’t change the appraisal or inspection, and is not ethical. We alert the homeowner to what we see that needs to be done, but do not resort to “trickery!” Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Cindy, unfortunately some EBAs seem to consider real estate as an adversarial enterprise, with sellers and everyone associated with the sellers being the enemy. This isn’t useful, and makes transactions much more unpleasant for everyone. Looking out for your client shouldn’t imply that everyone else is a potential crook.
Consider the source of this argument, though. These are the agents who would NEVER list a home-gasp-and actually represent a seller! They ONLY work buyers. And as mentioned in one of the other comments, are totally convinced that the world is out to get them and their clients. These folks don’t know how to market homes and often their buyers pay too much anyway since those agents aren’t going to get the call to list the house down the road.
Glad you mentioned this article-it’s just amazing, isn’t it?
As a buyers agent I can tell you if there are 2 identical homes (floorplan, neighborhood). THe buyer will get excited and pay more money for the home that is staged properly and the buyer will become emotionally involved. And if a home is perfect to the eye the buyer is more likely to cut the expense of the inspection. I have witnessed this on several occassions.
Fascinating article Cindy, thank you for bringing it to our attention.
I am not surprised to see such an article, there are always two sides of the coin.
However, there arguments against staging are weak at best.
1. Covering up damage. Every stager I know, specifically tells stagers to repair damages. I even go as far as recommending the seller do a pre-sale home inspection, so they know themselves the state of their home. Sometimes you just don’t know, about repair issues. I also fully explain, that any issues that are not resolved BEFORE listing, WILL come up in a final inspection. I and many of my fellow stagers are not in the business of dishonesty.
2. Furniture Scale. I have been in design long enough to know this is an important factor on variety of levels. Esthetic’s aside, proper scale furniture improves FUNCTION of a room. By placing proper sized furniture in a room, a stager very clearly shows a buyer how the room will best function, or in some cases an alternative use for a space. This to me, this is a clear advantage to a buyer. Eg. If a twin bed is all that will fit in small bedroom, and there is little room for a dresser. It is a SMALL room. Do not consider trying to put a queen, a dresser, at 2 ends. It will NOT fit. The seller is very clearly telling the buyer this! I could go on here but you get the idea.
3. Covering wall damage: In most cases, I ask sellers to remove more from their walls than I ever ask them to put up! Most of the time, stagers are trying to actually trying to “expose” more of the house to the buyer, leaving most walls fairly empty. There is nothing to say that even before a stager is hired, that a seller on their own had wall coverings hiding damaged walls. It is unfair to blame a stager for this!
4. Beautiful Window coverings. Give me a break! Again, I ask more clients to remove unsightly, unattractive window coverings. What is to say a Stager did not do the same. Removed ugly ones, and replace with simple more attractive ones. How this the stagers fault. Many, many homes have more fabric on their windows than most fabric store themselves. Do they get blamed for covering up a rotten window frame?
Sorry for my long winded response, should have written a blog!
I can see both sides of the coin. I have talked to stagers who say to paint that closet before anyone sees the mold, or just grab some peel and stick flooring to cover up flaws in the floor. But honestly, even if staging draws people in emotionally, and they make and offer and accept it, that is when you bring in a professional home inspector to find out the defects. During the inspection you TOO look at it behind the doors, and cupboards. All those things that would be considered “rude” during a first viewing, you are now doing to protect your investment. Stagers are showing the “potential” of the home when they are staging. It takes a well informed agent to protect their buyers.
I’m not protecting my buyers if I steer them away from homes because they might look nicer. Wait….steering HMMMMM isn’t that illegal?
IMHO much of staging is just good common sense. It works both ways too. I often say to buyers to look past the big furniture cluttering the space in non staged homes. When it’s beautifully furnished and my buyer is only focusing on the furnishings and not the home itself I tell them to remember you are not buying their furnishings.
Staged or non staged I always turn on all the lights and air conditioning in the summer. Many buyers will ask to turn the lights off to see the natural light and ask to open the windows and turn off the a/c to hear if it’s noisy.
I do a lot of buyer representation, and I think it’s an important part of my job to help clients look beyond the appeal of a carefully staged home.
The job of the listing agent and the stager is to make the place look fabulous and get top dollar for the seller. When I’m the listing agent, the place looks, smells and feels great. I use every available tool, including great staging.
The job of the buyer broker is to help her buyers find a great home that works for which they do not overpay. This often means helping them look (or smell) beyond clutter, Realtor eating dogs and kitty litter. It can also mean helping them realize that the antiques, oriental rugs and art work do not convey and to help them look beyond that.
And I am not an EBA [Cindy's note: it stands for Exclusive Buyer's Agent].
It’s called “GET A HOME INSPECTION”! To blame stagers for a home’s flaws is ridiculous. If a buyer doesn’t hire an inspector, then they have no right to complain about later problems. And anyways, I have walked into many homes that are staged, but the house still looks rundown. As the saying goes, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig!
As a NAEBA member, I wanted to comment on your blog (please hold the tar and feathers!)
