Recently I had an Occupied Consultation with homeowners in a nearby area and I remember the realtor communicating that the wife had an unfortunate situation happen with a previous stager years go. From what I gathered, the stager communicated recommendations and they occurred to the wife as insensitive. I was so thankful for that feedback and went into the situation with lots of grace and kindness. The consultation went well for the homeowners, they only changed what they agreed to and I walked away with the nickname “Missy Pants”!
Because I love to be honest, I will tell you there was 1 change that I would have loved for them to make and the wife was very adamant about her “No”. I do my best to be of service and the truth is, people do what they do and I have no control over it. Thankfully, that situation prompted me to write a blog for homeowners who are looking to hire/work with a Home Stager, so brace yourself. My tips are:
1. Confirm they have experience and ask for photos of previous work. This is especially true if they have recommendations that will cost you significant amounts of money. You want to know if they have produced results for someone else and that they care about what they do and the experience they have. The lack of experience isn’t a problem for a brand new stager (I was brand new once!) if they have a passion for it and are just looking to get experience. They’ll make great recommendations when passion is behind it.
2. Communicate what you like about the property as well as any concerns you have. The home stager needs to know this so they can highlight those areas you like and enhance the marketability of them. Sharing concerns lets them know what they’re dealing with so that they can address it in the staging, if necessary. If there are specific concerns regarding the physical structure of the home, your realtor will be more than able to assist and recommend vendors.
3. Be open. The goal of a stager is to create strong marketing photos of your home with what you currently have. When the house sells faster and for more money, it’s a win-win for each of you, in addition to the listing agent. If the feedback or advice seems nit-picky or weird, feel free to ask them why and they should be able to give an appropriate response. Just know that they’re specializing in marketing the home and not everything the homeowners like is considered marketable. Staging is a mix of art and science.
4. Know that they’re on YOUR team! Your home stager isn’t coming into your home to judge the way you and your family live. I worked as a hotel housekeeper in college, so trust me, there’s NOTHING you can show me that I haven’t seen before! We're basically residential property marketers, so the better those photography photos look, the better WE LOOK! We know that most homes are well-loved, show the signs of being well-loved and it’s not a big deal at all. You did what you were supposed to do in that home – LIVE.
Ok that’s it! I hope I was able to leave you with some empowerment, guidance and freedom in working with a Home Stager during a consultation. Take care folks and I hope this information makes a difference for you going forward.