Can't we all just get along? Stagers vs. Realtors® vs. Sellers.

Bravo Sheri! Very well said!

Sheri,  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! I have only been here 90 days-ish but from the very start my blogs have been about how most Realtors are overlooking a valuable resource to GROW their business by not investigating further and building positive and favorable working relationships with local service providers.  Thru cooperation between the areas of expertise there is MUCH opportunty to enhance a Realtor's reputation, branding, and bring MORE business to their door as I pointed out some of my experiences in my blog: "Vendor's Cold Call Resulted in More Business to Realtor(s)"

Now you have taken the time to also list the positive and favorable history you have had by cooprerating closely with a Realtor and expanding and enhancing their/your business proposition.  Hopefully, Realtors are listening.

Quick Comment on Carrying Costs:

Some Stagers buy their own furniture - Some Stagers rent furniture from a rental company.  Both have their own carrying costs, but if you can imagine receiving a monthly rental bill every 30 days a home is on the market on the hope of an eventual sale... It's a risky proposition. Last time I rented, it was $300/month minimum, and that only got you a couple of rooms worth. It can get into thousands of dollars pretty quickly.

Lastly, well said, Sheri! Glad you threw your hat in the ring!

There are really a lot of opinions on how valuable stagers are in the equation of selling a home.

However, I'm willing to bet that if we could work as a team in getting the home sold, take our commissions as a team, and sell the homes quicker and for more money (which I believe can be done with staging), we could build a strong unit with the seller, who would turn around and recommend us as a team.

Many stagers including myself would most likely be willing to wait for their fee until closing but not there expenses.   Waiting for a ? $___ fee is one thing.  Waiting for rent and monies paid out is another.

A realtor who works with me on every listing deserves a break and I would wait for my fee at closing.  I know that he prices the houses right and markets them hard.

Aloha Matt,

Thanks for the thought provoking post. I consider myself a Real Estate Merchandiser and staging is just one tool we use to merchandise a property. I work with a Real Estate and property management firm here in Honolulu and most of the time I never communicate with the owner of a property, instead I work at the behest of the property manager in the case of a rental or the Realtor in the event of a sale.

When it comes to the sale of a property a presale inspection is usually suggested if the property is over 15 years old. When budgeting our merchandising efforts, we first address any issues concerning the condition of the property that might curtail the sale and then we look to staging. Usually we have to squeeze out a meager budget for staging as it is usually low on the priorities list but most of the time we do provide staging especially in condo buildings where there are multiple units on the market. I have even worked with Realtors who refuse to call staging, staging at least when it comes to the invoice. Instead they opt to call it decor arrangement to alleviate any concerns their clients might have to the effectiveness of this relatively new profession. I think Real Estate Merchandising will supplant the rather narrow service provisions of Home Staging with a broader list of services that incorporates remodeling, repair, marketing and merchandising all under the direction of the REA. So as a merchandiser it is in my best interest to find a qualified and experienced Realtor who does the selling of my services for me while I focus on the design and execution. Its the perfect marriage in my opinion.

Most home buyers have a home inspection before they close on their home.  The home inspector shows up at the house, spends some time performing his evaluation, and produces a report with his findings.  I do not know any home inspectors that wait to get paid until the potential home buyer closes on their home to get paid.  This service is not required, it is an additional service that is beneficial to the potential home buyers.

If I was to have some landscaping design work performed on my property in the hopes of selling my home more quickly, my landscaper certainly would not expect to wait until I sold my home to receive his first check.  I can sell my home without fixing the landscaping, it will most likely take longer.

Home staging is not a required service to sell every home.  Not every home requires a professional home staging consultation.  A home needs to be of a certain value (at least $350,000) and based on the realtor's opinion a home stager should or should not be called in.  A home stager should be paid at the time of service.  We are talking about a few hundred dollars for the average home staging consultation, not a few thousand.  I know this board has been discussing holding off paying stagers and bundling Realtor and stager commissions together, but to me it does not make sense to go to all this trouble for such a small amount of money.

