We're looking to sell our 2 bed 2 bath 1250 sq/ft 7th floor condo in downtown Chicago in the next few months. We have a 6 month old baby and just need more space as we also both WFH. We're leaning towards renting a place for a bit to cut down on the stress of buying/selling at the same time and because renting is a much better deal than buying right now.
We're in the process of interviewing listing agents and we're trying to decide if we should list our place while we still live here or move out and stage before listing. It would be a pain to do showings with the baby and we also have a dog who is a rescue and is terrified of strangers and going outside. We had assumed we would move out and stage the place but the first listing agent thinks it would sell quickly since inventory is really low in our neighborhood especially for reasonably priced starter homes like ours, the location is close to a ton of public transit, it’s close to the loop, and we have everything you would ever need within walking distance. We think we could make it work by only doing showings on the weekend when my wife can take the dog and baby to her parents in the suburbs.
Curious to hear other people's experiences selling a highrise condo and whether you staged or not, and if you didn't how was the process of showings.
Should we move out and stage our condo before listing?
byu/jarman65 inRealEstate
Posted by jarman65
11 Comments
Honestly with a baby and an anxious rescue dog I’d just bite the bullet and move out first. Yeah your agent thinks it’ll sell quick but you never know how long showings will drag on, and trying to coordinate weekend-only showings in Chicago’s market sounds like a nightmare. The staging will probably pay for itself anyway if it helps you get asking price or close to it
Anything you can do to make it easy to show is a good thing. It will look better in the listing photos too. Leaving basic furniture in the living, dining, and one bedroom is a good idea. It lets buyers see where they could put their own furniture. I’m a real estate photographer and virtually staging is not ideal.
Honestly a nicely furnished house always sells faster thn an empty one but if your house is cluttered, might be better empty.
I just sold my house with a 6 month old baby, they tell you to put away all the baby stuff for pictures and showings, not sure if all that is worth the hassle for you.
If you’re going to move out anyway, just do it before you list, & stage. It will be much less stressful. The only reason to not do this would be that you think it might not sell, or if you can’t afford rent + the condo expenses for the time it will take to sell. But moving out before you list will almost always make the sale easier, faster, & you will sell for more.
I’ve sold 3 places totally empty.. in Decembers! People also like knowing you are out and there’s no sale getting you out.
December closing for tax purposes too.
Food for thought.
It’s wild to me that you’re about to pay your realtor 5-6% of your sale price but you’re seeking advice from randos online for free.
Why don’t you ask the agents you’re “interviewing?”
If you have the luxury to do so… Move out and get proffesional staging done… De personalizing your condo and getting it prepped properly for the new buyers is super important for condos… More so than homes.
You bought for 400 and are hoping to sell for 450 that means 20 for a 5% commission to be spilt between the agents if that’s the number you go with possibly another 10 with closing costs and now you will be getting only 20 in profit back. If it was my own place and I am a broker and I have sold 10 of my own homes I would not pay for staging. Unless you’ve lived there for at least two out of the past five years you going to be paying capitol gains taxes on that. With the amount added to both of your incomes it could be a big tax hit for you. If the area is truly hot and desirable then I would do a Friday list with an open house the next day. The last home I sold was in a hot market I was going to need to restrict showings due to dogs and people who would all need to leave plus the clean up necessary to show your home well. Multiple offers over asking the same day. You’re the seller you direct showings. Good luck I hope your next home is perfect.
We moved and staged our house. To keep the costs down, they used some of our furniture and added some additional. It made showing the place way easier and we didn’t need to worry about anything getting taken.
Go live on MLS mid week & plan to be elsewhere thru weekend. If priced right; you should have an offer by following Monday.
Don’t move unless you were already planning to rent because moving twice will super suck. Throw whatever you can in your building storage. Daily essentials, baby & dog stuff can be put in laundry basket in trunk for fast easy clear out for showings.
Just came here to plug a fantastic downtown Chicago agent. If you’d like their name, I’m happy to provide. Best of luck.