Homestaging - Staging of a Property

I am not blaming the sellers either. I just think that I wouldn’t be so easily fooled... Whenever something looks TOO GOOD, increased skepticism is warranted, then I would rather not buy it, even though the item might actually be okay and is just being presented better...

I do not see anything concerning at all in the introductory post. It does not say anything about hiding damages and defects.

And every seller is allowed to promote their offer as best as possible, as long as it is not fraud. The buyer can inspect at will.

I do think that homestaging can make sense, possibly even for both parties, seller (who increases their selling price) and buyer (who can see that the house or apartment is right for them).

....It also doesn’t say anything about hiding damages and defects..

No one is surely claiming that. I just personally believe that HS is precisely something that could be misused. Sales strategies can be seen in practically every field nowadays, whether in the food sector, furniture trade, car trade... and so on. Everyone wants to present their goods in the best light, which in itself is nothing blameworthy. But I have come to the conviction that it is often abused. For me, especially with real estate, it makes a significant difference whether I have to pay 20,000 euros more for a place beautified by HS that I still have to invest in renovation/refurbishment. If I want to put it very harshly, who does HS? For me (in a case I experienced), a disguised interior designer who probably doesn’t earn money otherwise. It may be that I am terribly mistaken here, and I ask to forgive me this expression. Surely there are very reputable companies that do HS both in the interest of buyers and sellers. The purpose of HS (besides making money) may not yet be clear to me, but one never stops learning in life.

Of course, everyone wants to present their property in the best light. When I film a property and the weather is gloomy and a house appears rather dark despite abundant glass surfaces, I often help myself with Photoshop. However, I do not, for example, remove power poles or similar. One has to distinguish whether one is simply enhancing the object a little or trying to hide something or cheat. And here the interested party is also called upon to view and question everything critically.

Hello,

I also see the whole thing as somewhat of a double-edged sword...

For the seller, of course, it is a fine thing if he can achieve a higher purchase price through a comparatively low capital investment.

On the other hand, some (explicitly not all) measures taken within the framework of Homestaging are certainly suitable to deliberately make the potential buyer overlook existing weaknesses.

Personally, I would be even more cautious with a "gehomestageten" property than with a "normal" property.

Regards,

Dirk

If one assumes that it is usually not about covering things up, the offer remains to adapt to the expectations of the target audience, or to help their imagination along. Let’s assume the deceased grandmother’s apartment is to be sold. It hasn’t been painted for years, and the old floral wallpaper in the bedroom is yellowing. Otherwise, the apartment is completely empty, or in the worst case, there is an old bed and a lot of Gelsenkirchener Barock furniture lying around. In addition, there is a dark curtain in front of each window. The kitchen was given away to the Schwibbschwager. Because of its location etc., the place will certainly sell best to a young DINKS couple. Sure, with a lot of luck they can imagine the old junk out and estimate what the renovation will cost, whether the kitchen fits as imagined, and whatever else. But usually not. So I spend a few euros and paint everything white, throw out the old furniture along with the curtains. If I now also bring in a few modern pieces of furniture and put in a cardboard kitchen, there it is, the image of the apartment as it should be. Helping the imagination along, that’s all it is (should be).