For Agents

Home Staging: A "Must-Have"    Tool for Real Estate Agents

As a professional Home Stager, I look at a home through the eyes of a highly critical buyer and make recommendations that will create the best first impression for potential buyers. My services allow a home to stand out from the crowd, in person and on-line, and that benefits both the seller and you. It is a clear win-win situation. Staging can often lead to getting thousands more than a non-staged property and should always be done before a reduction in price!

If your listings show well, it reflects well on your professionalism and helps your clients sell more quickly and for a higher price.

The listing agent's name is on the For Sale sign, and people driving by notice whether that agent's listings say "SOLD" or whether they sit for a long period of time. Your reputation is on the line. There is a clear advantage to being known for having listings that show well; other agents will prefer showing your listings, and clients looking for a listing agent will want to be listed with the Realtor® who seems to have the best properties.

Turning listings more quickly results in less hassle and higher profits for you.

When you’re stuck with a weak listing, you've likely got to field client's frequent calls wondering why it hasn't sold, when another ad will be running or when the next open house is scheduled. This is a huge drain on time, energy and your profit! Naturally it's also incredibly frustrating for home sellers who have their lives on hold not knowing when, or if, their house will sell; while trying to maintain some semblance of a normal life in between inconvenient house showings.

You may recognize that the issue isn't how many ads have run,  but how badly the house shows.

Some agents run out of ideas of changes to make, or simply don't want to discuss other options that may upset their clients. With a Home Stager in the mix, you can have this third party address issues you may not feel comfortable discussing directly with your clients. We tackle sensitive topics like odor problems, outdated decor, etc. in a diplomatic way, and if a husband and wife can't agree, it's better for the home stager to get in the middle than you.

Home Staging frees up your time to focus on what you do best.

Some agents might offer de-cluttering or repair suggestions, but you can't go into the same level of detail that a Stager would. More importantly, that's not how you should be spending your time when your real money is made getting and turning listings. The client is hiring you for your expertise in selling houses, not rearranging furniture.

 Who pays for it?

Some agents do pay for a home staging consultation as part of the service they offer homeowners, however just because an agent recommends home staging does not mean they have to pay for it; in the same way they aren't expected to pay for a real estate lawyer or home inspector.

I have found that homeowners who pay for the initial consultation themselves are more receptive to what is recommended. Homeowners who only have us there because their agent is paying, are less likely to act on the advice they get.