home staging using Home Managers

12 years ago

My realtor suggests I use Home Managers to stage my house that is up for sale. A staging company screens and pairs clients looking for temporary place to live in the homes for sale and promises to keep it clean, pay utilities etc.

Here is a link to an article that explains better:

http://www.statesman.com/business/that-lived-in-look-101506.html?printArticle=y

Does anyone have any experience in this regard and specifically in Austin, TX area?

Thanks in advance,

Senbabli

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Comments (5)

marie_ndcal
12 years ago
Does that mean you move all your stuff out? Where do you store it? If not, would your insurance be cancelled because you do not live in the home/rent/ and if someone gets hurt who pays?
Not sure if I would do it without talking to a lawyer.
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Jamie
12 years ago
This is a timely question for me because last night I viewed a home that was being rented out and whose owner was out of state. The renter, who could have done much to make my appointment pleasant and easy, did the opposite: parked in the middle of the driveway and impeded my inspection by constant comment and barring me from certain rooms. The renter also volunteered negative and possibly false info about the home, and there were some needed repairs which the owner wrongly believed the renter had taken care of. This would have been a very good application for something like the Austin company. But it wasn't a million dollar home and I can see how these deals work best in the very high end market.
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Hi Jane! So glad to hear you sold your house! I know you are breathing a big sign of relief!! Who knows what goes through buyers minds when they start to rip our perfectly good items in a home. I keep on thinking back to one of the TV shows with Doug from "Trading Spaces" where they show three homebuyers who buy each others homes and follow them through the process. At the end the old owners go back to see what the new owners have done. Most of the time it's good improvements, but some times the buyers just rip so many good things out. So much for saving the environment and the crappy economy! What I learned is that as a seller, you really have to detatch yourself from the home before the sign goes up. We staged and decluttered like crazy. Didn't spend a lot of $$$ to redo much but made sure that anything that could have been an issue was repaired (except for the furnace with ended up being a HUGE issue!). I was glad I switched out some expensive fixtures I had even though I only was able to use one in our new place. I just had this feeling that no one really cared that I spent a fortune on my Waterford fixture and would probably trash it which would have killed me - so it sits in a box in my new basement and will be handed down to my kids!! lol Same with a few other things that were negotaited in to the buyers contract due to their power tripping agent, and I then personally spoke to the buyers to get some things back and they were fine with it since they really didn't want them anyway!! Absolutely IN LOVE with our new place and surprised that I don't miss the old place at all. Too much work to keep it up and after living there for 6 years the neighbors still weren't friendly. Our new move was the best thing we ever did!! Best of luck in your new place!!! ~
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WOW... looks like a spread from Better Homes & Gardens! Rather than waste the $$ on a dubious "stager", I'd spend similar dollars for a PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER to shoot and compile a great ALBUM, as is often done for premium props. *They* (the photog) will do the staging for "free", as part of the job... a 2-fer. ;') Rather than posting fewer pics, to "lure" buyers to visit, you want a sales "package" that's so complete, out-of-town (and int'l) buyers feel compelled to drop a deposit over the phone, just to "hold" it! I have family in Lilburn, and thought I had some knowledge of Alpharetta... can only surmise that your distance from ATL, smallish lot, and possibly "bad" roads, is the reason your property is not appraised at 7-figures. Your "realtor" and her behavior are pushing my skepticism gauge deep into the red! In addition to the oft-mentioned and obvious kickbacks mentioned above, consider some more sinister scenarios: 1) Realtor (licensed?) and/or Stager are new to biz, or returning to biz after long hiatus, and your home is SO juicy--in the photogenic sense--that one or both of these "service" providers wants to use it in their own sales materials, e.g. brochures, etc... so they REALLY need it to be "picture perfect". Having you pay for their benefit is part of the CON. Under GA law, you may have no rights to prevent this, or charge $$ for this, after house is sold... not sure. 1a) Same as (1), but some cable TV or infomercial angle is involved... behind your back. Red flag if they want you gone "all day" for an "open house". 2) SUPER naughty: Realtor is deliberately low-balling you, so her "straw" buyer (aka sister/brother with different last name) can get a screaming deal, and/or FLIP your house! =:O Your totally NON-distressed situ = hold out for high end of price range. Someone will fall in LOVE with what it offers. The US Dollar is dropping again... make sure listing is available to key INTERNATIONAL markets. As noted above, the Jumbo loan market is more than a little skittish right now, so your buyers are going to be "liquid" folks who can bring ~$150k cash to the deal. THAT is who you need to reach. PS: What is the SIZE of that lake, in acres?
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Really, please accept my sincere apologies if you feel offended, but I have to wonder just how is this all too over whelming ? Maybe the answer that you are seeking is not so much a question of the physical management of chores, rather, the answer may be a readjustment to the reality that the duties of house keeping should not be overwhelming for someone who is at home. This depends on if you are directing your question towards those who have to balance both career and family, or those who can devote full time to it. Is a life like yours really that hectic and scattered that you might need a list of everyday mundane chores? Many, many, many women, wives, mothers manage quite well in the face of greater obligations and cares. You did not list career as one of those chores, so I would assume that you do not work. Even with school, your life should not be that complicated. Maybe there needs to be a question of rather or not these things are really problems that need a solution, or a spread sheet. I don't know what your field of study is, but you might find more to write about from a different aspect of home and family, such as distribution of labor in the family where both adults work, or the difficulty of raising a family, cooking, cleaning and doing laundry in the four or five hours between commuting home after work and going to bed. Now, there is a gal who needs the help. Management, calendars, spread sheets aside, what she needs is a stay at home wife! My grandmother raised a passel of kids, peas, pigs and cows on a farm. She managed quite well. My mother raised a family on a shoe string, and I was a stay at home mom and raised my two, kept house, a garden and did quite well. Management was never an operative word. It was just called "keeping house" and "raising kids". You did what you had to do. The difference between myself and this younger generation of women with careers is that keeping the home fires burning WAS my career. That is a whole lot of difference. One thing for your research is the idea that, in todays world, many children have to learn independence and responsibility early in life. The irony of it is the fact that is the way life was back innna' day, in times passed. Then, there came a short time, starting around mid century, when children were being raised by suburban moms in the new suburbs and most of these children had few responsibilities. Today it is going back to the idea that everyone in the family has a role to play in the management of the family life and home. The problem is that mom, who is the embodiment of the spreadsheet/calendar/chores list has left the home and is at work earning a living. We have yet to come to terms with working moms. Our society does yet accomodate them well.
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weedyacres
12 years ago
I can't vouch for this specific company, but I've heard of companies that provide temporary furnishings and renters for vacant homes to make them look lived in. I don't see the point in moving out prematurely, just stage your own furniture.

