Fantasy: A real estate stager from HGTV, or other network, shows up at your house with an entire crew; in 3 days the home is looking beautiful and market ready. All for free.
Reality: The homeowner, under a strict budget, is doing most of the work to prepare a home for sale without seeking the advice of a professional real estate stager.
In this highly competitive real estate market how does a homeowner know where to begin? Watching and gaining knowledge from HGTV is a good start but as is everything on television it looks easier than it really is. My recommendation is to start by hiring a professional home stager who offers a written consultation.
When clients call me it is usually because they already know the value of home staging and want to take advantage of its benefits. I explain my tier of services offered and that I always start with a consultation. My consultation is not designed to be a quick hello walk through and “Oh, how lovely your house is.” It may very well be lovely for the homeowner but my job is to get it sold!
I have designed my consultation to be extensive (3 hours) and detailed. The seller(s) and I will walk through the house addressing every area individually both inside and out. We discuss paint colors, furniture placement, the issue of personal items, clutter, accessories, lighting, window treatments, artwork etc. We each have a copy of my staging report in order for us both to make our own notations about what actions will take place. I try to keep the homeowners budget in mind while making recommendations as well. I am sympathetic to the fact that they are moving, an expense in itself, and are hesitant to invest in a home they are leaving. There are many ways to ‘improve’ existing items in the home for staging purposes. If I suggest purchases they are always to be something that will be an exciting upgrade for the new home.
In other words, my consultation is designed so that once all suggested items on the report are complete the home should be market ready. Of course, I am always available for Finishing Touch Staging if required. The objective is to get your house SOLD as quickly as possible so sellers can move forward. By utilizing the suggestions on my straightforward Staging Consultation Report we can work together to accomplish this goal.
