Top Questions to Ask Your Home Stager Before Hiring One

September 26, 2017

It’s no secret that selling your home can be downright overwhelming. After all, it’s a huge financial asset, so you want to make sure that you sell for as much as the market says you should get. That’s why home staging is such a critical part of the home selling process. Not only does professional home staging help you sell faster, it can also help you get top dollar.
The idea behind home staging is to help buyers visualize themselves living in your home and developing an emotional connection to it. The faster you can achieve this goal, the faster you’ll be able to sell.
home stagerSounds good, right? Now that you know the importance of home staging, your next step is to hire the right team to get the job done right.
Here are some important questions to help you hire the ideal home stager.

How long have you been a professional home stager?

You want to work with someone who has a long track record of success rather than someone who just does this part-time or just started last week.
Do you have a portfolio?
A professional home stager will always attend consultations with a portfolio in hand to showcase previous jobs they’ve done. Not only does this give you a chance to see their work, it also shows you how much experience they’ve had doing what they do.
Do you have references or testimonials from previous clients?
Homeowners who love the work that their home stagers have done will have no problem leaving a glowing review. Make sure to ask for these testimonials to see what other clients have had to say.
home stagerWhat credentials do you have?
You don’t want a self-taught home stager. Instead, you want to work with someone who has gone through the proper channels to get trained and accredited in the profession. As such, make sure to ask if the stager you’re considering working with is affiliated with a reputable staging associations, such as the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA).
What style will you use for my home?
Find out if your home stager has inventory in various styles available to match the architecture of your home.
What kind of results can I expect?
Ideally, you want a home stager who will be able to bring you results. An experienced home stager will know specific stats for their company as well as the home staging industry as a whole. For instance, they’ll know the number of days on the market their staged homes typically stick around on average versus the number of days on the market for the local real estate board.
How soon can you get started?
A professional stager should put a system in place to pencil you in as soon as possible.
The faster you can get your home staged, the faster you can get it sold.