Did you know the Real Estate Staging Association® (RESA®) accredits home staging training schools?  RESA takes some of the difficulty and uncertainty out of choosing a home staging school or staging training provider.

Educational Accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which facilities or institution's services and operations have been examined by a third-party accrediting agency to determine if applicable standards are met. Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) has taken on the role to be the accrediting agency for the Home Staging Industry.

RESA hires outside consultants to review the training providers complete course materials as well as their policies and procedures and their fiscal soundness. RESA has established an accreditation program that follows the guidelines set forth by the United States Department of Education and we are dedicated to ensuring quality education in real estate staging.

 

Our goal is to protect home stagers and students seeking core or advanced home staging training.  Students can rest assured the training providers accredited by RESA have undergone extensive scrutiny in order to receive accreditation.

 

We have determined 29 subjects that must be included in core home staging training.  Here are a few examples:

 

·         Bids- what they are, how to do them, examples of how they look

·         How to handle vacant staging from beginning to end

·         How to handle a occupied staging from beginning to end

·         How to work with furniture rental companies

·         How to choose furniture for projects

·         Scale and floor plans

·         Understanding Realtors and how to work with them

·         Copyright law and what constitutes plagiarism for photos and web site copy, prevention and detection

 

In addition, the training provider must have “alumni services” (after care or access to information after the class, via a web portal)

 

RESA Accredited Training Providers have agreed to be held accountable with a formal student complaint process. Student may file a grievance with RESA® and the grievance is fully investigated. We work with the student and training provider to resolve the process. RESA® has the right to revoke the accreditation status for any home staging training company that doesn’t meet RESA® standards or doesn’t work to resolve any student complaints.

 

Why are some home staging training providers not RESA® accredited?

 

·         They may not be aware of the program.

·         They may not meet the criteria.

·         They may not be supportive of RESA’s mission to be open to all home stagers.

·         They may not want to invest in the accreditation.

 

If a training provider is not listed on RESA® does this mean their program is bad or not legit?

NO! There are many excellent training providers that are not part of the program. Participation is voluntary. We recommend that you review each program, compare them carefully and talk to past students. If a home staging training company is unwilling to provide the names and contact info for past students, that’s a red flag that should not be ignored.

 

For more information on RESA® please visit www.RealEstateStagingAssociation.com

 

 

The Home Staging Calculator^TM iPhone App is one of the most useful tools to hit the real estate industry since the MLS.

Real estate professionals have traditionally had a difficult time explaining home staging to their clients and getting them to see the value in home staging.  The Home Staging Calculator^TM will calculate how much money your clients are likely to spend or save if they decide to stage or not to stage based on the statistics released by the Real Estate Staging Association® (RESA®). This app is 100% customizable to cover all situations

The app also includes the complete Consumer's Guide to Real Estate Staging^TM.  The guide covers statistics, explains home staging, why it works and what types of questions to ask when hiring a professional stager.

If you don't work with a home stager, no worries, the app also links to the RESA's home staging directory.

Click to get yours today!

 Category: Productivity

Updated: Feb 02, 2011

Current Version: 1.01

1.01 (iOS 4.0 Tested)

Size: 0.3 MB

Language: English

Seller: Real Estate Staging Association, Inc.

© Real Estate Staging Association, Inc.

Rated 4+

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later

Android and Blackberry coming soon!

To further support the growth of the home staging industry, Real Estate Staging Association® (RESA®) will be recognizing leaders within the staging industry for their outstanding contributions and personal accomplishments.

Based on feedback we received from our membership, we have added regional awards to the Professional  Stager, Rookie Stager and REALTOR® of the Year Categories. We are looking forward to recognizing more of our members. 

RESA® is now accepting nominations for the RESA® 2011 Staging Industry Awards^TM in the following categories: 

• RESA® Professional Stager of the Year^TM
• RESA® Rookie Stager of the Year^TM
• RESA® Staging Innovator of the Year^TM
• RESA® REALTOR® of the Year^TM
• RESA® Product or Service of the Year^TM

Click the category above for rules and guidelines.    2011 RESA Home Staging Awards Rules Download.

Winners will hold their titles in their category for the 2011 term. Entry fees will cover the cost of a secure voting system as well as the awards.

The following provides the guidelines for submission to each of these categories. Please note: Nominations will be accepted from August 15, 2010 until October 1, 2010.

Important Deadlines:

August 3, 2010 to October 1, 2010- Nominations Accepted
October 15, 2010 to October 30, 2010- Voting in all categories to determine top finalists
November 1, 2010- Finalists notified, finalists have until November 14^th to submit their 1 and 5 page submissions.

