Sellers preparing a home for market
Staging and prep
A ranked prep punch list, trade coordination and a staging plan that uses what you already own before it rents anything.
The short version
Most sellers overspend on the wrong things. A new quartz counter is exciting and returns very little. Paint, lighting, decluttering, a clean pier and a mowed shoreline return a great deal and cost a fraction of it.
So our pre-list visit produces a ranked list: do these five things, consider these three, skip these four. Each line comes with a cost estimate and a plain reason. You decide how far down the list to go, and we coordinate the trades for whatever you pick.
Staging follows the same logic. Our stager works with your furniture first, edits rather than replaces, and brings in rented pieces only where a room genuinely reads wrong without them. Vacant homes are the exception, where a light rental package usually pays for itself.
Step by step
How it actually runs
Pre-list visit
Ninety minutes, room by room, camera in hand. You get the list within two days.
You choose the scope
Every line has a cost and a reason. Do all of it or do the top five, either way we plan around your decision.
Trades scheduled
We book and manage the trades, and we chase them so you do not have to.
Styling day
The stager works the whole house in a day, usually the day before the photographer comes.
Photo day
We are there at the start to check every room against the list.
Why it matters
Three things this prevents
Every one of these came out of a transaction where it nearly went the other way.
Spend where it returns
A ranked list with costs, so nobody renovates a kitchen for no reason.
Trades we already trust
Booked, scheduled and chased by us, with no referral fee taken.
Your furniture first
Editing beats renting in most occupied homes, and it costs nothing.
What it costs
No packages, no surprises
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-list visit and punch list | Included | Part of our listing service |
| Styling day with our stager | Included | One full day, occupied or vacant |
| Rented staging inventory | $1,400 to $3,200 sample | Vacant homes only, quoted per property and per month |
Sample figures for demonstration. Rental inventory cost depends on the number of rooms and the length of the listing period.
Questions
About this service
Anything not covered here, call the office and ask.
Paint, consistently. After that, lighting, decluttering and landscaping. On waterfront, a clean pier and a trimmed shoreline photograph better than almost any interior change.
No. Most of our sellers live in the house through the listing. Our stager works around that and gives you a short daily reset list for showings.
Usually yes. Empty rooms photograph smaller and buyers struggle to place furniture. A light package in the main rooms is typically enough.
You do, directly. We coordinate and inspect the work but we never mark it up or take a fee from the trade.
Related
Usually booked alongside
Book the first conversation
Ninety minutes, no charge, and you leave with a written plan whether or not you hire us.
Four agents, one office on Monona Avenue, replies within one business day.