Couple buys home in Iowa. The staging furniture was mistakenly left behind: ‘Congrats on the fully furnished new home’
Buying your first home is an important milestone—but what do you do if the staging furniture is left behind? This was the dilemma faced by TikToker Richie Galvan (@richiegalvan3).
The TikTok, which has garnered 19 million views, consists of the camera panning around the impeccably furnished house. Comedic music plays in the background. It was accompanied by on-screen text reading: “When you buy your first house but the staged furniture never got taken out and we have the keys.”
How did commenters react?
While some commenters were amused by the situation, others gave conflicting advice on where the couple stood legally. “As a stager, I guarantee the stagers were left in the dark,” one wrote. “You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve gotten a text from a realtor like ‘We close tomorrow, can you come unstage.'”
“What staged furniture?” a second quipped. “You definitely moved that all in yourself.” While a third added, “A win is a win babe.. as a realtor, we’ve completely forgotten it was staged.”
A fourth commenter, who also claimed to be a realtor, said that what was left was legally theirs. A fifth said the opposite thing, writing, “That realtor is wrong, if you are aware they have reasonable grounds to request return of it.” The Mary Sue could not independently verify these claims.
What happened next?
During one follow-up video, Galvan confirmed that the furniture had been collected, panning the camera around the now-empty house.
In another, he and his partner did a “storytime” on what exactly happened. In the clip, Galvan explained that when they put an offer down on the home, they never intended to make an offer on the furniture. They always planned on getting new furniture.
They had the final walkthrough the day before close, and in the video, Galvan made it clear that it was never in the offer to buy the furniture. The partner added that they went into this knowing the furniture was rented by the seller, and made it clear that they didn’t want to go to the trouble of locking the doors and hiding the furniture and fighting.
This is because they had already purchased furniture, had respect for the realtor, buyer’s agent, and company that remodelled the home. Ultimately, Galvan said the two of them were happy with everything. He said the viral experience was a “great laugh.” Meanwhile, his partner said that she wanted “good karma” from not keeping the furniture.
Galvan didn’t immediately respond to The Mary Sue’s request for comment via TikTok direct message.
@richiegalvan3 So do we get to keep it for free or what…? ? #home #newhome #fyp #lol ♬ Welp, Didn't Expect That – Yu-Peng Chen & HOYO-MiX
What is staging?
Staging involves filling a home on the market with temporary furniture. This is so that it can look as appealing as possible to buyers. According to HowStuffWorks, staging is less about straight-up decorating and more about “depersonalizing a home so that prospective buyers can imagine themselves in it.”
As part of this, personal items are usually removed from the property. Additionally, sometimes, new furniture and appliances are purchased or rented. This is to help the home look neutral, high-value, and up-to-date.
The TikToker shares more details
In an interview with The Mary Sue via TikTok direct message, Galvan said, “I’ve been posting videos of my cats for years now. So when we’re going through the homeownership process, my girlfriend Jenna and I talked about posting and just seeing what could happen. What’s the worst thing that could happen, you know?”
“We had our final walk through the day before closing and was under the impression that the final cleaning and the staged furniture would be gone,” he continued. “At that time, we never saw the house empty funny enough. But when it came to closing day and we walked into our new home with our realtor and noticed everything was still here, and we had the keys. So, me being who I am, took a video thinking nothing would happen. Funny enough, it went viral! Something I thought would never happen.”
When asked about the reception of the video, he added, “The reception of this whole thing has been funny honestly. We have been laughing at the comments and having fun with it. It can literally happen to anyone at anytime without even intending to go viral. We’ve had some hating comments but also some funny ones so it cancels out and have appreciated this so far going into our new home.”
More attention
Galvan also said that Complex and Barstool asked to share the video, and that companies like Walmart, Pringles, Ulta, and Swifter commented on the TikTok. As well as this, Galvan said the staging company commented on the video, and that the TikTok came up on his selling agent’s FYP.
“I’ve noticed the followers and views jump up which was surprising for a video I didn’t think would go viral,” he wrote. “Friends, family and co-workers think we’re famous now, which is funny but we know that isn’t the case. Maybe some companies will want to collab and help furnish our place? Haha, doubtful and don’t expect that but I’ve seen it before on my own scroll time.”
On the furniture itself, Galvan added: “We never intended to keep the furniture nor did we sign and pay for it or go through legal stuff and have to worry about selling it. There’s already too much stress with buying a home. We already purchased majority of our new stuff prior to moving in even though the stuff was still here when we got the keys. We don’t want anyone getting in trouble for a small mistake from what it seems like and to look back at this as a funny hiccup.”
He concluded, “If you’re ever contemplating on posting a video – just do it (as long as it isn’t bad haha) but people enjoy the laughs and it’s a good thing to remember we’re all just here scrolling and living our life the best we can and have had fun through this process!”
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
