Homeowners fear of staging costs and rental furniture
As a homeowner, you worry about a lot of things: cutting the lawn, fixing the leak, or replacing the window or roof. But when it comes time to sell your home, someone may suggest staging it to sell faster. But what does that mean? Rental furniture, no furniture, somewhere in between?
Is my furniture good enough?
I have gotten several phone calls when the homeowner has som
e furniture in the home but they fear it is not good enough. Or they ask, you’re not going to make me get rental furniture if the house already has furniture in it, are you? This is a common fear but sometimes a misconception. Most homes have everything you need to stage a home but it is just overcrowded. Leave the necessary pieces such as a couch, chair, coffee table and lamp and remove anything extra. Add some wall art and you are done. But what if you are selling grandma’s house and you have a flowered couch that stands out like a sore thumb? Put a slipcover over it to neutralize the color and add some throw pillows to get an updated look. You don’t need rental furniture if you already have items you can use.
Missing some furniture
In this scenario, two roommates live together and one decides to move out and take their items like a couch or a bed. Now the home looks partially empty. The leftover roommate has to decide whether to add more furniture or remove all their stuff too. As a home stager, I recommend adding a few pieces to fill out the spaces. I had one client whose mother still had her old crib and changing table. Instead of renting those items, which by the way can be hard to find, she borrowed the items and turned the second bedroom into a wonderful nursery. I recommended getting rental furniture for the other pieces but because she was able to borrow some items, her rental furniture cost wasn’t as high.
But I think I really do need rental furniture
The only way to know is to ask. As a home stager, during my consultation I make a plan and recommendations for each room. Sometimes you need to just rearrange some pieces or reuse them in other rooms. If your home is empty, then yes, I do recommend rental furniture. Depending on the homeowner’s budget, you can decide how many rooms can be staged with rental furniture. Fill the basic rooms such as living area, dining area, and a bedroom or two. There are many different rental furniture companies in the Northern Virginia area and they have different styles and price ranges. Don’t pick high end furniture for a lower priced home and vice versa. Be consistent because the buyers will know that something doesn’t look right.
Call and ask a home stager to get a ballpark figure for rental furniture. You might get sticker shock but think of it this way. How long to you want to pay for 2 mortgages when you can get your home sold faster with the help of a home stager?