So my home selling pets, would you like to pick a house stager but are not sure which in the bunch to hire? Plus does the fact that when you think about it, it seems like there are more and more people becoming Home Stagers almost overnight?

Well, you are right; it can be a tough to know which stager you should work with, especially since staging is still relatively new in most parts of the USA. You are also right if you noticed that there are many new bananas rapidly joining the staging bunch.

To make a wise and informed pick, you need to understand that unfortunately a “professional stager” may just be an average green Jane or Joe who just fell out of a training tree. Many are transformed into “professionals” because they sat through a one, two or three day foundation training workshop. That’s it, as little as one day, and WA LA a new staging banana with a title tacked on.

So be wise, home staging credentials that hype “trained,” “certified” or “accredited” can be a bit deceiving… especially considering that it can take as little as one day to be trained and graduated from foundation training programs. This is not to say that there are well qualified real estate stagers who have been professional trained. But remember, above everything, the ripeness of EXPERIENCE trumps all else… even “credentials.”

Unfortunately, the home staging industry is an unregulated wild bunch. Because this so… sellers are at risk, especially in this tough selling market. Actually, picking a green stager could cost you some green. So while staging looks mighty tasty, to those of you who are looking for some hope and help, don’t blindly accept the fact that a stager, with a horde of initials after their name, is experienced and fully yet knows what to do to maximize your homes staged appeal.

So how can you pick out a ripe experienced stager? Well, it is not the difficult, if you keep in mind that home staging is an “image” industry.

Considering it is a stager’s job is to create a good first visual impression of home seller’s property, then a good stager needs to do the same for themselves. A good stager knows the importance of and how to present a good visual first impression of their company and their work.

To start to weed out amateurs from the experienced, first consider looking closely at the stager’s portfolio for examples of their work. Also, make sure that you ask the stager if they ACTUALLY staged the properties they show in their portfolio… believe it or not there are some foundation training programs that give green stagers a set of “starter” portfolio photos. Finally if you have any doubts, you can always ask the stager for testimonials from past clients and/or references.

So that’s it, considering its a jungle out there, this is pretty easy. That is all you need to know and do to be a good home selling monkey and pick the ripe stager.

Staging It Forward…
Me

POST SCRIPT of THANKS: Thank you to Rich at the “The Official Active Rain Blog” for seeing the merit in this post and selecting it as a WINNER in the Carnival of Real Estate. CLICK HERE: To read “The Top 10 Rides” in the 89th Carnival of Real Estate.

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I often now receive inquires about home staging, from home sellers all over the country, that typically start by asking a question such as, “Can you give me a little information on how staging works and what staging a home costs?” Since so many start their inquiry with the same question, I thought it would be helpful to answer with what I call the “A-B-C’s of Home Staging.”

A is for ABOUT home staging in general. Actually, if you are going to stage your property you need to know that it is ABOUT a 2 step process. The first step is the “prepping of the property. Prepping the house basically attends to the conditional issues that need to be repaired, cleaned and/or updated. The second step is ABOUT the “pretty visual” that people think of when they think of home staging. This step has to do with the physical setting/arranging of the furnishings and/or accessories within a house. The combined goal of the 2 steps is to create a house that shows it best and ultimately will draw the interest of the widest buying demographic possible.

B is for BASIC types of staging services. While there are 6 Basic types of staging services, it is important to note that all stagers offer all six. The services a stager offers the better it is for you. Since you actually won’t know what you will need until the stager visits for the first time, a stager that provides more service types is better equipped to guide you based on your needs and not cut short the impact of staging because of their own limitations.

The 6 BASIC staging service types are:

