$1,000 Staging. Done Right or Done Wrong?

When a home stager is hired one of their primary responsibilities is to stage the property in a manner that best solves problems or perceived issues sellers may have with it. Unfortunately this may not always happen.

CASE IN POINT: Recently I received an Email  from Adam in Chicago asking for advice over a dispute he was having with his stager regarding the worked she had preformed. Adam wrote…

Hello Craig,

My name is Adam and I am having a disagreement with a stager I hired.

I am trying to sell a 2-bedroom condo in Chicago and recently hired a professional to stage the empty condo. The property is unique in that the living room is very long and narrow, which is why my realtor and I thought it was important to stage it to show its potential. This is the only living area of the property so it has to look like a living room.

We've since (the staging) had ten showings without an offer.

I had two friends over… both of them said is "this room looks like a hallway". They also said that the way it's staged does not show the potential of the living room.

I called the stager… and she maintains that the room is properly staged and that I need to respect her professional opinion. She discounts these opinions because she says she's the professional.

Do you have any tips on how I could deal with my stager?

Thank you very much,
Adam

So that you have a complete picture of all that was done and how Adam's $1,000 was used to stage his property, I have created this short video show.



So... now that you have a more complete picture, I have a few final questions for you to consider.

1. Given the budget, Adam’s instruction, and the style of the home, did the stager stage the home correctly?
2. Did the stager provide a good solution for the problematic living room?
3. If Adam feels the solution provided does not solve the living rooms problem, what should he do?
4. What actions do you suggest the stager take to solve the problem?

Whether you are a seller, stager or realtor... I  am curious to know what you think.

Craig