November 15, 2010- December 5^th, 2010 Voting to determine the regional winners

December 10- December 20^th, 2010 Voting by judging panel to determine overall winners
January 24th, 2010 Winners Announced at the Awards Dinner and Ceremony at the RESA® International Staging Conference

Submissions:
Send to  Shell@RESA-HQ.org

You may mail a check or we will put a charge on your RESA account and you can log in to pay the fee.
Checks should be made out to and sent to
RESA 2274 Partridge Dr. Valley Springs, CA 95252

Countries are eligible for a region if they have more than 4 members.

RESA Industry Awards 2010 Winners
 

The RESA International Conference is the only one of its kind focused on providing stagers (RESA and non-RESA members included) with personal and professional development opportunities. The entire conference is dedicated to YOU. The speakers have been chosen. Are you going to take the challenge and take your business to the next level? Register today!

 

	Matthew Finlason Real Estate Staging Expert HGTV's The Stagers
Sandy Dixon GOING FOR THE GOLD Building a Dynamic Repeat & Referral-Based Staging Business	Jana Uselton Growing Your Business By Bringing On Other Stagers	Jackson West How to Close More Sales and Raise Your Profits by Perfecting Client Proposals
Audra Slinkey How To Effectively Use Accessories, Art, and Color	Tammie O'Brien Inventory Management	Dan Eason Staging Your Business For Success
Alice T Chan Influence Sales with FREE Juicy Offers and Get Results without being Salesy	Melissa Marro Turning numbers into sales - Using Statistics to Grow Your Business	Ashley Whittenberger Wealth Building Strategies for Home Stagers
Christine Rae Revitalise Your Business in 2011 with Green Staging

Panel of Experts

Dana J Smithers Panel Of Experts	Kathy Nielsen Panel Of Experts	Michelle Minch Panel Of Experts
Annie Pinsker-Brown Panel Of Experts	Karen Otto Panel Of Experts	Linda Barnett Panel Of Experts
Kathleen Garvey Panel Of Experts	Melissa Galt Panel Of Experts

 

The Real Estate Staging Association® (RESA®) study shows 126 homeowners had their property on the market on average of 263 days before they decided to stage. 263 days = 9 months!!!

Those same homes were staged and sold in 60 days on average after staging. This is 78% less time on the market. This is 7 months less time on the market.

As an example, using this formula you can determine approximately how much money you will continue to spend while your home is on the market un-staged.

If your mortgage is : $1800.00 If your direct expenses are: $300.00

Total carrying cost per month: $2,100.00

Our study shows home owners had their property on the market for an average of 9 months. $2,100.00 X 9 months = $18,900.00 in expenses.

Had those homeowners staged first, their time on market would have been cut by 223 days on average (7 months). $2,100.00 x 7 months= $14,700.00 Staging their homes first would have saved them $ 14,700.00.

These numbers are all relative to individual mortgage and expenses.

Use this simple formula to determine how much you will save by staging your home or listing before putting it on the market: Mortgage + expenses (utilities etc.) = Monthly expenses Monthly expenses X 9 months (avg. time un-staged) = Cost to list house un-staged Savings: Expenses x 7 months (average time on market reduced) – staging fee = Savings if you stage your house first! ** If you have a price reduction you can also add that into the loss you are taking by listing a property un-staged.

Stagers and agents may use this on their website just like you would use a mortgage calculator. Stay tuned for a new mobile app, so you will be able to use this from your phone.

Look for the Consumer's Guide to Real Estate Staging DVD to be released in July 2010. This is an amazing new DVD that explains home staging benefits, statistics and how to work with and hire a home stager to home sellers.

Stagers you asked for it and RESA delivers again! Over the last several years we have had home stagers asking RESA to produce a tool that will help agents and stagers explain home staging to sellers.

Today I am proud to announce we are in the editing phase of the new DVD, The Consumer's Guide to Real Estate Staging. Everyone is well aware of our printed version of the Consumer's Guide to Real Estate Staging. We have used those same helpful concepts and translated it into a fun, fresh, HGTV type of vibe in DVD format.

The DVD is a great way for stagers and agents to communicate the benefits of staging to homeowners in an effective manner. By having the trade association for your industry communicate the benefits of home staging simply reiterates what stagers and agents tell sellers and adds credibility to what you are already saying.

We cover, what staging is, the benefits, statistics and how to find and hire a professional home stager. I am so excited about this project and I wanted to give you a glimpse of the hard work several people put into this project.

