On the other hand, staging the home yourself could not only save you money, but it could also allow you to put more of your own personality into the theme. (Just remember: not too much of your personality, because you don’t want to turn off buyers!) Your goal is to gain the highest return on investment when your property sells. If you believe you can achieve this by staging on your own, then go for it; otherwise, spend a little extra on a professional upfront to reap the benefits at the sale.
WHAT TO EXPECT WITH A P ECT WITH A PRO
True staging professionals can be expected to run a very smooth operation. Of course, anyone can make mistakes. Here are a few things to keep in mind: Ask around instead of finding a random name online and hiring the stager sight unseen. • Ask your agent, other agents, and friends about their experiences, and ask for a referral. • Interview several professionals and choose the one you believe could provide the best value to you. You get what you pay for. If the price tag is low, it’s probable that the quality of service offered will match that price. If your stager is a well-known expert in the field, your price tag will definitely be considerably higher than someone running a summer gig. Can your potential stager provide references and photos of successful past projects? If so, take a good look and be sure you actually like how they set things up. Also, see if you can get any information about how well those houses sold! Stagers will ask you many questions. Just like a doctor, a staging pro wants as much information as possible from you about your needs. For your part, you also need to ask any questions you can think of during the initial consultation to ensure this is the stager
137
Powered by FlippingBook