This is an update rewrite of my previous post: 5 Tips on How Do You Hire a Stager?!
If you run a search on Craig’s List for “staging†under real estate services, several pages worth of stagers pop out. All of them promise to sell your home faster and for more. But are they going to fulfill their promises? How do you know? Do you dare to use your equity to gamble on a stager you randomly found on the web?
Here are 6 tips to hire a qualified stager:
1. Ask for qualifications. But don’t mistake this with the letters behind this person’s name on his/her business card as qualifications. When I was working as a Realtor, although I passed my exams, taken my GRI and e-PRO courses, these letters didn’t mean anything until I was out on the field.
What I mean by qualifications is how much work has this person done in the staging industry? Ask to see resume, portfolio, past before & after pictures (*be sure to ask if the photos are done by the stager and they are not some stock photos from some website. There are many new stagers out there that use stock photos from training schools, as well as copying other experienced stagers’ photos, which is why I watermark every Staged4more’s photos, even the before. Usually a good way to tell is “Oh, tell me about the story behind this picture!â€).
Also ask for certifications and continue education if this is important to you.
2. Ask for their professional policies. As a professional, everyone works to their set of guidelines. For example, if you are a bank teller, you follow procedures when a customer shows up at your window. If a customer is doing something inappropriate, such as depositing someone else’s check into his/her account, there are certain protocols to follow, correct? Similarly with running a small business, which is what most of the stagers’ businesses are. Most stagers operate as Sole Proprietor, some LLCs, very few as corporations.
You want to do business with someone who has strong ethics and professional policies because these reflect on his /hers professionalism, as well as how serious they will take your job. When your potential stager comes over for an estimate (many charge a fee for coming out and many don’t), observe what he or she does and his/hers working style. Is he/she listening to your needs? Respectful to your space, your living style and your belongings? Willing to work with you if you have budget constraints and special needs?
3. DO YOUR HOMEWORK: Ask around to see if the firm has a good or bad reputation. Search on the internet on the stager and his/hers firm. This is the NEW age of real estate. A web presence is VERY important. If your staging professional does not even have a website, don’t even think about hiring them. They are behind the curve and trends. In a 2005 National Association of Realtors study, 79% of buyers now shop on internet first, and that number is rapidly growing. As I am writing this in 2008, that number has grown to 85%. If your stager writes a blog, that is a bonus. Read a few entries to get a feel of how this person works and how credible this person is.
4. Since every home is different, is your stager listening to your special needs or just trying to sell you the most expensive option? Expensive does not equal to good work. Sometimes, you will find stagers who are economical and good (at that point, please thank your lucky stars). Don’t determine on hiring someone based on price. Price does not mean anything really. A good stager WILL work with your budget. (But of course be reasonable, you can’t really have champagne taste on beer budget.)
There are a few different ways stagers determine how much they charge. Some, like me, does it based on how much time, work, assistance and materials I need for the job. Some based on Listing Price, which can result to why you see $30,000 price tag on a multi-million dollar homes. Some does it per square footage. In San Francisco bay area, there are quite a few price points. You will expect higher pricing in San Francisco in general, and very competitive pricing in San Jose area. I have heard from both stagers and agents in south bay area that it will be tough if you can get $1.10 per square footage, since it is extremely competitive down there. (Which I concur. I did a consultation in San Jose, the Listing Agent handed me her business card. It says “List your home with me for 1.5%, or let me represent you as a buyer for 1%. List a home at 1.5%? How does she make any money between all the marketing costs, MLS fees, ads, etc.?! Or represent for 1%? Just think about all the gas she spends to drive customers around make me shudder. Typically now agents show about 80 homes before someone buys one.)
Find out what your stagers will they do in your home when you interview. You may spend $1000 on a staging job, but the stager may skim on furnishings & accessories just to get your business, comparing to a $3000 stager who will do the job right. So use your best judgment and look at their portfolio.
5. Don’t take it personally. If you do, you won’t survive the Open House. Stagers may make recommendations that offend you because you feel that your taste in home decorating has been totally dismissed. BUT, staging is about appealing your home to a broad range of buyers. You may have an impressive collection of neon green hunchback trolls, but it is much more difficult to find buyers who like neon green hunchback trolls than finding buyers who don’t like them (even though I agree they are very rare to come by and a great get for your collection).
Usually when a buyer enters a home that has such strong personality, they are blindsided. If they are online, they will immediately exit your listing site and jumps to the next one (just think back when you are online shopping). If they are at open houses, they will walk out the door immediately and go to the next one. It doesn’t matter if you have smashing view and great floor plan, they will not be able to see themselves live in that home.
Case in point: strong interior colors (from actual MLS photos)
These are quite severe colors for most buyers to see past.
Hope these are helpful tips for you. To add more, feel free to comment at the comment box below 
Happy selling,
Cindy