As other stagers have mentioned, I think the whole NAEBA press release is testament to the power and value of staging. If I were a listing agent, I would think that not recommending home staging to a seller would be akin to a buyer agent not recommending a home inspection to a client.
I attended a seminar on staging at my state ass’n of Realtors convention last year, which only confirmed my previous opinion that staging is fundamentally important, from a seller’s perspective, especially in slower markets which many of us are now experiencing.
Personally, I would rather show a staged home to a buyer client that an unstaged home.
I think the point of the press release was to point out that stagers are hired by sellers to try and help maximize the sales price of their homes. Just like an exclusive buyer agent is hired by the buyers to try and help the buyer get the best deal possible.
If buyers can understand the techniques employed by home stagers to make properties seem more appealing, they will be more knowledgeable when viewing properties and making purchasing decisions.
As for the “know your enemy” reference, I can assure you that this remark was made facetiously, and was intended to be humorous. Home staging is an honorable profession which I and any other knowledgeable Realtor would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone selling their home. On behalf of NAEBA, I apologize to any stagers out there who took offense.
“That’s as silly a complaint as I’ve ever heard. Worse, it can do some serious damage. Staging doesn’t “make” people buy homes any more than miracle bras and mascara make men propose marriage. But it’s worth trying … .”
“I can see the buyer’s lawsuit now: ‘Seller emotionally influenced buyer that romance, family togetherness and reading would increase enjoyment of owning home.’ ”
I can’t think of anything else to say, since it seems like my readers have said them all! Hope this helps to ease your concern about staging.
Cheers,
Reader’s Question: Staging is Used to Hide Problems?
My new friend Pamela, a real estate agent in Saint Louis, Missouri had asked me to pitch in on her blog There’s No Place Like Home to answer her readers’ questions in regards to staging.
Both are excellent questions. I think I will touch on James’ question first in this post.
James said:
Hi Pamela! I think this is a great idea. I have some questions about using a home stager. Is it really worth it? I have seen some articles by real estate agents stating its only used to hide problems. Is it true? Thanks!
Here is my response:
NABEA (National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents) recently published a report How to not Get tricked by staging– and potentially save $5,645 when you buy your home, which I wrote a blog post in response to it: Apparently, A Good Stager Is the Buyers’ Biggest Enemy and We May Cost You $5645. It was featured on the real estate community Active Rain and you can access the post here.
Here are some of the comments that I received from the real estate community on AR:
It sounds like the report does not emphasize that buyers should always do home inspections which would uncover most problems (would not uncover problems that are intentionally concealed). Buyers should appreciate staged homes as they provide more opportunity to look at a home in its best light and make sure they get the home thoroughly inspected and all should be fine. Intentional non-disclosure of material facts will come to haunt the seller and seller’s agent when the time comes.
8/16/2007 by Ken Realivent Â
As a long-time real estate investor, I know that a knowledgeable buyer will be able to look past the staging or lack of….however, most people are unable to visualize whether or not a particular home will be right for them. I think mixing in property fraud with home staging is really pathetic. There is a huge difference and though there are some less-than-upfront realtors and property owners who can be dishonest, STAGING should not have to take the blame for major flaws in a home. The next thing we will get blamed for is that the bathroom tile is 40 years old and why hasn’t the stager forced such a change?? LOL!! Thanks for the information Cindy…it is always good to be in the loop!! (negative or positive news!) Regards-Kathleen
I just came across this article, and came into the rain to post a blog on this…sooooo happy to see you already had! As a stager, I felt rather offended – if there is a serious problem with the home, hiding it won’t change the appraisal or inspection, and is not ethical. We alert the homeowner to what we see that needs to be done, but do not resort to “trickery!” Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Cindy, unfortunately some EBAs seem to consider real estate as an adversarial enterprise, with sellers and everyone associated with the sellers being the enemy. This isn’t useful, and makes transactions much more unpleasant for everyone. Looking out for your client shouldn’t imply that everyone else is a potential crook.
When I read the “ALARMING” press release I was a bit miffed.
It is worth reading for all these reasons.
I will have more to say on this…
Me
Consider the source of this argument, though. These are the agents who would NEVER list a home-gasp-and actually represent a seller! They ONLY work buyers. And as mentioned in one of the other comments, are totally convinced that the world is out to get them and their clients. These folks don’t know how to market homes and often their buyers pay too much anyway since those agents aren’t going to get the call to list the house down the road.
Glad you mentioned this article-it’s just amazing, isn’t it?
As a buyers agent I can tell you if there are 2 identical homes (floorplan, neighborhood). THe buyer will get excited and pay more money for the home that is staged properly and the buyer will become emotionally involved. And if a home is perfect to the eye the buyer is more likely to cut the expense of the inspection. I have witnessed this on several occassions.
Fascinating article Cindy, thank you for bringing it to our attention.
I am not surprised to see such an article, there are always two sides of the coin.
However, there arguments against staging are weak at best.
1. Covering up damage. Every stager I know, specifically tells stagers to repair damages. I even go as far as recommending the seller do a pre-sale home inspection, so they know themselves the state of their home. Sometimes you just don’t know, about repair issues. I also fully explain, that any issues that are not resolved BEFORE listing, WILL come up in a final inspection. I and many of my fellow stagers are not in the business of dishonesty.
