Staging only the vacant side of a duplex for 1,400 and what it does for showings
A case worth walking through for anyone selling small multifamily. A 1970s side by side duplex, both units 2/1, one tenant occupied on a lease with 8 months left and one vacant since a fall move out. Basis 196k, listed at 249k. The usual advice from a listing agent is to skip staging, because small multifamily buyers are looking at the numbers. The problem is that a vacant unit photographs like a storage room, and a seller scrolling past that listing would not click it either. What was done: a local stager, vacant unit only, four rooms, 1,400 total for a six week placement including delivery and pickup. That is a light set, a sofa and rug and coffee table, a bed with real bedding, a small dining table, towels and a plant in the bath. No art rental, two pieces of the owner's own on the walls. What nearly broke it: the delivery truck could not get down the shared drive because the tenant's car and their kid's car were in it, and the tenant had been given no notice because the seller had not thought about it. That cost a rescheduled install and a very awkward conversation. The second attempt went fine. Result: 19 showings in three weeks against maybe five a seller would have guessed, three offers, sold at 256k, closed 44 days after list. Nobody can prove the 7k over ask came from the furniture. What is provable is that people showed up. What to keep: stage only the vacant side and keep the set light, and give the tenant two weeks of notice before anybody with a truck shows up.
