7 Things to Ask a Home Stager Before You Hire

If you’re selling your home in DC Ranch, your Realtor® might advise you to hire a professional home stager to help you get it looking its best. Working with a stager can help you sell quickly (and at a higher price).

So where do you start?

7 Things to Ask a Home Stager Before You Hire

The bottom line is that home staging sells houses. A staged home sells for 17 percent more than a home that isn’t staged, and 95 percent of staged homes sell in 11 days or less. The National Association of Realtors says that for every $100 you invest in staging, the potential return is $400 – so it’s definitely worthwhile for most people.

If you’re going to hire a professional to stage your home, you can ask your Realtor for a referral to a local pro or start your search on your own. When you find a stager whose style you like, it’s time for a phone interview. Here are seven questions to ask:

#1. What kind of training have you been through?

Stagers don’t need formal training, but they should be members of the Real Estate Staging Association or a local association. To be a member of RESA, stagers have to pass an ethics exam, have at least a year of staging experience and have home staging business insurance.

#2. What’s the listing price of most of the homes you stage?

The stager you choose should be comfortable working in homes that are worth what yours is. That means if you’re selling a custom, luxury estate on a golf course, you need a stager who works in similar houses.

#3. How long does it typically take to sell a home you’ve staged?

While a lot of factors affect how quickly a home sells – including market conditions, which buyers, sellers, stagers and real estate agents have no control over – you want to find someone whose average days-on-market is less than 30 days.

#4. Do you have a portfolio?

Ideally, you’ll find a home stager with a portfolio online. However, some of the best stagers aren’t the best marketers – and that means they may have binders full of photos rather than up-to-date websites. The main thing here is that you see what the stager has done in the recent past; that way, you aren’t only seeing his or her best work (the stuff that made it into the portfolio).

Pro tip: Ask to see all the stager’s recent projects – not just the highlights.

#5. How long will it take you to stage my whole house?

Good home stagers are booked up for quite some time, so although it only takes a couple of days to properly stage a home for sale, you’ll have to wait until they have room on their calendar for you. One thing to watch for, though: If a home stager wants to stage your house with furnishings that he or she has sitting in another listing, you might want to find a different stager. There’s no telling how long that home will take to sell!

#6. Is there anything I can do myself?

In some cases, little things like putting on a fresh coat of paint, buying candles or putting out fresh, new towels are things that the stager will be happy for you to do – and they’ll save you a little cash, too.

#7. What’s your rate?

You need to know how much home staging will cost. If you’re on a budget, ask about staging just a few rooms. The most important are the kitchen, living room and master bedroom.

In many cases, stagers will quote you a monthly fee. However, some home stagers quote you a per-room flat fee that pays for the staging service until you sell your house.

Are You Buying or Selling a Home in DC Ranch?

Call us at 480-360-0281 to find out how we’ll aggressively market your home to all the right buyers – or you can call us to talk about what you want from your new home in DC Ranch.

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Don Matheson
Realtor | Founder
The Matheson Team
RE/MAX Fine Properties
21000 N. Pima Rd., #100, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
866-613-8356
don@scottsdalerealestate.com