Home Staging: Five Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Home Stager

Compared to D-I-Y (Do It Yourself) home staging, hiring a professional guarantees a profitable and speedy sale. From upping the value of the property to taking the stress off the homeowner’s shoulders, more and more people are enlisting the help of these experts in beautifying their own residences. Finding the right partner takes time though. There are profiles and portfolios to check, recommendations and reputations to consider and questions to ask to ensure that they are certainly fit for the job.

What To Ask A Home Stager Before Hiring Him

Here are some of the top things you should know when you interview a potential home stager.

1.       What is his specialty? Stagers’ skills vary depending on the types of residential properties they are going to stage on. Can he relate to your family house or does his forte focus on condos instead? See his past works and weigh his expertise.

2.       Can he bring additional promotional ideas to the table? A good stager can go beyond the design and décor aspects. He should also be interested in the whole package, the marketing side of it included. Find out if he has additional promotional strategies to suggest that will capture and hold the interest of your target buyers.

3.       How well does he know the market? He should also be paying attention to the rise and fall of the industry. For instance, if you are selling a condo in the Philippines, how knowledgeable is he on the Philippine real estate market? Can he attain a high-end décor that requires minimum expenses yet make it affordable to prospective buyers? Can he give you a competitive edge so you can get the most offers? How well-adapt is he on the latest news and trends? For all you know, he tends to lean towards classic and traditional designs which may or may not be suitable to your preferences and public needs.

4.       How much time does he usually consume to complete a project? Ensure that both of you agree on the target time frame, and that your schedules will meet and deadlines are properly set.

5.       What are his rates? Make sure that it is reasonable given your location. Does he give discounts or extras and bonuses for first-time clients? What is the scope of his services? Sometimes, there are instances when some would charge per hour for consultation alone. Does his fee include reports and resources? Determine the payment method and scheme. Ask him what happens if you are not satisfied with his work. Does he have some sort of a guarantee clause in his contract?

Home Staging: Three (3) Basic Things To Look For In A Professional Home Stager

A professional home stager can offer huge help in completing a quick and successful house sale. He can turn your ordinary-looking residence into something incredibly appealing for the type of audience you are aiming to attract. He can point out everything that needs further improvement without so much difficulty and suggest ideas that can make your property stand out from the rest of the pack. The only question is, how do you locate him?

What To Look For In A Professional Home Stager

Find the right person who can make your dreams come true. Here are the basic qualities to look for.

1.       It’s all about skills.

·        Technical. Check his portfolio to assess his talents in design and decoration. Do you like his style? Is he creative for your taste? Gauge how passionate he is on his craft. Remember:

People rarely succeed unless they enjoy what they are doing. -Dale Carnegie

·        Quality. Is he detail-oriented? Take note of the little things that can give you clues on how much he values his work as well as his ability to perfect the concepts needed. Does he have an eye for excellence?

·        Can work well under pressure. Check the projects that he has handled in the past. Observe how close the completion dates are in between them to see if he can work under a very tight timeline. How much time did it take him to finish a project? Ask him if there were occasions when he delivered sooner than expected.

·        Organization. Is he organized? Staging a home is no easy task. He must have good organizational skills to be able to create order out of chaos.

·        Communication. He must be someone whom you can easily communicate with, knows how to listen and respectful of your opinions. Homeselling can be quite stressful so he must have the ability to deal with different types of people in various kinds of situation professionally. Also consider how comfortable you are with him. Keep in mind that you will be working together so there should not be awkward moments between you two.

2.       He’s interested in the industry. He must be knowledgeable about the latest news and trends and able to adapt based on his clients’ needs and preferences. For instance, if you are putting your house for sale in the Philippine market, he must be able to give you a highly competitive edge on a Philippine real estate setting so that your property will get the most offers.

3.       He carries himself well. The way he dresses, talks, moves should all speak of confidence. You would want someone whose experience makes him confident, wouldn’t you? 

Home Staging: Five (5) Tips To Finding A Professional Home Stager

While the need to seek a home stager is not a requirement for every seller, it has become a great solution for many. This is especially true if the person selling the house has no time to spare to do the prepping himself or he aims to increase the value of his property for a marketable and quick sale.

