FAQs

What is home staging?

Home staging, also sometimes referred to as house staging is the process of de-cluttering and de-personalizing your home, and then showcasing it at its best. Sometimes this requires adding props and furniture, although the goal is always to work with what the client already has.

Why should I stage my house or condo, I think it looks great now.

Often home owners are not able to objectively view their home, and often they don’t even really see things in their home any more.  A professional home stager is a trained set of eyes that can objectively see your home as a buyer would see it.  The home stager is able to provide recommendations on how to showcase your home best. This can include furniture placement for proper flow or function of the home, suggestions on subtle changes, de-cluttering advice as well as advice on what to add (when needed) in order to have it wow potential buyers.  You want to ensure that buyers fall in love with your home and want to offer on the property.

If I’m moving why should I put money into my home I’m selling?

Your home is one of your biggest investments you’ll ever have. Getting the true value of your home is always important. Making a modest investment in staging can minimize your time on market and maximize your selling price and an offer you receive on your home.  It creates an emotional connection between buyers and your house.  NAR reports the average price reduction is 5-10% of the list price. The cost to stage a home is a fraction of the average price reduction.

My house will eventually sell, why should I stage?

A survey by NAR found that homes that sold within the first 4 weeks sold for more than those that sold after 4 weeks on the market. The cost of staging a house for sale will always be less than your first price reduction so have your home staged before you list it.

Do I have to stage the whole house?

Great question. If you are still living in your home a home stager will look at every room in your home to help you de-clutter, re-arrange furniture, work with pieces and accessories you already have in your home and make suggestions for some additional accessories if needed, or furniture rental should your furniture be long in the tooth. Much can be done within the first two hour consult.  However, if your home is vacant, it’s not necessary to stage every room.  The key rooms, or the ‘money rooms’ as I like to say are the living room, kitchen, dining room, master bedroom and bathrooms. Sometimes client will chose to stage every room, but it can be very expensive, and actually unnecessary.

Who pays, me or the realtor?

Most often the real estate agent pays for the home staging consultation, and most often the home owners pay for any additional home staging services beyond the consultation.

I’m in a rush to list, should I stage my home before I list?

Always stage your home before your list it.  It’s your chance to hit MLS as a new listing and you need to shine!

My friend is good at decorating, so why hire a professional home stager?

We hear this from time to time.  Your home is most often your biggest investment and ensuring you get the most for your home is essential.  Your friend may be able to help you, but they’re not trained to know how to present your home when it’s for sale…decorating to live in your home is different than staging your home for sale.  You may save the fee for staging your home, but it may cost you a hefty price reduction.  Are you willing to take the chance?

Do you also do decorating?
We get this question a lot, yes, we also do decorating and interior re-design services. Many of our clients don’t want to move once their home is staged, as they fall back in love with their homes. So we do a lot of work for our past staging clients, and we also have a lot of new clients that just love our work and hire us for decorating. We love decorating just as much as staging.

Why should I stage my vacant home?

Vacant homes can be extremely hard to sell. Buyers decisions are almost always emotional. A home that is vacant has little character or charm, rooms are empty, the house echos, and feels colder than it really is.   You need to evoke emotion, and staging a house makes it feel like a home again. Vacant homes often sit on the market 89% longer than unstaged homes, which can mean your carrying more than one mortgage for an extended period of time, as well as other costs such as insurance, etc.

How do I choose a great home staging company?

Do your research, look through their portfolio and choose wisely. Do they have their own furniture inventory so they can stage your home appropriately, do they offer complete staging services, or only consultations and help de-cluttering.  Don’t choose a house stager solely based on price, as the saying goes ‘you get what you pay for’.  Ps…however, I’m also very competitively priced.

What is the difference between a home stager and a decorator?

Home stagers often work as decorators as well, however, they do not perform the same function.  Decorating is more focused on the individual tastes of the homeowner, whereas when you’re selling your home you need to appeal to the largest audience of potential buyers and a home stager knows how to prepare your home to appeal to the masses. And yes, we also offer decorating services for those that just love our work, but aren’t moving 🙂

I have a great camera, why shouldn’t I take my own photos?

Real estate photos should always be taken by a professional photographer that has experience with real estate photography.  They know what angles are best to present each room at it’s best.  Photos are also what brings in buyers.  95% of buyers are searching on-line for homes so your photos need to shine. That means staging and professional photos.  Buyers are all looking for space, and a professional photographer knows how to capture the space. Wide angle lenses that make a room appear twice as large as it is, will only cause you grief in the long run as buyers view the home and are disappointed that it looks so small compared to on-line. Save yourself grief from showings that go no where, have the photos present the home accurately.