1. Consult Staging: This type of staging solely taps into a Stager’s knowledge. First focusing on the condition of a home, a Stager visits a property to meticulously instruct on all that must be done to best prep and then set the property for market.
2. Re-Arrange Staging: This type of services relies on both the Stager’s knowledge and their physical labor. Once a home’s conditional needs are met, a Stager arranges the property by physically setting it using only the seller’s existing furniture and decorative accessories.
3. Enhance Staging: Again, once conditional issues are addressed, the Stager will then set the interior space. But not only are the existing furniture and accessories used, but the Stager will bring and blend in decorative accessories and/or furniture from their inventory. These “props” are loaned or rented to the seller while the home is for sale.
4. Reseller Vacant Staging: When a “preowned” house is vacant, there is not much else to look at, conditional issues and concerns are amplified and ultimately fixated on by buyers. So while it is important that conditional needs be addressed, a Stager is hired to then maximize the home’s visual appeal by fully setting it with the appropriate furnishings and accessorizes.
5. Rehab Vacant Staging: When conditional issues throughout a older property are repaired and updated to today’s trends, a Stager is hired to then maximize the home’s visual appeal by fully setting it with the appropriate furnishings and accessorizes.
6. Model Vacant Staging: While conditional in new construction is not an issue, “life-styling” is. Models typically rely more on projecting a “life-styled” visual appeal then a preowned vacant. A good Stager understands and designs within a specific life-style marketing concept when furnishing, accessorizing and setting a vacant spec / model property.

C is for COST to hire a home stager. What hiring costs actually are depends on how much Talent (knowledge), Time (physical labor) and Treasure (props) a stager provides. If a seller has a limited amount to spend, then the best value a stager can provide is the Consult. For as little as $100 (in some markets) a Stager can be hired to scrutinize a property and provide professional staging advice and guidance. From there it is realistic to expect to pay anywhere from $35 to $75 per hour for a stager’s services. As for props, the fees for renting these items will vary based on just what is being rented and the length of time the items are being rented for.

Sellers are not only realizing the cost of staging will pay off, but actually ARE benefiting from making the investment. Let’s face it; if “time is money” then reduced market time is a great return on investment. So regardless of staging solution proposed, a good stager will do all they can to maximize the return on a seller’s staging budget so that the house sells… 1-2-3.

So there you have it, today’s blog lesson on the A-B-C’s and 1-2-3’s of home staging.

Staging It Forward…
Me

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There was a Reuters article, posted today on Yahoo, which spoke about the possibility of an economic recession and how it is partially fueled by the mortgage crisis.   Of course other key factors would include rising oil prices, sluggish retail sales and falling prices on homes for sale.

As a Home Stager, I have noticed a decrease in business for the months of September and October; so far November hasn’t produced all that much revenue from stagings either.  Oh, don’t misunderstand me, I still get the phone calls asking for information on ‘how it works and what it costs’, however there are fewer ‘bookings’ and more “I’ll get back to you” promises.

I am painfully aware of the state of the Real Estate market, and am sympathetic to the plight of realtors in general.  Most reports state that this trend will continue throughout 2008, and perhaps beyond, while the market ‘corrects itself’.  I have been told by realtor friends that many of the newer realtors cannot work under these conditions and they are being forced out of this career and into a job that will actually produce a steady source of income. On the other hand, I am discovering that more than a few realtors are beginning to attend classes on Home Staging and using the resulting information to ‘stage’ for their clients as part of their ‘service’.

Now, I know that in the past we have ‘discussed’ how time-consuming and strenuous the actual act of ‘staging’ is, and, as a group, we stagers have wondered how a realtor can possibly ‘do it all’?  The realtors that I know are hard-working, conscientious, and detail-oriented and spend a great deal of time while researching data for every market analysis that they prepare for potential clients.  When you factor in the work involved in getting photos taken, virtual tours compiled, visiting new MLS listings, and the time spent showing the house, as well as holding the numerous Open Houses that will ensue, one has to wonder where any professional realtor (‘worth their weight in salt’) could possibly take on the many demands, expense and tribulations of Home Staging?  In addition, does the realtor really want the responsibility of advising their client, the seller, of all of the ‘negatives’ about the ‘property’ that need to be addressed (and that might include ‘strange’ odors)?

Another issue that has come to the forefront, is that with home sale prices falling, sellers feel that they are already making a huge concession in the selling price (as opposed to the prices that were realized in a better market) and are very reluctant to ‘invest’ money into a house that is already ‘losing money’!  Of course, nothing could be further from the truth!  Houses that were sold in the years leading up to mid-2005 were very fortunate to bring in ‘over-the-top’ prices, however the houses that are on today’s market are, for the most part, still bringing in a healthy profit for sellers that have lived in their houses for a certain period of time. 

