A Quick Home Staging Infomercial

Sampling of Recent Home Staging Successes!

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5 Tips to Sell Your Home in Today's Market: ABC's Today Show

Gary Keller of Keller Willams was on the Today Show on February 26, 2010. One of the Nations largest Reatlor and Brokerage firms, hear what he has to say about Home Staging, Pricing your home right and selling in today's Real Estate Market.

So Many Home Stagers; So Many Questions

Something most Home Owners and Realtors may not be aware of, is that currently there is not an independent or national oversight organization such as NAR for Realtors, that certifies or licenses Home Stagers, and no government oversight or licensing in most areas. There ARE member based organizations which enforce a strict Code of Ethics for its members and communities such as the Real Estate Staging Association. That being said, here are few questions that will help you to choose the RIGHT Home Stager for you.

1. Find a Stager with the most experience in actually Staging homes: There are many training, “certifying” and “accrediting” companies which, within just a few days, or a couple weeks, can turn anyone who takes their course into a “certified” or “accredited” home stager. Since there is not currently any government oversight, ANYONE can “become a stager” almost overnight. Don’t hire “just any” home stager; Experience and professionalism trumps “certification”.

2. Does the Stager have a printed portfolio or website with before and after photography? If they don’t have a current staging portfolio, they may have never done a staging job, or very few.

3. If they have a website, you need to get past the first page.
In other words; make sure that their portfolio contains photos that are of their own work. The first page may be filled with amazing photos of excellent Interior Design or architecture, so you need to ensure that you "get past" the first page and go to either the Portfolio or Gallery page to ensure that what is being presented is not stock photography purchased over the Internet, supplied by the “certifying” training course or “shared” before and after photos in a centralized web-site. Does their website have current information on recently staged properties or successes in today’s market and economy?

With so many people entering the Home Staging Industry, it's important to be educated about who you entrust your most valuable asset. For more tips and questions to ask your Home Stager; click here.

Sellers: Be Wary of the "HGTV Effect"

Let me start by saying I love HGTV for the very fact alone that it has helped educate the public masses about the power of preparing and presenting a home when it’s on the market sale; otherwise known as Home Staging. (My disclaimer)
However, a word to Seller’s to be wary of getting caught up in what has lovingly been dubbed “The HGTV Effect“. similar to the “CSI Effect” of Judicial Juries believing that DNA samples can be resolved and fingerprints matched within a few minutes. The HGTV Effect is the misconception that an entire house can be upgraded, Staged and transformed for $2,000. While these shows do an excellent job of showing what can be done, it also does not show what has not been OR what goes into GETTING all these things done.

Case in point: One show might show three rooms that have been transformed and at the end of the show a breakdown might be presented as something like, “Paint was $295.00, Flooring was $630.00 while lighting was $75.00 and draperies and new bedding were only $45.00….” You get the point. What is NOT shown in these totals are the cost of moving trucks, equipment and tool rentals, carpentry fees, and labor. Think about how much TIME is spent shopping and researching all those “great finds” as well as the labor to design, paint, install, cut, haul, etc… This doesn’t even touch other needs that Stagers in the REAL WORLD must cover such as insurance requirements, additional labor, movers, gas, etc…. Now, I’m not saying that a home can’t be Staged for $2,000. What I am saying is; be realistic and educated about what Professional Home Staging really entails. If $2,000+ still is not within your budget, many Home Stagers may even offer options for smaller budgets or Consultations for the Do-It-Yourself Home Owner.

It is also the misconception that ALL of this work can be completed in a 30 minute time-frame. OK, not 30 minutes, but you get the point. Upgrades and repairs will take up to several weeks to complete depending on the amount needed for your home to compete for top-dollar in your market. Also consider your timeline: some Home Staging Company’s will complete installations within just one day, other’s might take 2-3 depending on the amount of work and the square footage to be Staged. Some Companies might require a 1-2 week period to schedule an installation, while others might be able to fit you in “this week.”
Research and interview several Home Staging Companies that service your area and as always take into consideration that you may very well “get what you pay for”. You might even consider reading this post to know what to look for when hiring a Professional Home Stager. However, once your homework is done, be confident in knowing that you’ve made the right decision about the Home Staging Company you have selected and the exceptional outcome it will produce.