Special offer

How Professional Home Stagers Help in Kitchener-Waterloo

By
Home Stager with Beyond the Stage Homes

 

I was driving in the car today and listening to the radio when an ad came on for How Realtors Help homeowners sell their homes. I understand and agree that Realtors are excellent guides for the home selling process. They deal with people and situations that homeowners shouldn’t have to and they provide essential information which is crucial when it comes to getting the most money for your biggest asset – your home.

What I didn’t agree with and continue to have issues with is how these ads claim Realtors can help homeowners stage their homes. Professional stagers don't claim be be able to sell homes so this marketing strategy has me scratching my head. We can't be all things to everyone and there is no weakness in sourcing out professionals for a job. Creating the mistaken impression that realtors have the ability and talent to both stage and sell homes is misleading. 

The ad I listened to was a mock phone call between a realtor and a client and when the term ‘home staging’ came up, the client squawked that he didn’t need home staging! Instead of replying that the realtor would be bringing in a professional to assess the condition of the client’s home, the realtor in the ad backed off and said they should concentrate instead on marketing the home.  Realtors - why would you want to waste money marketing a home that doesn't show well? I just don't get it, its like throwing money away when you could be investing in your listing by enlisting the services of a professional stager.

Home staging is a crucial part of the home selling process. Many realtors who sell homes do not have the design talent or experience to act as a home stager for their clients. In fact many have never even talked to or worked with a professional stager so they aren’t aware of what a stager does or the magic we can work in a home. This is a shame because the changes we make add quantifiable value to a home and allow sellers to realize the full potiential of their investment.

So, here are how professional home stagers can help:

 

 ~ We offer an objective view of the property, seeing the property as a buyer will. Our recommendations are thorough and detailed so even DIY home owners can follow them.

 ~ We talk about things which are hard to address; smells or acres of overly patterned wallpaper. Things which buyers would have objections to or which can make the difference between a buyer picking your home or passing on it to buy another property.

 ~ We address function because bottom line, all spaces and rooms in your home need to provide a visible function for buyers. Function increases a home’s value sometimes even more so than upgrades or modern decor. Professional stagers ensure every room is a definable and usable space which buyers will appreciate.

 ~ We take the mystery out of de-cluttering and neutralizing decor. Every realtor says these things are important – and they are – but most home owners are mystified by this edict. How much to de-clutter? What is neutral? Why neutralize? Professional stagers address how much to pack away and what decor choices will make buyers stampede to make an offer!

 ~ Advice on smart upgrades and tips to increase a home’s curb appeal. We offer tips to catch buyer’s attention and keep them engaged for the whole visit!

 ~ Adding the WOW to any home with simple yet stunning designs which are created to capture the hearts of all buyers who walk through. By maximizing focal points and architectural elements, a professional home stager will focus attention where it should be – on the selling points of any home.

 ~ Providing valuable contacts to contractors, landscapers, cleaners, and organizers to help the process of getting homes ready as simple and cost effective as possible.

 ~ Access to beautiful rental furnishings which are instrumental in ensuring vacant properties both show and feel like a model home. Professional stagers also normally have a large inventory of modern home decor accessories which can give any home a stylish flair.

 ~ We provide recommendations and advice on all aspects of getting a home ready for sale so that Realtors can do what they do best: sell the home!

Realtors are an integral part of the home selling process. So are professional home stagers. Realtors who partner with a professional stager are telling their clients right away that they care enough about the condition of the home not to gamble with its presentation. We can’t all be good at everything. Realtors are knowledgeable about pricing homes right so they capture buyer interest. Professional stagers are skilled and experienced in showcasing a home so that once a buyer views the property, they can’t help but fall in love with it.

TO  Together, realtors and stagers are a potent combination. For home owners selling your home, ensure that the realtor you choose brings in a professional stager to guide you through the preparation process. 

It’s been quoted a few hundred times and I’ll quote it again:

"Price brings in the buyer, staging sells the home.”

