How to Choose the Right Home Stager

Questions to ask a Professional Home Stager

Questions to ask a Professional Home Stager

written on June 8, 2020Home Staging

Whether you’re a real estate agent or selling your home yourself, it’s important to stage it before showing it to potential buyers. Home staging is the process of depersonalizing your home by rearranging or adding furniture to make it appealing to other people.

To do this, you’ll need a good home staging company by your side. To ensure you get the help you need, it’s important to ask the right questions during the initial home staging consultation before hiring a home stager. This guide will teach you what to look for and how to choose a home stager with a good reputation, work ethic, and grasp on the real estate market in your area.

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Questions to Ask Professional Home Stagers

hiring a home stager

Get Background Information

First and foremost, the professional home stager you’re considering should have a solid amount of experience in their portfolio. Ask the company questions such as how long they’ve been in the home staging business and find out what kind of training they have in terms of staging for prospective buyers. Ask about their experience staging for home sellers, open houses, and what makes their staging services a worthwhile investment.

Don’t choose a home stager just because they’re cheap. If you want the best results, you need to seek a staging company that has a solid track record with clients and knows how to impress buyers – even if that means paying higher home staging costs. The truth is that even with the extra cost of hiring home stagers, you’ll make more money in the long run by appealing to a wider range of prospective buyers.

Discuss Cost and Budget

One of the first things you should discuss during any home staging consultation is pricing. Don’t be afraid to ask any and all questions regarding a professional stagers pricing structure. Is it based on square footage, the number of rooms, or another factor? Are there any additional costs or fees you should be aware of? Discuss your budget and give the home staging company an opportunity to provide a staging plan that’s within your price range.

Learn their Approach to Design and Collaboration

When you hire a home stager, it’s important to ask about their communication with clients and get a feel for their approach to the staging process. How do they typically communicate with clients throughout the process of designing and staging the property? Some home staging companies are more open to homeowner’s input than others, so it’s important to pick a company that will work with you on a level you’re comfortable with.

Also, be sure to ask about their experience incorporating existing pieces into the design plan. If you have existing furniture you’d like to be included, an experienced home staging company will know how to design a plan that incorporates both new and existing furniture and decor. Asking a potential home stager these questions should shed some light on their ability to adapt interior design style based on the type of home, client preferences, and more.

Ask about Home Staging Capabilities

From the dining room to the master bedroom, many homestagers will bring furniture in to furnish the whole house. If you’re looking for professional home stagers to bring in all the furniture and decor, ask about their collection of pieces. Do they have enough existing furniture to fit the square footage of your property? Or will they bring in furniture rentals when staging your home? Keep in mind that staging companies that rent their furniture could lead to more fees for the homeowner.

Ask for Examples of Previous Home Staging Work

Aside from this simple background information, you also need to see hard proof of the home staging company’s previous work. The staging company should provide you with these images physically or via e-mail, but if they refuse, you should take that as a bright red flag. And if you are looking for home staging professionals to help during the home selling process, a good portfolio is even more crucial.

Ask for before and after pictures of previously staged homes and consider what it might look like to a real estate agent selling the home. From furniture placement to curb appeal, their online photos should reflect the work of professional interior designers in a way that appeals to both home buyers and real estate agents. Well staged homes really do sell faster – partly because if the pictures impress real estate professionals, it’s more likely to impress potential buyers.

Obtain Client Testimonials and References

Any home staging professional should have testimonials from clients they’ve worked with in the past. You can do this easily by looking online for reviews, which any reputable home staging company should have. That way, you can make sure the company has a history of leaving customers happy with the final product. While it might be hard to determine the amount their staged homes sell for, it’s safe to say their clients were able to make more money even when you factor in the home staging cost.

Discuss Timeline

When hiring a home staging company, it’s important to discuss a timeline. Ask how long the typical staging process takes from start to finish and whether they will be able to adhere to your preferred timeline for listing the property. From the initial consultation to the final touch-ups, a reliable home stager is able to manage expectations and deliver results within the initially promised timeframe. give accurate time estimates and adhere to those estimates.

This is one reason it’s so important to find an experienced home staging company. Through years of trial and error, a home stager with a robust portfolio is able to adapt and anticipate changes throughout the staging process, thus providing clients with a positive, stress-free experience that takes the right amount of time.

Ask about Real Estate Knowledge

Home stagers should have a good understanding of the local real estate market and how to appeal to potential buyers. Discuss things like buyer demographics and ask about their knowledge of staging for vacation homes versus permanent residences. Discuss their knowledge of the neighborhood your property is in and whether or not they have staged homes in similar types of areas.

This is another instance where a robust portfolio will help you visually see their ability to stage a variety of homes. But good home stagers should also have no problem discussing the unique characteristics of a specific neighborhood as well as the preferences of potential buyers within the current market as you flip through photos of their previous work. While it takes time to fully develop a staging plan, during your initial meeting with a home stager, they should be able to at least discuss things like staging strategy and targeting a specific target audience.

Seek Proof of Insurance

Before hiring a home staging service, you need to clarify whether or not they have the proper insurance. The company should provide proof of their insurance, particularly liability insurance and workers’ comp insurance. If you hire a professional stager who doesn’t have these policies in place and an employee gets hurt while working on your property, you could be held liable.

Hiring a Home Stager Near You

Knowing how to choose the right home stager is an important part of selling your home. The right team will depersonalize your home in a transformative, safe, and professional way. If you’re looking for reputable staging companies in San Antonio, we’ve got you covered. The Staging Company has been providing South Texas with home staging services for over 10 years—and we’re showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon! Contact us today and hire a home stager with a 16,000-square-foot warehouse full of furniture, in-depth knowledge of market trends, and a whole gallery of professionally staged success stories.

Explore Home Staging Services

Worried about selling in this market? We’re not..... Sell your house over a month faster with THE STAGING COMPANY.