Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
When rehabbing a property to flip, do you use window coverings (blinds, drapes, shutters, ...) when you put the property up for sale, or do you just leave the windows bare?
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
15y
Originally posted by Jerry R.:
J Scott, that is nice staging. Do you always stage your homes?
Every single one of them...
We consider this to be one of the reasons why we are as successful in this market as we are. We see lots of other investors in our area who are doing everything pretty much the same way we are, but aren't selling their houses -- while there may be several differences, I think staging is the big one (with marketing and customer service a close second and third)...
Residential Real Estate Broker · Grand Blanc, MI · Member since 2008 · 885 posts · 316 votes
15y
I never put up any window treatments and never had a negative comment from not doing it.
I stage everyone of my flips too. I feel the staging and other attention to detail of the property itself makes the lack of window treatments overlooked.
If I were to put them in, I would never use the cheap blinds because they're just that and give off the likewise impression.
Plus, by not having the window treatments it makes the rooms appear bigger.
SFR Investor · CB, IA · Member since 2011 · 91 posts · 42 votes
15y
My realtor tells me not to put anything in the windows for flips. He says the open windows and extra light gives it that "new house feel." It's worked for me so far. I'm sure it varies by market.
Investor · Mooreville, NC · Member since 2008 · 139 posts · 58 votes
15y
We use a professional stager who uses very nice window coverings similar to the ones J Scott uses. If the buyer likes them, we will throw them into the deal. Some buyers may not care for what we selected and ask to have them removed so they can use their own. But I do believe window coverings give the home character and help get it sold.
Investor · Mooreville, NC · Member since 2008 · 139 posts · 58 votes
15y
Originally posted by Jerry R.:
So what's the going rate for having a house staged?
Depends on how many rooms. We can get a "mini stage" for $150 which includes the living room, kitchen and bath. Or a full stage for $300 also includes the 2 bedrooms.
Real Estate Investor · Kalamazoo, MI · Member since 2010 · 681 posts · 241 votes
15y
We never use window coverings even in our model, or parade homes for our condo development. We do stage them, and get lots of compliments. It always makes me laugh when people ask who the decorator was. (We do it ourselves.) Even in a home listed for $350,000, we never had a negative comment about lack of window coverings. In fact, we hear how beautiful all the windows are.
Wholesaler · Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, FL · Member since 2009 · 185 posts · 33 votes
15y
Thanks for the replies.
I may consider staging as one of my bankers has a staging business.
I am flipping very low cost homes ($60K) I use the blinds mainly to keep people from looking in the windows. The homes I flip are in a high theft area.
Residential Real Estate Broker · Grand Blanc, MI · Member since 2008 · 885 posts · 316 votes
15y
Thank you. I actually had 3 offers on it within 24 hours of listing it. I ended up accepting a cash offer which was really close to asking price.
I wouldn't consider 60K houses real low cost. Properties in that price range have been my sweet spot. When I'm done with the rehabs I typically list them for $110-120K. 9 times out of 10 they're sold to a first time buyer.
I've been netting between $20K - $35K. However, the one in that link will be the exception since the net will be much higher.
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
15y
Originally posted by Mike G.:
And for those of you who put up blinds (or drapes or whatever), I assume you leave them with the house, right?
We leave the mini-blinds with the house. The drapes are part of the staging, and can be negotiated in, but unless they are negotiated in, we take those.
By the way, that's another great advantage to staging -- when buyers want some of the furniture, they are often willing to put way above the purchase price. In fact, on several occasions, we've told buyers that they could have whatever they wanted for a full price offer. Considering we only spend about $2500 on a house full of furniture, we likely make out well on most of these occasions.
Rehabber / Flipper · Simi Valley, CA · Member since 2010 · 597 posts · 259 votes
15y
Ha - that's a good idea! I don't know how you stage a whole house for $2500, though! Where do you buy your stuff? It might be cheaper for us to buy furniture there and ship it across the country.
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
15y
Originally posted by Mike G.:
Ha - that's a good idea! I don't know how you stage a whole house for $2500, though! Where do you buy your stuff? It might be cheaper for us to buy furniture there and ship it across the country.
My wife is a master negotiator... :D
Seriously, she's probably the best I've ever met (and I used to negotiate large corporate acquisitions, so I've met some good negotiators). She'll get discontinued merchandise from the popular furniture chains (American Signature, for example), she'll get some inexpensive stuff from IKEA, she'll buy a lot off of Craigslist for practically nothing, she'll go to estate sales, etc.
Plus, there are plenty of ways to cut corners without buyers noticing. For example, instead of using a bedframe/headboard with a boxspring and mattress, she'll use two boxsprings on top of plastic upside-down buckets and a custom headboard (total cost less than $100).
Here are a couple examples of bedrooms...the first room probably cost $300 total, the second two rooms were probably $150 total:
Another thing to keep in mind is that one of the big reasons for staging is to get great pictures to market the property. For the most part, the furniture is arranged in a way that optimizes for pictures first; we can then rearrange, if necessary, for buyers walking through. But, if you have enough furniture to get great pictures of every room, you probably have enough furniture. Many people "over-stage"...you really don't need much to make a house look great...