The production company is located in Atlanta so it made perfect sense to shoot the video in Atlanta. Michelle Minch just happened to be visiting family in Atlanta during this time and volunteered to lend a hand to our project. Michelle has a background in film, TV and commercials so her feedback was vital in getting the visual aspects perfect.

One of RESA's RVPs Kathy Nielsen also lives in Atlanta and was so gracious in offering to put me up for several days during the shoot. Kathy's "visual genius" was so helpful during production of the shoot. Here are a few photos and a video clip of me shooting the film crew, shooting Tara Jones our spokesperson.

Stay tuned for more information as we hope to release the DVD by July 1st.

Special thanks to Michelle and Kathy! We have an opportunity to include some photos of staged properties in the DVD and on the insert or on the cover. If you have an amazing after photo you would like considered email it to Shell@RESA-HQ.org We can't give photo credits because all stagers will want to use this resource, so bragging rights will have to do.

Home stagers, you asked for it, we listened and we delivered! RESA is partnering with several training providers and top stagers in North America to deliver the first ever continuing education program for all stagers.

Continuing education is a crucial aspect of every profession.  As with every profession, seeking education after your core training is how you keep up on trends, learn new skills and keep educated on the changing industry. Most professions have a continuing education program, designations, certifications etc.  These concepts create the "infrastructure" for all industries.  Programs like this one and the RESA-PRO^TM designation provides another "leg" to our industries infrastructure and credibility.  

Program facts:

• The program consists of staging principles and business skills.
• You do not have to be a member of RESA to take these classes.
• If you have earned the RESA-PRO^TM designation, these classes count towards your continuing education requirements.
• Courses are affordable, most online in E-book, Power Points, Webinars, and Tele-seminars.
• We are adding on more courses every month.  

RESA-PRO^TM

The following 6 mandatory requirements must be met:   

• Must pass the RESA® Ethics Exam. Study material is provided. Open book exam. The RESA-PRO^TM Ethics Exam is 20 questions. You need a minimum score of 90% in order to pass. Must agree to follow the RESA-PRO^TM Code of Ethics.  You have 45 minutes to take the exam.
• A minimum of 1 year in business, as a professional home stager (proof by either a Business License, DBA,  LLC, CORP, Re-sale license or Legal  Partnership)
• Proof of Home Staging Business Insurance  
• No lawsuits pending against your staging business
• Business Checking Account    

The RESA® Ethics class and exam is an extremely important factor in raising the bar for the home staging industry.  RESA-PRO^TM is the only designation governed and regulated by the Real Estate Staging Association®.  RESA® ensures that RESA-PRO^TM designees uphold the highest ethical standards possible.

Renewing:

RESA-PRO^TM designees are required to take 1 Business Skills, 1 Staging Principles, 1 Elective and the Ethics Class every 2 years to keep their designation current. After 4 consecutive years of being a RESA-PRO^TM, you are required to take 1 continuing education class in any category, plus the ethics class, in addition to maintaining the business and insurance requirements in order to renew the designation. Renewing the designation is always every 2 years.

Fees:

Current RESA® members have the opportunity to earn to the RESA-PRO^TM Designation for $180.00. This will also give current RESA® members 2 years of RESA® membership. If you would like to convert your current RESA® membership to RESA-PRO^TM email Shell@RESA-HQ.org  

Non-RESA® members may earn their RESA-PRO^TM for $225.00. This includes 2 years of RESA® membership. Renewal is $180.00 for 2 years.

More information and answers to FAQs visit www.EducatingHomeStagers.com

It's been one week since the largest, ground breaking; trend setting conference in the history of home staging took place in Fabulous Las Vegas!

With over 220 home stagers representing the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom to say the RESA conference was a HUGE SUCCESS is an understatement.

The conference was kicked off my HGTV's Matthew Finlason in typical non-disappointing Matthew style. Matthew kept the audience motivated by speaking about diversifying and sustaining your brand in fluctuating markets.

I spoke about the state of our industry, where we came from, where we are and where we are going.

Ricardo Bueno spoke about the importance of social media to market your business.

David Avrin The Visibility Coach, professional speaker and author presented It's Not Who You Know - It's Who Knows YOU! - How to Raise Your Profits by Raising Your Profile!    David made us laugh while teaching us how to increase your visibility and position yourself as an expert.

Founder of www.WomenHomeOwners.com Ginny Mees, spoke about how to use networking as a marketing tool. Check out Ginny's network!

