Carnival of Real Estate Home Staging Ed #12

Hi Cindy - Thanks for putting in the link for Reba's site. I made a rather long comment and thought I would post it here as well. Having recently posted a blog about some of the blunders I see when people who are staging hobbyists stage homes improperly, I am hesitant to support the idea that I seemed to take away from Reba's comments that encourage as many realtors as possible to take her associate's course and Stage homes themselves instead of enlisting the service of those of us who do this for a living. While I know some realtor/stagers who do very good work, it is my experience that they are the exception, not the rule.

My comments to Reba's post are as follows (I quoted a couple of tiny snipits that I've already gotten from other AR stagers - thanks Maureen and Kym):

It sounds like Reba is one of those gifted people who is able to work in two worlds well. My hat is off to her because I would never be able to do both real estate effectively AND coordinate multiple Staging projects per month and stay sane! I know a small handful of realtor/stagers who can do this well and they command my respect.

Staging is part science and part intuition. The science of staging can be taught in a class but the intuition of what to do in challenging rooms or coming up with a critical staging element created out of...well... basically nothing, is where inborn artistic talent makes the difference between the professional and the semi-pro.

Intuition is the right-brain part of the job and the best stagers and realtor/stagers I have met usually have past experience in some art form.

Just as I go nuts when I try to understand spreadsheets and bookkeeping, I believe a lot of people are challenged when it comes to artistic projects.

When a Realtor doesn't function well with right-brain tasks and does not have the high visual acuity it takes to stage a home properly, that is the time to call on a professional.

One example I see frequently that demonstrates questionable artistic perception is "stretched" pictures of homes for sale, uploaded to the RMLS by agents. We see them time after time but how many of us even notice?

I have my doubts that people who CAN'T see the difference between "landscape" and "stretched portrait" shots will be able to stage skillfully and intuitively. If they don't see what is wrong with those really bad pictures they have uploaded onto the internet to market their clients' homes, how can they stage those homes properly, and then take pictures that will compel potential buyers to come take a look at the home in the real-world?

I've re-staged properties before when clients are not satisfied with their initial staging. This is not a good situation for a realtor whose client has a more highly developed sense of style than the realtor. When this happens, the client may have lost that critical window of time when the home first goes on the market with sub-standard staging.

In a nutshell, if a realtor has great right-brain skills, is fond of hauling furnishings in and out of homes every month, if they like to exercise their project management skills in organizing bins, scheduling furniture rentals, power shopping at 1am at Walmart, dealing with movers, UHaul trucks, and then doing all the things they need to do on the real estate end of things, by all means, they should take a class and become a Real-a-Stagent!

If, however, they think that the main things they will be doing are placing some towels in the bathrooms and sprinkling silk plants around the property to "warm things up a bit", they might want to think again....

...then look for a stager who has a portfolio that impresses them and a website that demonstrates that the stager has been in business long enough to be a professional at what they do...just like the realtors they serve!


 

Janis, the words you use to separate the one's who "Have it" from the ones who do not are exceptional.  I think many of us struggle to describe the art part of a stagers profession, but intuition really describes it very well.  It's always uncomfortable trying to describe why someone should not attempt staging because most of the words that come to mind are so negative.  Intuition on the other hand is a very neutral description of something you either have or don't.  What a great choice of words.  I feel very comfortable saying "If you have the intuition, then by all means you should educate yourself and perform the work.  If you do not, find what you do have an intuition for and knock yourself out."  Thank you.

Gary - I'm glad if the words I used will help you with your clients in the future. It is a challenge to speak in positive terms and not offend  clients. Another thing I have observed but don't usually articulate to my clients is that about 10% of the population have that high visual acuity and do a great job of staging. Another 30% think they can. The remaining 50-60% have no clue and admit it.

The most challenging ones are that 30% who think they can.

Cindy - Will look forward to your next blog! 

Cindy, thanks for including my post in you Carnival of Real Estate Home Staging.  It was a pleasure to learn more about staging by taking the class last fall.

Thanks for taking the time to put it together.I will check out the links.