How To Find A Professional Home Stager

Learn where to start searching for a professional to partner with. Here are five (5) tips to help you out.

1.       Profile. In today’s digital age, it’s quite easy to check the background of the person you are eyeing to hire. Does he have a website? Is it difficult to navigate around it? Anyone in the field will understand the value of a good web design as it can quickly reflect character and artistic skills. Does it indicate his rates and pricing? Can you afford it? What can you say about his About and Contact pages? Make sure that his details are complete – name, address and phone number as these can signify if he’s legit or not. Is he on LinkedIn or About.Me?

2.       Portfolio. Check for sample works. For instance, if you live in the Philippines and you want to put your condo up in the market, how many Philippine real estate projects has he bagged to date? How long did it take him to finish one? This can show how in demand he is in the business and why he is so. Can you access the BEFORE and AFTER photos of the PH properties that he handled recently? In this way, you can assess how effective the transformations are as well as the quality of his work.

3.       Recommendations. Who referred him to you? Did you find him over the web or did a friend or colleague endorse his services? Look for testimonials to determine what his past and present clients have to say.

4.       Online Reputation. With the birth of social media, it’s fairly simple to verify now the influence and credibility level of an individual. Metrics such as number of followers, how many positive or negative sentiments are found on the social networking sites, the ratio of good feedbacks as opposed to complaints can all add up to his trustworthiness. Surely, you would want to be partners with someone you trust?

5.       Etiquette and Ethics. The minute you talk to him on the phone or exchange emails, observe closely his communication abilities. How does he speak or reply to your messages? Is he courteous? How good is he as a listener? Keep in mind that you’ll be working together so ensure that he is very professional and serious about his commitments.

Home Staging: Three (3) Things To Consider Before Hiring A Home Staging Professional

Selling homes is more than just employing the help of a realtor in enlisting your property, finding a buyer and sealing the contract. It also entails prepping your house in the most appealing way possible for a quick and successful transaction.

What To Consider Before Hiring A Home Staging Professional

There are several reasons why you should hire a professional. One is that his expertise can showcase the finest features of your residence in a way that it can compete with other new houses for sale in the Philippine market. If implemented properly, the value of your PH property can increase consequently. He can make the buying process faster too with his recommendations and technical suggestions.

If you’re a seller who is having second thoughts about seeking a home stager, here are some items to consider before you make a final decision.

1.       Identify the current condition of your residence. When was it built and how long has it been inhabited? How big is your space? Its physical state and size can very well dictate the amount of work that needs to be done. Are your interiors and exteriors still in good form? Do you need to repaint the walls or will cleaning and de-cluttering do? Assess the volume of required repairs. Do you need to change the carpet? Are the rooms suitable enough or do they need to be furnished too? Determine the areas that call for an upgrade and renovation. What do you do with the items you do not use anymore? Can you make big cash out of it? Gauge when is the best time to hold a garage sale.

2.       Evaluate which tasks you can do by yourself. Do remember that the whole procedure may demand a lot of your hours and skills as well. Can you handle the stress? For instance, have you set a target date of showing yet? With the bulk of work ahead of you, can you ready it on time if you were to do it all alone? Have you given thought on how you can highlight each room with minimal cost? What paint colors should you choose? Will it complement well with the rest of the interior?

3.       Determine your budget. While it seems easy to let a professional take care of the entire scenario, the question remains – can you afford his fee? Perhaps, you can do away with a consultant as a cheaper alternative.

Home Staging: Five (5) Steps In Turning Your Personal Photo Collection Into An Artwork

Anybody in the real estate industry knows the importance of prepping the home for a sell. It can easily seal the deal if prospective buyers see the property pleasant and homely enough or it can quickly break the transaction if they find something undesirable about it. Needless to say, it has become a requirement nowadays for future homesellers to stage their houses in the best ways imaginable.