Home Staging is a field that closely resembles interior design and home decorating, both of these fields DO expect to get paid at the time of service.  Custom window treatments is another closely related field, and this field will require payment up front or a deposit for materials.

Not all Realtors have or want to take the time to involve staging into their marketing plan or understand the true benefit of a stager.  Not all sellers need a stager.  Those who do, usually benefit from a clean, uncluttered, as close to flawless and appealing listing. I am not in competetion with my realtor, I work with the client with no involvement with the realtor.  I am respected as a professional in my field and employed to do the task.  Yes, realtors can point out and suggest to their client many of the things that I would do but, does a productive realtor have time and hours, to spend urging and trying to motivate the client to move forward with the staging?  My realtors don't.  Just as realtors put much time into a single listing, so does the stager.  Stagers do not just tell the client to put flowers in a vase and declutter the library bookcase.  Many hours are spent advising, staging, motivating and following up on a well prepared listing.  Staging is often taken for granted.  Ex.  If a listing is not staged, a window screen that has a tear or better yet, should have been taken off or the base boards are dirty, those flaws will be noticed more often than the base boards that are clean and the screens did not distract.  This being the thought, one wrong, one item needing to be fixed is more costly than none to be found.  How many price reductions are based upon, the light switch not working, the kitchen sink faucet being grimmy, and the sheetrock with a seam showing.  If the flaw were not there, there would be no reason to reduce the price in that given area.  This is not meant to offend anyone, it is meant to inform joint parties that each employed party is beneficial to the sale of the listing.

Hi, Matt!  Great discussion here and on the other blog that started this as well.  I took a staging class a year ago and found it to be very valuable.  Though I already have a design background, more education doesn't hurt.  In the class, the instructor claimed the same as mentioned before, sells fast and for more money. I raised my hand and said that it's also important that the property is priced correctly.  Well, I could have sworn I grew two heads.

Anyway, I notice that just like the real estate market, staging is pretty much local...meaning metropolitan areas tend to be more aware (and utilize) staging than the general population.  There shouldn't be animosity between the two industries...we don't compete directly but we complement each other.

I do want to see impartial statistics to back up the claim though. 

I really don't believe that home sellers should only pay for staging if the home sells.  It works for realtors because if the house doesn't sell nobody gains.  Now if I were to go stage a house with the agreement that the client only pays if the house sells and it doesn't, I'll walk away with nothing, and the home seller has a completely re-decorated home at no cost.  Also, unlike a realtor, I have no control with regards to marketing the home.  I can't hold open houses and promote the property.  It really wouldn't work in my opinion. 

On the other hand, some agents these days are stagers themselves.  In this case contingensy would work because the agent has the selling power. 

Thanks for this post Matt, wish I would have found it sooner. Still a newbie to AR. I was ironically looking for Realtor's objections to hiringor suggesting a stager and poof there this was.

The first most obvious is the upfront cost, however what is that cost? What does staging mean to you? I get the impression that along with the first mention of staging there is a huge stigma to emptying the wallet. Well with Vacant staging that will for sure be the case. Furniture rental whether it be from the stager or a furniture rental company will run into several hundred dollars per month at a very min. and then there is the cost of the intense labor of the stager and his/her team.

I'm not sure if I was inturpreting correctly, but is it that Realtors and sellers understand staging of an occupied home to mean the same thing and have the same process as a vacant? Replacing their furnishings and decor with rentals? Some Stagers may actually do this and or others may just rent out their accessories.

Personally I do not stage vacant properties, I prefer not to hire a team so I will not speak further on that issue. My process is more on a Redesign using what the sellers already have as much as possible. There are three phases of preparing a home for sale in my process:

#1 Suggested cosmetic changes such as paint, flooring, lighting, bathroom fixtures & mirrors, etc.

Now can a Realtor make these suggestions? Sure some can, the difference is that a Stager will usually assist in the replacement decisions.

#2 Go throught the home with the seller and point out what and why items need to be packed up now. Rearrange the sellers furniture, lighting, artwork and accessories using principles of design. (proportion, scale, rhythm, style, balance & emphasis).