Our lunch time presenter was HGTV's Designed to Sell's Bethany Souza.  Bethany is simply charming, professional and funny! She talked to us about raising the bar with our staging business and finding your signature style.

President of HSR and National VP of RESA, the amazing and engaging Audra Slinkey spoke on Ten Critical Keys to Every Successful Website.  

Our workshops included Melissa Marro covering Creating Limitless Market Opportunities - Becoming the "Go-To" Company. Terrylynn Fisher covered how to "collaborate" with REALTORS® as a professional and not be a "service provider". Lori Kim Polk covered how to diversify your business by working with flippers and Kathy Nielsen and Michelle Minch taught us how to take amazing photographs to highlight our staging work.

The Home Staging Industry Awards were presented and they deserve a blog of their own so click here to read who was honored.

Day Two:

Ashley Whittenberger taught us about Pricing Strategies for Stagers. Ashley is funny and engaging and brought a lot of important information to the conference.  

 Our panel of experts included Audra Slinkey of HSR, Christine Rae of CSP, Matthew Finlason from HGTV's The Stagers, Joanne Lenart-Weary from One Day Decorating and Jackson West from the W-Networks TV show the Experts. Click to view some of the amazing panel session.

RESA's trademark and copyright attorney Erik Pelton spoke to us about the importance of trademarks, copyrights and how it affects your business.

Mike Robbins Author, Speaker, Coach was our keynote speaker. Mike delighted us with the message of the power of authenticity. In our personal and business lives being authentic is a powerful tool. Mike has written a book on this subject and I highly recommend it. Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken: Transform Your Life with the Power of Authenticity. Mike is funny, reflective and made us all think.

I closed the conference with the message of the Law of Attraction. Reminding everyone to take what they have learned and "make it happen". The power of the law of attraction to manifest what you want, need and desire in your life is 100% attainable.

I want to thank everyone that attended and contributed to the conference. The feedback we are getting is fantastic. We are looking forward to organizing next year's conference.

Here are a few of the reviews I was able to locate here on active rain Ashley Whittenberger, Carmella Abella, Alicia Autrey, Nancy Maurer and Melissa Marro.  

For a visual review of the conference go to www.RESAConvention.com

The 4^th Annual Home Staging Industry Awards were presented at the RESA Conference on January 25^th at the Treasure Island Hotel, Casino and Resort in Fabulous Las Vegas.

The Home Staging Industry Awards were created to honor professionals that work in and service the home staging industry.

The RESA Leadership Awards were presented as follows:

RESA Local Chapter President of the Year: Pam Ellis, Seattle, Washington

RESA State Chapter President of the Year: Ashley Whittenberger, Texas

RESA Regional Vice President of the Year: DesAnn Collins, Region 2, IL, IN, MI, OH, WI

RESA National Board Member of the Year: Kathy Nielsen, RVP Region 8 AL, FL, GA, NC, SC

The Home Staging Industry Awards were presented as follows:

RESA Innovator of the Year: Dan Eason, Energized Seller

RESA Product of the Year: Staging Standard Magazine and Sherwin Williams

RESA Staging REALTOR® of the Year Michelle Reneau

RESA Rookie Stager of the Year: Paige Earles, Pearle Staging and Design, Atlanta, Georgia

RESA Professional Stager of the Year: Michelle Minch, Moving Mountains Design, Pasadena, California

RESA would like to thank our judges for the Rookie and Pro Stager awards: Bethany Souza from HGTV's Designed to Sell, Matthew Finlason from HGTV's The Stagers and Deborah Gilmore the 2010 Women's Council of Realtors National President.

It was a pleasure to honor such deserving professionals in our industry. To view the awards ceremony featuring all the finalists and presentations of the awards visit http://resaconvention.com/awards/

The RESA International Conference is the only one of its kind focused on providing stagers (RESA and non-RESA members included) with personal and professional development opportunities.

The entire conference is dedicated to YOU. With the industry growing leaps and bounds, this is the perfect opportunity to: 

• Learn how to take your business to the next level
  
• Learn what it takes to become a leader
  
• Hear first-hand what the industry leaders are doing
  
• Understand what it take to “close” the deal
  
• Learn how to market 
• Learn how to price your business
• Meet Vendor Partners who are there to support YOU

RESA International Staging Conference Details:

When: Sunday, Jan 24, 2010,

Where:Treasure Island Las Vegas

There are only 10 tickets available for the first Home Staging Conference that welcomes ALL home stagers. This event will sell out. Tickets are selling several every few hours.

 

www.RESAConference.com