SELLERS: SOME GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR HOME STAGING COMPANY
When you’re comparing home staging proposals, here are some questions to consider asking so that you can be confident you’re selecting the company that’s best for your project:
- Is the home staging company registered in the City they’re based in and fully insured for liability in the event of property damage while on your premises? Will they provide a copy of their insurance coverage to you?
- Does the staging company's pricing proposal include staging the same number of rooms as your other proposals -- so that you can compare apples to apples? Do they partially stage with "vignettes" only, or do they offer full staging with coordinated furnishings and accessories?
- Did they show you examples and photos of their actual work, and not just stock photos of the company they trained with (or photos they found on the internet)?
- Does the staging company provide top-quality digital photos for your agent to use online, as well as for flyers?
- Are they an established professional staging company with a good website? How long have they been in business? Does local media include them in articles, interviews & film clips?
- Does the staging company include periodic visits to the property to check on the staging as part of their service?
- Does the staging company accept credit cards?
- What training and professional affiliations does the home staging designer have? Are they a full time home stager?
- Does the staging company provide photos of their recent staging projects?
- Does the staging company give you local clients' references and testimonials?
- Does the staging company require a 3-month or longer rental minimum? (you may prefer a shorter time frame)
Because home staging is not yet a regulated industry, there are misconceptions about how it should be done as well as how to hire a good home stager. If you ask these questions of the stagers you're considering for your project, you'll be able to determine who's best for you.
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Room Solutions Staging in Portland OR helps homeowners, builders, investors, banks & Realtors prepare their properties with a full menu of home staging services to make them appealing to your target buyer. For a complimentary home staging proposal call us @ 503-246-1800. View our updated Portland OR home staging photo gallery to see Before & After photos of both our vacant and occupied properties.
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Good questions to ask. I never thought about going through that exercise. Thanks for the thoughts.
Maureen - thank you so much, you pose some great questions that I will definitely keep in mind.
GREAT. We just put together a piece on staging and these are some great things to include
Maureen, this is great advice. You do want to make sure that you ask each prospective stager the identical questions. The apples to apples thing is important.
Great list Maureen! And a helpful tool for prospective clients to keep handy.
Sandra ~ Glad to hear you found the info helpful.
France & Mark ~ hope these questions will be useful in the future.
Susan ~ when hiring any professional you want to make sure you're hiring the best fit for your needs.
Pat ~ It's true, and the same when interviewing a Realtor. Ask all the same questions and then just compare the answers.
Karen ~ Home sellers usually don't know all the right questions to ask, so this list could serve as a guide for them.
Maureen: This is a very good and concise list I'd love to make available to my realtors and customers thinking of selling their homes. Thank you for offering this valuable information up!
Gene
Gene ~ Nice to hear from you -- I hope the list will be helpful to your seller clients and their agents.
Very well written, Maureen. This is a great list for people to consider when selecting a staging company. As a professional stager I appreciate it when clients get several bids so they are confident they are making the right decision for them.
Diana ~ Thanks, I encourage clients to get more than one proposal too .... then they can compare apples to apples.
Excellent post as it provides such useful information for consumers when selecting a home stager.
Thanks for taking the time to post this, Maureen.
Kathy
Kathy ~ Homeowners (or agents) who are unfamiliar with staging need to know the best way to compare proposals from multiple stagers. I hope this helps.
Kathy- I could not agree more with your list. It is so important that consumers know what to look for when hiring a professional stager.
Barbara ~ Thanks for your feedback, it really makes sense for sellers to be informed.
Good list. Consumers rarely ask me any or many of these. They should!
Maureen - Very educational list that should be required ready for anyone considering staging. All too many people just look for "the best deal" and don't realize that there are many crucial variables that need to be addressed.
Kim ~ Yes, they really should be asking these questions!
Kathy ~ You've hit the nail on the head, thank you! So many people just go with the lowest price and have no idea about all of the other important factors that they should consider.
Good list Maureen, it's surprising the questions that don't get asked by sellers when looking for Stagers. Usually it's just.."how much is it going to cost me?"
Ana ~ it's true, price alone should not be the determining factor .. let the buyer beware -- you get what you pay for!
Excellent List of Questions! Not all stagers are created [or trained] equally!