If I can get only one point across to anyone who is selling their house and NOT considering Home Staging, it would be that EVERYTHING is different in today’s Real Estate Market - not just pricing!  Today’s seller must do more than ‘de-clutter, clean and paint’!  In order to compete with the many newly-constructed homes that are so prevalent in this market, occupied houses (and any ‘vacants’ that are the result of an early ‘departure’ or a ‘flip’) must show EQUALLY as well.  This translates to updated kitchens and baths, and rooms that ‘show’ as ‘spacious.  How many sellers can be objective enough to ascertain that their house is ‘up to par’?  How many have the ‘skills’ that it takes to turn ‘ho-hum’ into ‘WOW’?!

Home Staging is a FIELD.  Real Estate is a FIELD.  We need to blend these fields, with a professional at each ‘helm’ that combines the TWO into ONE equally successful story!

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Good Grief - I can’t believe that it has happened, yet, again!

On Friday I went to a model, here on Long Island, that I recently staged with furniture and accessories I had chosen and purchased for the builder.  When everything was delivered 2 weeks ago, I noticed that there were scratches on a table leg as well as on an end table.  I reported this to the delivery men who quickly called the company to set up an appointment for a repair person to visit the house and correct the imperfections.

So, on Friday, while I was waiting for the repairs to be made, I casually walked through the staged rooms.  Almost immediately I began to see the small changes: chairs moved a little further into the room; kitchen counters rearranged; table settings moved; a little ‘tweak’ here and there on the mantel…. and I began to wonder - who did this?  Was it someone who came to look at the model?  Was it a realtor who had nothing to do at an Open House?  Was it the builder…or one of his workers?  

Just exactly WHO is this ‘Home Staging Fairy’ who comes into staged houses and does this sort of thing?  You see, this has happened to me before and on more than one occasion!  I’ve spoken to other stagers and they have had this happen to them as well.  Aside from it being somewhat annoying to be ‘second-guessed’, I also find it rather amusing to learn that there are so many ‘would be’ stagers out there (thanks a lot HGTV)!

I have a message for these ‘invisible helpers’ who think that they are performing ‘home improvement’ service….enough already!!  Listen…every time that I stage a house, I  leave interesting pictorial books on the coffee table along with my ‘trademark’ pair of reading glasses…why not just sit and read and ‘take a load off’….just please, stop trying to ‘upstage’ the stager! 

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I have been working with builders of newly-constructed homes for some time now.  The houses that are being built in Nassau and Suffolk counties here on Long Island are spectacular!  They have wainscoting on the walls, tongue-n-groove moldings, tray ceilings, spa-like baths, top of the line stainless steel appliances and a myriad of other special features.  Once completed, the house is only lacking one thing and that is ‘personalized appeal’ which is achieved through Home Staging.  This specialized form of staging creates an environment which is specific to the buyer and one where they can identify themselves with the house and actually envision themselves living there!

For decades now, builders have employed a special selling technique in the form of Model Homes and have paid large sums to Interior Designers to come in and furnish every room in order to give the house a ‘home like’ feel.  Today’s builders, however, have discovered that the same effect can be achieved through Home Staging, but at a fraction of the cost!

Some builders prefer to stage only the ‘impact rooms’ such as the Entry, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen and Great Room (usually combined).  They would rather rent furniture and have the Stager supply the accessories as opposed to purchasing the furnishings.  For builders who can recycle the furnishings in their other newly-constructed houses, it is more cost-effective to buy everything and either use it again in another house, or let the home buyer purchase whatever might appeal to them.  At Staged 2 Sell NY, we are adaptable and can either stage all the rooms or a portion of such.  We always work within the seller’s budget.

I recently staged just such a Model Home in Hauppauge, NY (SuffolkCounty) for Forestbrook Homes of St. James.  The house is the model for a new community call “Horseshoe Estates” and is located off Blydenburg Road, which is just minutes from the L.I. Expressway.  This house is ideally located - even the airport is within a few miles!  This builder creates quality homes and every detail has been attended to. 

It was the builder’s decision to purchase the furnishings as opposed to renting.  This was a very wise decision on his part because for less than $10,000, he was able to buy all the furniture and accessories (including area rugs, artwork, window treatments, lamps, and all other props) for those impact rooms AND pay for the staging!  When I shopped, each piece of furniture and every other item were specifically chosen not only for this house, but also for his other houses, many of which are much larger with substantially higher ceilings; this way he can choose to use everything in another Model or just sell part, or all, with the house.

