Before hiring a stager, remember one main thing; “Not all home stagers are created equal”.
At the time of this writing, there is no independent national organization that certifies home stagers or real estate stagers, therefore a wise homeowner or real estate agent should consider the following questions before choosing and hiring a home stager.
1.) You get what you pay for. Does your stager have any certifications or real-world experience? You may be surprised to find that most home stagers are not certified or interior designers or have had much experience in interior/exterior design. Ask how long they have been or been involved with professional interior design.
2.) Do they have a portfolio? Whether it be online or in book format, an experienced home stager with success stories under their belt will have a multitude of photos and addresses and stories to share with you. Looking at these will also help you to gain ideas of how they stage and design.
3.) References and Testimonies. A professional home stager will have documented testimonies and/or references for the public eye. Nowadays that is easy to see with online reviews and ratings but ask for references from similar homes or staging purposes if you would like to check those. Remember successful stagers make successful home sales.
4.) Clear written contracts. Make sure you get a clearly written contract that explains what will be done pre-staging (ie Consultation, Design, Clean up / De-clutter, etc.) if any as well as staged rooms and all that will be included and for what length of time.
5.) Does the pricing make sense? Some new stagers will present low-ball the pricing to get contracts. Remember, you get what you pay for and many new inexperienced stagers don’t own their own inventory of furniture and décor nor do they have their own warehouse, therefore response time and choice design items may be less than acceptable. Likewise, overpriced stagers that promise one year or “when it sells” contracts may also be subject to scrutiny since most properly staged homes sell much quicker than non-staged equivalent homes. This is many times a tactic to gain 12 months or more of staged rental items up-front with little to no reimbursement if the home sells in 2 to 3 months.
When you hire Shelley Soulliere Designs to stage a home you get all this and more
Staging your southwest Florida home with interior designer Shelley Soulliere is the best choice to showcase its most appealing features and characteristics to sell your home fast and at top dollar. We treat our staging clients with the utmost respect, courtesy & professionalism. Our goal is to stage your home in a manner that surpasses your expectations.
Shelley Soulliere Designs, providing home staging consultations, vacant home staging, new construction model home staging, and occupied home staging services in Southwest Florida including Naples, Marco Island, Bonita Springs, Estero & Fort Myers.