Selling a house is an exciting part of the job for real estate agents, but finding a reliable home staging company or person can be daunting. In this article we will give new real estate agents some tips on how to find a home stager and help your clients in selling a home.
Real estate agents in Toronto must manage sellers expectations, examine factors that contribute to the property value, and make the property visually appealing to potential buyers.
Home stagers can be a real estate agent’s best friend when it comes to glamorizing the interior design of a property. They’re vital to the selling process and can have an impact on how fast a property is sold. So how does a real estate professional find a reliable and effective home staging company?
Credibility
Just like hiring a realtor, it’s pretty important to make sure that you hire someone who has experience working with listings like the one that you are trying to stage. Be sure that the home stager you are interviewing has a good track record for staging homes within a similar price range and style. For example, if you are looking to stage a $500,000 condo compared to a 10,000,000 estate, you would want to choose different stagers for each caliber of home.
You might also ask other questions, such as how long they have been staging homes, what their process looks like and make sure that they understand that staging is not a one-size-fits-all solution. You can also ask about the training that they have undergone in the past, and if they are associated with any home staging or professional real estate organizations. If they are part of a reputable home staging company, then they should be certified as well as insured.
Range of Services
Not every home and budget will be a good pick for traditional home staging. When you hire a staging company, be sure that they are able to service all of your clients, even those with budgets on the smaller end. There are other options such as soft staging, virtual staging and redesign which can be good alternatives for clients who have smaller budgets since they are usually more affordable and do not require furniture to be installed.
Negotiable
Say your clients need some home staging services, but not others. You will want to find a home stager or home staging company who is willing to negotiate on the costs of staging a home based on the home and the clients’ unique situations. For example, if your client already has a good amount of furniture to stage the home with, then find out if your home stager will be able to lower the pricing on their services to reflect this.
Being able to negotiate with your home stager means that you can build a better relationship with them and you know they are committed to delivering lasting, high-quality solutions instead of poor, short-term solutions which do not leave either party satisfied. This also shows you that they are willing to work with you and are willing to help you avoid future issues and conflicts.
However, negotiating is give and take by nature. So be sure that you also aim to make sure your interactions are courteous and constructive so that this business partnership is a win for both sides.
Access to a Variety of Interior Design Products
Check out your potential home stager’s websites, portfolios and social media. This will give you a good idea of the types of spaces that they can design, as well as give you a good look at what they have in their inventory of interior design products. Staged homes should be less taste-specific so that they can appeal to a wide range of buyers. However, your home stager should have enough inventory to consider the home’s style, location and demographics for the area.
If you would like a professional guide from our brokerage, connect with an agent today and Zoocasa would be happy to help guide you through your real estate journey.