I would like to show you photos of each staged room; by the way, I always stage at least one bathroom and it is usually the ‘Powder Room’ on the main floor.

These new houses are being billed as “This NEW Luxury Community offers two standing model homes as well as 13 additional places to build your own! Our models feature full brick fronts. 5/6 bedrooms, 3/4.5 baths, 2 car garage,9 ft first floor ceilings, hardwood flooring,custom trim and molding,designer kitchen cabinetry,professional appliances,fireplace,full basement, in-ground sprinklers (front), central alarm, central air conditioning and central vacuum systems. Beautiful paver driveway and walkways! This prestigious Community backs the Hauppauge Hamlet Golf Course! LOW,LOW TAXES of $9996.00! Visit our current model located on lot#9! Directions - Rt 347 East to Mt. Pleasant Rd. South - turns into Blydenburgh Rd. - Entry to complex on Left!  

For more information or a showing, please contact the realtor, Catherine Lindstadt of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate of Northport, NY @631-266-6113.  Catherine and I will be co-hosting Open Houses in September, so please call her for more information.

Val Allocco, a certified (HSE), professional Home Stager, is the founder & owner of Staged 2 Sell NY which was established in early 2006 and serves all of Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties) as well as the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.  She is also the Metro New York Chapter President of ASHSR (American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners).

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For those who are looking to sell a “Vacant”or Newly Constructed House, here in New York and on Long Island, here is some pertinent information regarding Home Staging and Rental furniture vs. Purchased home furnishings:

When I visit a newly constructed or vacant house for the purpose of providing a proposal for staging with rented furniture, I begin by touring the house and taking pictures of the rooms that need to be staged.  Normally, only the impact rooms (Entry, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen and Great Room or Family Room) need to be furnished in order for buyers to see the purpose and potential of each room and have a point of reference as to what size furnishings the room can hold.  In the case of older houses, however, many times the bedrooms are very small and it is difficult to visualize the size and amount of furniture that the room can hold.  In those cases, I always suggest that at least the Master Bedroom be staged with a Queen-sized bed and dresser or chest of drawers.  As you can see in the photo below of a house that I staged in Oyster Bay, LI, a staged room actually shows larger than if left empty!

Once I return to the office, I download the photos and begin planning what each room will require in order to highlight the architecture and focal points of the space.   A lot of care and thought go into this process; not only do I need to choose unique and appropriate furnishings, but I need to be mindful of the cost for each.  I am able to ‘shop’ for the most competitive pricing because I work with all three big rental companies in the tri-state area.

When all the necessary furnishings have been chosen, I present the client with a written proposal which details each piece of furniture and the monthly rental cost per item.  State tax and Damage Waiver fees are added to the overall monthly fee, as well as a one-time delivery/set up/pick up fee.  The total monthly cost to rent furniture is usually a bit of a jolt for most clients because they find it hard to believe how all those small ‘per item’ monthly rental fees can add up!

I realize that the monthly furniture rental fees might have a little bit of ’sticker shock’ for some people, and that is understandable. The good news is that the rental fees are paid on a monthly basis and can be charged to a major credit card. What I ask my clients to take into consideration is what the overall investment will be and then to think about how much the first, or next price reduction on the house will be (not to mention that after the first few weeks on the market, a house becomes ‘market worn’ and will receive fewer showings by other agents).

Then I ask them to consider this:  More than 80% of today’s home buyers start their search online and if the photos depict empty rooms, or even worse show only exterior pictures of a house, chances are that the viewer will move on to the next listing.  The most memorable houses are those that make an eye-catching impression which entices buyers’ interest. Staged rooms help buyers to visualize the true potential of the house.  When buyers tour the house, rooms that are strategically furnished help them to connect to the home on a personal and emotional level; they will remember that house throughout the home searching process.  Remember that once a potential buyer has toured a home and has not made the necessary connection to it, you have lost that ‘audience’….they will not come back again because they have already formed a negative opinion.

The newly constructed houses of today’s market offer all kinds of amenities and quality craftsmanship and yet they are difficult to sell…just look at how many there are on MLS in Nassau andSuffolk Counties here on Long Island! 

