staged one side of a duplex for 1,400. it did more than i expected.

Sold a side-by-side duplex last quarter, 1970s, both units 2/1, one tenant-occupied on a lease with 8 months left and one vacant since a move-out in the fall. Basis was 196k, I listed at 249k.

I'd never staged anything. My agent said don't bother, small multifamily buyers are looking at the numbers. But the vacant unit photographed like a storage room and I kept looking at the listing thinking I wouldn't click it.

What I did: local stager, vacant unit only, four rooms, 1,400 total for a six week placement including delivery and pickup. That's 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, I hung two pieces of my own.

Nearly broke it: the delivery truck couldn't get down the shared drive because the tenant's car and their kid's car were in it, and the tenant hadn't been given notice by me because I didn't think about it. Cost me a rescheduled install and a very awkward conversation. Second attempt went fine.

Result: 19 showings in three weeks against maybe five I'd have guessed, three offers, sold at 256k, closed 44 days after list.

I can't prove the 7k over ask came from the furniture. What I can tell you is that people showed up. What I'd keep: staging only the vacant side, keeping the set light, and giving the tenant two weeks of notice before anybody with a truck shows up.

8 replies

1jordan_ellis2ActivePRO6

Did the buyers turn out to be investors or people planning to live in one side? Because if it's owner-occupants your agent's advice was wrong for a specific reason and that's worth knowing.

-1carlos_nunezActive

@pike that's the whole thing. Small duplexes in a lot of markets sell to house hackers who are shopping like homebuyers with a spreadsheet on the side. They absolutely respond to furniture. A pure cap rate buyer wouldn't care what's in the room.

1stephen_ok9CO2CPRO6

1,400 for six weeks with delivery and pickup included is cheap. Is that a small-market rate or did you get a light set discount? I've seen quotes triple that for four rooms.

-1kevin_lombardPG1BPRO5

Just want to be sure I've got this straight. The staging fee is a rental, so the furniture goes back at the end and you never own it, is that right? And the 1,400 was a cost you paid at closing or up front?

1raj_mehta14CapitalPRO6

@juniper yes, rental plus the labor of moving it in and out. Some stagers bill install up front and the monthly after, some will defer to closing if the agent vouches for you. Cairn would know which he did.

1tashaford30PB2APRO7

The tenant notice detail is the part I'm saving. I'd have made exactly that mistake, and in most states there's a required notice period for entry that has nothing to do with whether you're being polite. Worth reading the lease and the state statute before scheduling anyone.

1luis_carrera Get yours

What happens to this if the vacant unit sits 12 weeks instead of six? You'd be into extension fees and the 1,400 stops looking light. Did you have a number in mind where you'd have pulled it?

2hannah_west29 Get yours

Numbers as posted: 1,400 spend, 7k over list, 44 days. I'd want to know what the last two comparable duplex sales in that submarket did on days and on list-to-sale ratio before crediting the furniture with any of the 7k. If they were closing at 98 percent of list in 50 days then you sold a normal duplex at a fair price and the staging bought you showing volume, which is worth something on its own.

staged one side of a duplex for 1,400. it did more than i expected.

8 replies