A way to get your asking price on a house or flip.

[^eagle^]

http://realestate.aol.com/photo-gal...prim0001&icid=200100397x1205877902x1200298601

Found this on aol today and thought I would share it.

Great for selling or flipping ideas.

invest in some furniture to stage in your flip to raise ask price.

 

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This one I can testify to working. A empty house is nothing more than a empty house to prospects. You want it to look like they already live there when they show up. It's a lot harder for a prospected buyer to envision what it could look like. As the old saying goes, you got to spend money to make money. Good find!

 

[Russ H]

I can attest to this working as well.

I bought a house in 1995 for $200K, rehabbed it, and then sold it in 2002 for $757,000.

Also bought a house in 1998 for $169K, rehabbed it, then sold it in 2005 for $725,000.

Both were highly staged, w/high end furniture (leather, solid wood, etc) to attract an upscale buyer.

Ironically, both buyers were families w/young kids.

Both houses were on the market for a very short time-- the first for a few weeks, the second, for a few days, before these offers came in.

-Russ H.

DISCLAIMER: I would add that, in today's slower market, I would probably have these same houses on the market for *months*, even when staged.

 

[Yankees338]

Question to those that stage their properties: Do you keep the furniture that you use to stage in a storage unit for future properties for sale or do you include the furniture in the property's sale price?

 

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[Russ H]

Answer: I use furniture from my house, and live with cheap stuff (even garden furniture in the living room) while the house is on the market.

(gives me extra incentive to accept those offers! )

-Russ H.

 

[PEERless]

I bought $1000-worth of IKEA stuff to stage my apt. I also offer it with those furnishings at a higher rate. I didn't count on NO ONE wanting them and me being stuck with a $700/yr. self storage unit. I like the use your own solution.

 

[Russ H]

I like the use your own solution.

Yeah, the "adirondack chairs in the living room look" gets kinda old after a bit.

But it does make for interesting conversation when friends drop by!

A few of my faves when friends asked "Where did all your furniture go?

"Hey, where did all your furniture go?

"Lost it in a card game."

"It's at the cleaners."

"Loaned it to my brother for the weekend. He's going to have it back to me by Monday."

-Russ H.

 

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[lightning]

For any of the "flippers" out there, there are a few stores in particular that you may want to check out from time to time to help accumulate an arsenal for home staging.

They are:

Linens & Things
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Pier 1
Kohls

All four of these in particular (Im sure there are MANY more) offer many different styles of furnishings (antique to contemporary), and ALL FOUR have INCREDIBLE Clearance sections every day of the week! When my GF and I moved into our first house as recent college grads in early 06, we had NOTHING to furnish it. We were coming from a little 1-bedroom apartment about a 1/3 of the size, and needed a ton of stuff. Those four stores helped supply us with end tables, wall-art and pictures, candles, kitchen stuff, bathroom furnishings, throw rugs, curtains, bedding, throw pillows, fireplace accessories, and alot more. A couple years later, my friends are usually impressed with how nicely we have decorated our house, and have NO idea that a ton of the stuff they see was bought for 1/5 of the price on clearance at one of those stores. Even better, is that if you take the time to search for their coupons online or in your Sunday newspaper, EVERYTHING you purchase from Bed bath and beyond or LNT can be had for an additional 20% off (their coupons are EVERYWHERE).

Alot of the stuff mentioned can be pulled from your OWN home for a stage (like Russ said, VERY good idea! Speed+ by the way! ) without inconveniencing you in the slightest. (whos going to stress over a few pictures on the wall, a couple nice throw rugs, or other small furnishings) missing from your home? I think the key here is "bang for the buck". ie: Try and make the biggest impact to your potential buyers with the least amount of effort. If you can get away with staging your home WITHOUT leaving your 42" LCD TV in the house do it. You may get the same "welcome home" aura in the house with alot less then that.

Furthering that idea, you can ALSO check out Craigslist or garage scales in upscale neighborhoods as well for "extra" furniture/furnishings. I have bought some pretty nice stuff of craigslist to save some cash here and there, and the deals out there would blow your mind. Dont always assume that "used" means "junk". Like buying a new car vs. a quality pre-owned one, the money you can save would blow your mind.

Just some food for thought.

 

[NoMoneyDown]

My wife and I go to garage sales many times during the year. You will be (pleasantly) surprised what you can find at those places (and for little cost). It also has a side benefit, too - you can hone your bargaining skills.

:smxF:

 

[GHVan]

In our slowing canadian market I find that staging a house is very important. I find new local furniture business owners who are looking for marketing exposure and help them out by staging my Reno projects. I usally sell some or most of the furniture with the house which inturn it benifits both parties.
Keeping it clean and simple is the best solution!!

 

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[lightning]

Here is a great slideshow/article I found showing some Before/After shots of home-staging. For anyone who was wondering how worthwhile or "lucrative" these small efforts can be, some of these pictures outta answer your question.

Before and after photos of staged homes - SlideShow - MSN Real Estate - 1

 

[Adam K]

lol its funny I just moved into my first house (while renting the upstairs and living in the basement.) I dont have enough stuff to fill up half my bedroom in the basement. The rest of the basement looks like a warehouse with stuff I get from auctions that are going to be put on ebay. I think I have 11 pallets with stuff waiting to go on ebay. I get this stuff from buisness bankruptcy auctions for pennies on the dollar.