When a vacant, newly constructed house is staged, potential buyers are more apt to connect to the home on a more personal level; they can actually envision themselves living there!  As part of my staging, I always include specific ‘props’ for different rooms, such as an open book with a pair of reading glasses perched on top and strategically placed on a coffee table in the family room…or faux vegetables in a bowl next to an open cookbook in the ‘prep’ area of the kitchen…or an ’interrupted’ game of Scrabble in the den.  Without being too ‘viewer specific’ (everyone prepares meals, plays games and reads books), I want the buyers to see that this could be ‘their’ room…’their’ HOME!  It is that connection that will ultimately sell your house!

When it comes to the builders, if the idea of spending a few thousand dollars on rental furniture does not strike them as a good business investment, I tell them that perhaps they might want to consider doing what some other Long Island builders have done, and that is to buy the furniture and then either reuse it in other models or sell it with the house (quite often the buyer loves the way the room looks and asks if they can purchase some, or all of the furniture).  The overall cost to purchase the furnishings usually works out to be in the same ballpark as 3 months rental fees for the same amount of furniture and accessories.

Val Allocco, a certified (HSE), professional Home Stager, is the founder & owner of Staged 2 Sell NY which was established in early 2006 and serves all of Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties) as well as the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.  She is also the Metro New York Chapter President of ASHSR (American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners).

Val has taught Adult Education courses on “Staging Your Home To Sell” and has also been a featured speaker at numerous Home Selling Seminars on, and around, Long Island.  She is available for seminars and other real estate related presentations and can be reached at 516-982-2671.

Please visit www.staged2sellny.com for more information and examples of our work.

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As the unofficial ‘queen of vacants’ on Long Island, I love the challenge of working with the seller’s own furniture and accessories.  For this particular home, we simply added a mirror, 2 framed prints, some window treatments, 5 accent pillows and faux greenery.

When the seller upgraded the kitchen, he enlarged the space and, as a result, ended up with this small, windowless ’Living Room’.  This is the first room that you saw when you walked into the Entry Hall.  Before staging, it wasn’t a defined space but, rather, was used as a storage space.

We ‘borrowed’ a chair from the Den, ’spiffed up’ a console table with Old English scratch cover and turned it into a writing desk, pulled up the rug & brought in a smaller area rug from another room, hung artwork that we found in the house and the purchased mirror (Homes & Garden $40 at Walmart) to add depth and reflective light to the room, brought in a console cabinet that was in the Dining Room, and added a lamp from the Master Bedroom and various accessories (including 2 purchased faux plants from Walmart and a $8 throw pillow from Christmas Tree Shops).

Here are a few more ‘after’ views:

The Dining Room only needed some ‘light staging’.  We cleared out the console cabinet, shelf unit, 2 chairs, a table leaf, and the parrot print on the wall.  We also de-cluttered the china closet and table. 

 We added new matching prints ($5 each at Walmart!) and potted orchards to add some color.

The Den was a bit of a challenge because the sofa had to stay.  We removed the area rug and replaced it with a cream-colored shag to coordinate with the cream-colored chair that we brought in from the old Living Room.  2 purchased accent pillows and greenery were added while the mantle was decluttered and then enhanced with candlesticks that were found in another part of the house.  The sheer curtains were removed in order to open the view and a framed print belonging to the owner was hung over the sofa.  Sadly, the tv had to stay and we left instructions for the owner to reposition it in the corner.

Here are some before and afters of the dining area in the kitchen:

As you can see from the photos above, simple changes make all the difference when presenting a house for sale.  This ‘product’ is now ready to compete with similar houses in the Huntington area that are currently on the market.

At Staged 2 Sell we ’set the stage for your successful sale’!

Val Allocco, a certified (HSE), professional Home Stager, is the founder & owner of Staged 2 Sell NY which was established in early 2006 and serves all of Long Island (Nassau and SuffolkCounties) as well as the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.  She is also the Metro New York Chapter President and Central Long Island Chapter President of ASHSR (American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners).

Val has taught Adult Education courses on “Staging Your Home To Sell” and has also been a featured speaker at numerous Home Selling Seminars on, and around, Long Island.  She is available for seminars and other real estate related presentations and can be reached at 516-982-2671.

Please visit www.staged2sellny.com for more information and examples of our work.

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