I was browsing one of the Real Estate Investor Facebook groups and an investor asked, “How much do you all pay for staging? How do I know if I received a competitive quote?”
Now of course, you know I had to ‘lean in’ and offer my wisdom lol!! I can’t help it. I’m like the next person who loves a good deal. . . and I also know that you get what you pay for. Everything has a cost, and nothing is free. Here’s my response to the question(s):
“It depends on the property, logistics of staging the property, number of furniture pieces, accessories, and price point of those staging items. Education, experience, overhead costs, staging company niche, and how much care they implement into moving the staging inventory from one location to the other impacts price. That's just a start. Staging companies that use cheaper movers usually don't wrap their inventory prior to moving, resulting in more visible flaws/damage appearing on the inventory. As with anything else, you get what you pay for. It depends on what your ‘deal breakers’ are.”
That’s right. Movers who like what they do and move furniture in a way that shows they care about the property aren’t cheap. Careless and lazy movers are cheap. Home sellers frantically express how we need to be careful not to scratch up the new floors, yet complain because the diligent mover costs more than $80 per hour. Really?
When a potential client gathers a couple of quotes from Home Staging companies, they do not know that it's not an apples-to-apples comparison. They can't know that because at least 90% of them have no idea how staging companies operate. They're just looking at numbers and what may occur as a cheaper (initial) staging fee, could cost the client more money over time. Home Stagers do realize that it's about perception and psychology, and most people do not think past what they see with their eyes.
I have a couple of real life examples that you’re probably aware of (this is only a generalization) . Let’s talk sandwich shops and a couple of major players in that field. When I walk into the cheaper sandwich shop, the tables haven’t been cleaned from when the previous customer sat there and ate their meal, and the freshness and quality of the food is questionable. The worker’s uniforms don't look aesthetically clean, they can have disgruntled attitudes, have no interest in conversation and seem like they could use a healthy dose of empowerment and motivation.
On the other hand, the more expensive sandwich shop has people sitting in there, eating and conversing at clean tables, the worker’s uniforms look clean and ironed, they have jovial attitudes, are willing to converse, and speak like they've read a book or two. They occur as professionals and interested in doing a good job, which they always do.
See the difference?
Home Staging companies are like any other company and it depends on your preferences and the experience you want to have. As my mother used to say, "You can't have champagne taste with a Kool-Aid glass!" Be sure to manage your expectations of the service you receive if price is a motivating factor for you.
