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.