 

 

Posted by

Heather Cook  is Co-Owner and Principal Staging Designer of the award winning Rooms in Bloom Home Staging & Design Inc. based out of Kitchener-Waterloo, ON.


 

Contact us today so we can help you create the WOW Factor in your home.

     

Comments (8)

John Pusa
Glendale, CA

Heather - Excellent information and tips on home staging. Thank you for sharing a very good blog.

Sep 05, 2010 05:03 PM
Janice Ankrett
Burlington, ON
Staging Professional

Heather, Well done post. We should  continue to educate sellers and Realtors about the benefits of Staging.

Sep 06, 2010 03:31 AM
Julia Maher
Nestings: Connecticut Home Staging and Model Homes - Fairfield, CT
Connecticut Home Stager

If REAs really could Stage, the MLS wouldn't be such a sad collection of photos...Julie

Sep 06, 2010 03:56 AM
Heather Cook
Beyond the Stage Homes - Kitchener, ON
Delivering beautifully staged spaces

John - Glad you found the post informative - its important to know what a pro stager can do so you can utilize their services

Janice - Yes both realtors and sellers need to understand why pro stagers are worth the investment. This blog post was written because of a deluge of ads on TV, in print and on the radio of "how Realtors help" homeowners sell their homes which claim these realtors are able to offer staging advice and help to get the homes ready for sale. Some of them really irk me  so this post is also a wee bit of a rant.

Julie - I totally agree. I just dislike the spin home staging is getting and the fact that sellers can mistakenly believe realtors have the talent and experience to stage their homes. Which of course results in those sad pictures you're referring to. Which then leads to the public not property understanding what home staging is .. or can do for their home.

Sep 06, 2010 04:36 AM
Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging
Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR
"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

hi Heather ~ your excellent post is very timely, since next week I'm staging a vacant house that was "staged" by the listing agent.  The seller contacted me and said, "I now know that I need a professional stager to give my vacant home the 'wow factor' it needs to make sure it looks like the buyer expects it to."  All I can say is, the current "staging" isn't drawing buyers in to see it.  We all need to continue to educate homeowners and Realtors of the difference between "throwing in some furnishings" and professional home staging.  One by one, we're slowly getting the word out!

Sep 06, 2010 08:57 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Heather- It seems that we are constantly fighting an uphill battle, one trying educate the seller as to what Staging is and how we can help and the other is trying to get the Realtor to recognize that we can help them sell their listings and should look at us as team members.  Take a look at the current MLS photos and it's easy to see that many sellers and Realtors aren't "getting it" yet. 

Sep 06, 2010 02:08 PM
Heather Cook
Beyond the Stage Homes - Kitchener, ON
Delivering beautifully staged spaces

Maureen - Its not an uncommon scenario unfortunately and I'm looking forward to seeing your 'before and after' pictures! Thanks for your comments; you're right we do have to continue to educate consumers. 

Kathy - You're right it does seem like we are fighting an uphill battle however the realtor organization in Ontario has a lot more funding for advertising than what local stagers do. Their message is therefore the one which is being heard by all the home owners watching TV, listening to the radio or reading the paper. It makes me frustrated and upset that with every client or realtor we educate there are hundreds out there that have home staging misconceptions due to the misleading marketing going on.

So I have just written a letter to the Realtor association on this topic and hopefully I will get a response. If not, I'm considering contacting some newspaper/magazine writers to see what I can do to get the right message out!

Sep 06, 2010 02:25 PM
Pat Haddad, ABR, CRS, ePRO, GRI
Keller Williams Indianapolis Metro NE - Carmel, IN
Carmel, Fishers, Westfield IN Real Estate Expert

Heather--I agree completely.  I have not gone after a staging designation because I do NOT want that responsibility.  I love it that I can have a professional come in and be the 'bad guy' for me.  I could take 100 classes and still not have the same skill and talent that my professional stager has.  Same goes for all of the other professionals I work with!!

Sep 08, 2010 11:34 AM