Burlingame home staging, San Mateo home staging, San Francisco home staging

When mainstream media checked the background of Mr. Joe the Plumber, they found out he didn’t have a plumber’s license to practice.

Joe the Plumber with Obama Courtesy of MSNBC.com

Well, it’s a similar issue in the staging industry: you don’t need a license to practice staging. Additionally, there is no regulation or ethics committee when it comes to business practices for staging. Essentially, anyone and everyone can wake up one day, “bing,” with that lightbulb going off above their heads and say: “Well, I’ve decided! In this recession, home staging sounds like a lucrative career, so I am gonna do it!” Silly as it sounds, it happens more often than we thought.

So as a consumer, what to do when you are hiring a stager? How do you make sure that you are hiring a stager who is responsible, ethical and will stage your home to get you best return on your staging investment?

Here are a few tips:

*Ask probing questions: Instead of just asking “How long have you been in the business?” ask “How many homes have you staged?” Because someone can be “in business” for a long period of time and not actually stage a lot of houses. You want to gauge how many projects the stager has done and what is his/hers past track records.

*Don’t just hire based on pricing: Figure out what you really get for the price tag. When you compare proposals, look at what does the lowest price tag include vs. the highest price tag include. The most expensive doesn’t mean it’s better, and vice versa. Also find out if there are other surcharges.

*ALWAYS, ALWAYS interview more than 1 stager: Hiring a stager is really not a decision to be taken lightly. Because the difference between a good stager vs. a bad stager can be days on market, # of offers, etc. which can have significant consequences of your final sales profit.

Got any other tips? Share them in the comment box below!

Related posts:

1. 5 Tips on How Do You Hire a Stager?!
2. Rehashed & Renewed: 6 Tips on How to Hire A Stager?
3. A Preview of my Speech at Hire A Businesswoman Week Presented by IVWCC
4. Be my special guest @ Hire-A-Businessman Week Presented by International Virtual Women's Chamber of Commerce
5. It’s SCHEDULED! The next Stage It Forward Round Table in SF bay area!