I saw a website a while back where it was looking for the renters on this side of the equation. The deal was you had to BYO furniture and in return you could live there for a pretty reduced rent during the time the home was listed.
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logic
12 years ago
This was an attractive option until the bedbug epidemic.
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lafdr
11 years ago
I am not familiar with that particular caretaker group. Here in the Albuquerque area, homes I have seen that are Homes In Transition or HIT occupied show like model homes. And they have been very accommodating to showings.

My understanding from their website is that they cover utilities and yard maintenance, are background screened as well as furniture screened. The agency collects the "rent" and there is no fee to the homeowner if they live there 3 months. But if the home sells it is a fee of $1500 in 30 days, $1000 in 60 days, $500 90 days for the homeowner to the agency to make up for their costs for the move in etc.

Supposedly they have a monitoring schedule where the agency drops in on the houses and makes sure they are being held to their standards.

Based on what I have seen, I am seriously considering using them.

I believe you can simply add a landlord policy to your homeowners insurance and you are well covered as if you live there. The problem for insurance is a truly vacant home since it is at risk for vandalism or an undetected water leak. The occupants need to have their own "renter's insurance" to cover their possessions.

Supposedly "staged" homes sell better. and so a part of me prefers an actual screened occupant to keep a better eye on things and deal with the hassle of showings. Versus paying a stager, and ongoing rent of the furniture.

My plan is to move out, do a deep cleaning, list- just in case I am lucky enough to sell right away! And if no serious activity in the first month go to caretakers. (of course price is a factor in a quick sale, but if the feedback is that the price is good.....)
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home staging using Home Managers

Comments (5)

marie_ndcal

Jamie

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