2. Furniture Scale. I have been in design long enough to know this is an important factor on variety of levels. Esthetic’s aside, proper scale furniture improves FUNCTION of a room. By placing proper sized furniture in a room, a stager very clearly shows a buyer how the room will best function, or in some cases an alternative use for a space. This to me, this is a clear advantage to a buyer. Eg. If a twin bed is all that will fit in small bedroom, and there is little room for a dresser. It is a SMALL room. Do not consider trying to put a queen, a dresser, at 2 ends. It will NOT fit. The seller is very clearly telling the buyer this! I could go on here but you get the idea.
3. Covering wall damage: In most cases, I ask sellers to remove more from their walls than I ever ask them to put up! Most of the time, stagers are trying to actually trying to “expose” more of the house to the buyer, leaving most walls fairly empty. There is nothing to say that even before a stager is hired, that a seller on their own had wall coverings hiding damaged walls. It is unfair to blame a stager for this!
4. Beautiful Window coverings. Give me a break! Again, I ask more clients to remove unsightly, unattractive window coverings. What is to say a Stager did not do the same. Removed ugly ones, and replace with simple more attractive ones. How this the stagers fault. Many, many homes have more fabric on their windows than most fabric store themselves. Do they get blamed for covering up a rotten window frame?
Sorry for my long winded response, should have written a blog!
I can see both sides of the coin. I have talked to stagers who say to paint that closet before anyone sees the mold, or just grab some peel and stick flooring to cover up flaws in the floor. But honestly, even if staging draws people in emotionally, and they make and offer and accept it, that is when you bring in a professional home inspector to find out the defects. During the inspection you TOO look at it behind the doors, and cupboards. All those things that would be considered “rude” during a first viewing, you are now doing to protect your investment. Stagers are showing the “potential” of the home when they are staging. It takes a well informed agent to protect their buyers.
I’m not protecting my buyers if I steer them away from homes because they might look nicer. Wait….steering HMMMMM isn’t that illegal?
IMHO much of staging is just good common sense. It works both ways too. I often say to buyers to look past the big furniture cluttering the space in non staged homes. When it’s beautifully furnished and my buyer is only focusing on the furnishings and not the home itself I tell them to remember you are not buying their furnishings.
Staged or non staged I always turn on all the lights and air conditioning in the summer. Many buyers will ask to turn the lights off to see the natural light and ask to open the windows and turn off the a/c to hear if it’s noisy.
I do a lot of buyer representation, and I think it’s an important part of my job to help clients look beyond the appeal of a carefully staged home.
It’s called “GET A HOME INSPECTION”! To blame stagers for a home’s flaws is ridiculous. If a buyer doesn’t hire an inspector, then they have no right to complain about later problems. And anyways, I have walked into many homes that are staged, but the house still looks rundown. As the saying goes, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig!
Dear Cindy,
As a NAEBA member, I wanted to comment on your blog (please hold the tar and feathers!)
As other stagers have mentioned, I think the whole NAEBA press release is testament to the power and value of staging. If I were a listing agent, I would think that not recommending home staging to a seller would be akin to a buyer agent not recommending a home inspection to a client.
I attended a seminar on staging at my state ass’n of Realtors convention last year, which only confirmed my previous opinion that staging is fundamentally important, from a seller’s perspective, especially in slower markets which many of us are now experiencing.
Personally, I would rather show a staged home to a buyer client that an unstaged home.
I think the point of the press release was to point out that stagers are hired by sellers to try and help maximize the sales price of their homes. Just like an exclusive buyer agent is hired by the buyers to try and help the buyer get the best deal possible.
If buyers can understand the techniques employed by home stagers to make properties seem more appealing, they will be more knowledgeable when viewing properties and making purchasing decisions.
As for the “know your enemy” reference, I can assure you that this remark was made facetiously, and was intended to be humorous. Home staging is an honorable profession which I and any other knowledgeable Realtor would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone selling their home. On behalf of NAEBA, I apologize to any stagers out there who took offense.
Thanks for allowing me to comment.
Best regards,
08/22/2007 by Stefan Scholl
Blanche Evans, the award-winning editor at Realty Times, took the time to respond to the NAEBA report, kicking off a new column.Who’s Getting In Your Pocket, Now: Spoilsport Buyer’s Agent Group Comes Out Against Home Staging
Among her comments:
“That’s as silly a complaint as I’ve ever heard. Worse, it can do some serious damage. Staging doesn’t “make” people buy homes any more than miracle bras and mascara make men propose marriage. But it’s worth trying … .”
“I can see the buyer’s lawsuit now: ‘Seller emotionally influenced buyer that romance, family togetherness and reading would increase enjoyment of owning home.’ ”
I can’t think of anything else to say, since it seems like my readers have said them all! Hope this helps to ease your concern about staging.
Cheers,
Cindy
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 27th, 2007 at 3:08 am and is filed under A Stager's Commentary, Ask Cindy, Home Seller Advice, Staged4more News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.