Staging for sale

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We have a 2 bed terrace that we will be shortly putting on the market. It will be empty as it was a rental but tenants moved out a month ago.

We're having it totally decorated throughout including outside walls and replacing tiles etc. Carpets are in great condition, lovely fixtures and fittings including period fireplace, lightfittings etc. It will certainly be in a condition that I would be happy to move in to.

Question is, do you think we need to stage the rooms for sale? It's very much a first time buyers house and the estate agent mentioned that it can be difficult for first time buyers to appreciate the scale of rooms without furniture.

The issue is that it will cost money that we'll struggle to find at the moment (although its not impossible).

What are your views?

If it has any bearing, it's in the West Midlands and in the £115 - £125k price bracket.

It is difficult to envisage living somewhere without furniture - also the furniture gives you a better sense of scale than standing in an empty room. Can you get any unwanted furniture off Freecycle or similar?

I think I would see how it goes first.
The reason being a load of mis matched /borrowed/naff furniture might look worse than empty rooms.Unless you can pick up some nice bits and pieces or borrow from family or friends.

If you do do viewings with it empty make sure that the heat is on,a good bit before viewing and a subtle scented plug in if no one is around to air it abit.

Have heard of people "hiring" furniture for this purpose. Allows you to get nice stuff for the short (hopefully) period of time required.

I definitely wouldn't go for mismatched or naff but equally cannot afford new. I was thinking more of pinching small decorative touches from home (lamps, pictures etc) and then the big things such as beds and wardrobes would have to come from eBay.
Would I have to have a fridge freezer and waging machine in the kitchen too do you think?
The issue with waiting to see how it goes before deciding is that we can't really afford 2 mortgages for very long so need to sell as quickly as possible.

Also, if anyone knows of any furniture hire companies, I'd be grateful for details. I often hear of them but have never come across one.

I wouldn't bother, unless you have access to great furniture to really enhance the look.

I don't think that you need white goods. As said up thread it is about helping people understand scale. I thinks beds and a sofa and a table would help? Could you just get a bed base (or boxes at a stretch?) and put your loveliest duvet cover on it? You need a honest friend /family member to then let you know whether it works or is just a bit weird!

Hi
Am rushing to school but you can put two blow up air beds, on on another and then dress with bedding/ cushions for a staging.
I think it is best to borrow or use things from your own home if possible.
Hire costs mean that eBay/free cycle will be cheaper.
You need to be minimal anyway so maybe one sofa and another piece? In the sitting room.
Beds are the most important to give a sense of scale.
Furniture is important.
White goods......no.

I wouldn't bother. Most people will view a few properties and these will give them an idea of what you can get into a property. We've looked at three houses recently and I take my tape measure to make sure we can get beds in where we want them and to make sure the width is big enough for fridges/washing machines. As long as it's clean and tidy. If you have curtains or blinds, I'd try to make sure these are open as much as possible to let plenty of light in.

Given that you're redecorating, I wouldn't bother. I think there's more of a risk of bringing it down by not using nice enough stuff.
I'm sure it makes sense in a higher price bracket - in central London etc - but I think you'll make a better impression leaving it empty and clean and fresh. Also, you don't want to risk the buyers thinking you've got something to hide.

2 out of the three house we have bought have been empty when we bought them. One had furniture on the estate agents photographs, but only in Master bedroom, living room and dining room (4 bed house) none of the other bedroom were shown.

Do you have any of your own furniture you could use?

I think you should...I speak from experience. We recently sold a property that we had been renting. We spent weeks redecorating and cleaning (filthy tenants - grrr). We were so proud of our sparkling flat and thought we'd done enough. No viewings for two weeks Similar (and in a lot of cases, less impressive) properties were going fast.

Thankfully an honest friend said she wouldn't bother viewing it when I showed her the details on Rightmove because she couldn't grasp the scale. We dressed it and got 3 viewings immediately after the new photo's were posted. Sold the same week

Use decent items from your house, borrow from friends (we got lent a ton of stuff, I couldn't believe it) and buy cheap new stuff from places like The Range.

I would go out my way to look at an empty house. I would much prefer it to a house with furniture in. You can see everything clearly.

Thanks all, really interesting responses. Having given it more thought, there is an amount of stuff we could use from our home. I would need to beg/borrow/steal a dining table, 2 double beds and 2 wardrobes should we decide to stage. I'm relieved that we wouldn't need to go as far as white goods though!
I wonder how many that have purchased empty homes did so as first time buyers?

Every property I have purchased (bought a couple off plan) except for one has been empty when I have viewed. I actually prefer it. And yes the first property I purchased was empty.

'I wonder how many that have purchased empty homes did so as first time buyers?'

I'm buying one now but not as FTB.
Are you thinking FTBs may be less ready to go for an empty house? There might be some truth in that - the fact that the house we're buying is empty is unimportant because I have my current room dimensions in my head so based on the plan I can go 'Oh, that's as wide as my lounge, just a bit longer' and how it looks doesn't really come into it.

A tip I remember from property ladder was to create a bed from boxes and just dress nicely with duvet, pillows, cushions etc so that could save some cash.

My recommendation would be go for the home staging. I am currently having my flat (also West Mids) done for sale. Very dirty after various tenants kept it unloved for 4 years. I've spent 4 weeks cleaning, replaced a few misted windows, various plumbing jobs, complete repaint, new carpets. Home staging people have been brilliant. They've put in some really appropriate furniture & accessories, with a great eye for colour, style, etc. The cost is less than I thought it would be. Have 5 different estate agents coming to value tomorrow. I am already hopeful the money & time invested now will easily be worth it. And that it will sell quickly & not languish on the market for months. It looks like a show home! PM me for details of the company I used - I would love to recommend them.

What you might want to consider is staging it for the photos then clearing it out. Means you don't have to do without your furniture for long, but potential buyers can see what they are getting and more easily visualise what they could do with the place.

I think if I viewed somewhere where the bed was made up of boxes or was two air beds on top of each other I would just think it was odd - you can bet your bottom dollar that someone would sit on the fake bed or a child would jump on it!

Yes.I think a lot of ftbs would have difficulty visualising what sort of furniture might fit. It does not need to be elaborate. Sofa, coffee table, eating areas, double bed etc. Maybe the odd rug and blind/curtain.

We sold our dining table and chairs on Gumtree to a woman who was staging her home for sale. She used the dining room as a playroom but was advised to dress it like a dining room to help with sales.

It was a beautiful table and she got a real bargain as we needed it shifted asap. May well find some nice things on Gumtree.

Our first house was completely empty (repossession) and had been on the market for months. The EA (even though I take what they say with a hefty pinch of salt) said it was because people couldn't grasp the scale of rooms.

When we were selling, we were advsied to put furniture in otherwise quite sparse rooms, just to show what could be fitted in. Different from a completely empty sheel, but I would definitely think of something.

If you are wanting to sell it as 'little to do but move in' I think its quite important to show that. You might even be able to get some of the costs back by offereing to add things to fixtures and fittings list.