Home Staging: How To Turn Your Personal Photo Collection Into An Artwork

One mistake to avoid during this phase is putting too much personality around the house. Keep in mind that each and every buyer must be able to visualize himself/herself as the owner and he/she will not be able to do that if he/she is surrounded with family photos as constant reminders that this is your residence. One trick then is to remove these traces and create a neutral vision similar to those applied in a luxury hotel that are both comforting and attractive yet depersonalized.

Learn how you can turn those photo collections into an artwork. Here are five (5) steps to follow through.

1.       Create a quick inventory of your personal mementos. Survey your surroundings and inspect which corners of your new house for sale have evidence of the current inhabitants – picture frames in the living room, photo albums in the entertainment section, picture collage in the library and so on. 

2.       Take them down and segregate. If there are wall pictures in the bedroom, put it down. Or set aside in one corner all framed photos of your kids in your home office. Bring them altogether and categorize according to usage and frames. For instance, those that go into the walls as decors, put them on one side. Those that can be found on top of side tables, place them on the other side. Separate based on the types of frames used – some may be made of metallic materials, others, of wood.

3.       Stick to one type of frame. Since the objective is to convert it into an artwork, consistency is the key then. Find one type that is neutral and consistent both in color and design and focus on using that to display all over your PH property for sale. Get their dimensions – is it 4 x 6, 5 x 7 or 8 x 10?

4.       Find pictures in the internet, resize and print them depending on the size of the frame. Stick to images that highlight landscape, nature, trees and flowers all in black and white. You may opt for colored ones if it works better with your interiors. Use software like Photoshop to edit them so it will fit the generic frame that you have on hand.

5.       Set these images on top of your personal portraits and position them strategically all over your residence. Do remember to keep them as balanced as possible. For example, your wall collection is all about beautiful settings in the country side – rivers, mountains and trees. Then out of nowhere, there’s a big-eyed baby included in the collage. Avoid inserting items that are out-of-theme and do not go well with the concept you are trying to depict.

Home Staging: Four (4) Secrets To Staging Your Bathroom Like A Luxury Spa

The golden rule when staging a house is to make it as appealing as possible to prospective homebuyers. This includes keeping it clean, neat and homely with enough storage space and legroom to give a comforting feel and atmosphere. How your house looks can give a lasting impression to every person who visits it and buyers are no exception.

How To Stage Your Bathroom To Feel Like A Luxury Spa

Bathrooms are one of the many home features that a potential buyer initially checks on when searching for properties for sale. It is safe to say then that it can be a deal breaker if not staged properly.

Here are some tips to transform your bathroom into a luxury spa. Learn how you can maximize each element to portray a simple and tasteful yet soothing spa-like experience.

1.      Decorations and Ambience. The secret lies to the decorations so as to create an aura similar to those found in spas. When you think of spa, you usually associate it with water and nature.

o    Plants. Start by incorporating life and adding greeneries to your condo bath – put in some fresh flowers like orchids or aloe vera on transparent vases and have them placed by the sink, tub or window. Scatter decorative twigs and berries on the top shelf.

o    Sea-inspired items. Bring in the feeling of being by the beach through shells, starfish and pebbles decoration.

o    Curtains and rugs. Get rid of the traditional shower curtains and replace them with something more flowing and relaxing to the eyes. Cover the floors with rugs that have ethnic vibes on it.

o    Toiletries. Ideally, there should be no trace or indication that there is someone living in your residence during the tour. However, you can give an illusion of being in a luxurious suite or resort by organizing the bath products on one corner. Ensure that they are all new and unused. Have a basket or glass jars for unwrapped soap bars and cotton balls. You can also drop some flower petals around the area.

2.      Towels and Robes. Pick towels that are ultra-white and organic during the touring event. You can roll them like in real spas and situate them near the sink; store them up in baskets by the floor or fold them up on a bamboo or wooden tray. Have some wash cloths readily available too. Slip a fluffy white robe on a padded hanger and place them within reach.

3.      Scents. Putting scented candles in various heights and sizes creates a serene mood. Also, get some natural aroma oils like rose, vanilla or lavender that can be added to the water for a more romantic smell.

4.      Lighting. Position some lamps that have soft lights in a couple of corners around the room. If your window needs replacement, opt for something where the glass can let in the light but can protect your privacy at the same time.