Ask the Right Questions When Hiring a Home Stager.
When you’re selling your home and want to sell your house fast, a professional home stager is one of the most effective tools you can use. Buyers love seeing an appealing, furnished home that is set up so they can see themselves living there, entertaining their guests, raising a family, and putting their own mark on the property.
Whether you want to hire an Atlanta home staging company or one local to where you live, you want to hire a company who understands your exact needs and who can live up to their own marketing. To help you choose the right staging company, here are some questions you should ask to help you achieve your goal of selling your home fast and getting the highest selling price you can!
What Kind of Training and Experience Do You Have?
Working with an experienced home stager can mean the difference between an excellent experience and a disaster. Look for a staging company who is certified by RESA (Real Estate Staging Association) or ask the company if they are because in order to get that certification, a stager must have business insurance, pass an ethics exam, and have one year of home staging experience.
Because this industry is growing rapidly, many hobbyists try and jump in to create their own home staging company not realizing that having a flair for interior decorating and real estate staging are VERY different beasts. Choose someone who understands and has experience with the real estate aspects of home staging, and you’ll see a much more positive outcome.
Can I See Your Portfolio?
This is the number one question that will give you plenty of insight into a potential home staging company. With their portfolio, look for:
- Selecting furnishings and decor that work with the style of the home
- Have a wide variety of pieces used
- Go beyond furniture and add thoughtful details
- Provide a neutral, appealing space rather than something trendy or taste-specific
Remember, you’re not hiring a designer, you’re hiring a home stager, so you want to select someone who can style a room to appeal to a wide variety of buyers.
Do You Have Testimonials or Referrals Available?
You can most likely find information on a home staging company through Yelp!, social media, or even the home staging company’s website. However, if you can get more recent information or a referral to whom you can ask questions directly, you’ll have a much better idea of how the home staging company works.
What is Your Availability?
While home staging companies try to work with a variety of timelines, during busy times, it may be several weeks before they have availability to work with your specific needs. If you have to have your property on the market in a set time, discuss your needs with the home staging company. An ethical company will be honest about availability and not try and “squeeze you in” which could result in a sub-par experience.
What Is the Average Selling Time for Your Staged Properties?
With this question, context is necessary, but it’s still important to ask! Home staging is proven to help a home sell faster than a vacant property, so when you ask how long it takes to sell properties, does their answer align with your market’s trends?
For example, if the average home in your market sells within 60 days of listing, if the staging company tells you their average homes sell in 90 days, that shouldn’t be an automatic deal breaker. However, it may lead you to ask more questions like “What were some of the obstacles your staged properties overcome to sell?”
How Would You Stage My Home?
An experienced home staging company understands how to work with a property’s architecture, style, and structure. When you meet with a home stager, bring pictures of your property and see if they are factoring in your unique needs or if they seem to have a “one size fits all” approach to staging.
If you’re looking for an Atlanta home staging company, reach out to us at No Vacancy! We are a RESA-Certified agency with over a dozen years of home staging experience! Contact us today for a consultation – we’ll be happy to answer all your questions.