#3 If necessary recommend accessory purchases to further enhance the visual appearance and feel of the house. Offer shopping service.

I am not trying to sell myself here, I'm merely pointing out that there are many levels of staging and different Stagers offer different levels of service (not to be confused with quality) for a wide range of costs.

Matt this takes me to your partnership commission for Stager, how can anyone charge 1% for a Stager when there are so many variables concerning the amount of staging truly required? When I look back at my training or articles I've read it is suggested that staging cost approximately 1% of the sale of your property, however my case in point not all houses need a full package. One may need a complete overhaul while another is almost there, however something just isn't right and neither Realtor or seller can quite put their finger on it. You said it Matt:

"...stagers...do best. Have an eye for the details that I and the seller may not see."

I don't really put myself in the same category as an inspector either, however staging is a service based industry as mention in other comments; painters, landscapers, etc. You mentioned your handyman, do you pay him at closing?

With that being said, I love that you have generated so much buzz and our industries are talking. It is about keeping an open mind. I'm looking forward to more discussion and working toward that solution-I know I'm late joining, however you said you were going to write a follow-up so I'll be watching for it.

Sorry I missed the opportunity to help you win re-blogger, just saw that today-one day late.

Matt,

I absolutely LOVE this post.  This model works for my company since not only do we stage we also help our agents market the properties.  I have a vested interest in getting these properties sold, just like the agents we work with do. We create this kind of partnership with a few select agents. Does this work for every home? No. Will it work with every agent? Absolutely not.  Does it work with agressive agents who see the value in only taking a listing they know will sell because it is priced right, staged, and the clients are motivated? Absolutely! If I was in TX, I would be thrilled to partner with you like this. Kudos for thinking out of the box. Agents like you are the ones that change the way real estate is bought and sold.

Hmmm .. interesting post and a vast array of responses on this subject.

First - as a professional staging designer, I have to say that this business model has the potential to be successful but only with some serious tweaking. My company does not, as yet, offer a deferred payment plan. The reasoning is simple: if we were to do that then we would no longer be in business. It's not a question of risk as so many realtors have pointed out, its a question of sound business practices for stagers. I am not a realtor and cannot claim to know all the costs you incur to sell a home however as a home stager I can tell you unequivocally that unless we were gifted with the lottery or were very rich, we wouldn't be able to handle the monthly outlay of cash required to keep a staged property (specifically a vacant staged property) in show condition.

I keep seeing this point on costs made over and over by stagers in this thread however very few realtors actually acknowledge what they are saying.  I agree we need to work together - I have posted great blog entries about this - but its vital that realtors understand that the risk they are asking struggling stagers to make can effectively kill their business and in hurt them financially. If my partner and I did this and we lost money, we could very easily take a huge hit financially. We provide an essential real estate service however this service has innate strings attached and the carrying costs are beyond many talented stagers if they are not paid.

So here is something that no one has mentioned so far:

Staging vacant homes requires rental furnishings which are rented on a month to month basis. The costs can be anywhere from $500 - $5000 a month. If the stager deferred payment on their services and agreed upon a certain commission percentage, what happens if that property never sells? What happens if that property sells but it sits on the market so long that the stager has actually lost money - both from the rental and then with all that "extra" time they are motivated to put in? Recently we staged a condo - we brought in a painter, replaced hardware in bathrooms/kitchen, replaced light fixtures and then brought in all the furnishings to completely stage it. The agent wasn't sold on the staging, the condo didn't generate an offer in the first month and the seller decided to remove the staging for the second month as it was too expensive. If we had opted to get paid at the end, then we would have lost almost $6,000.  

For occupied homes, deferred payment structures may work. However, typically for occupied homes the staging costs aren't usually that high. We offer a great Blossom package which incorporates staging time and the first month's accessory rental of a boatload of our stunning home decor items such as mirrors, art, bedding, pillows, florals and more .. for only $595! The price point really isn't high enough that deferred payment should even be an option. If more is required for a home such as painting or flooring upgrades - as much as its a stager's job to recommend these changes its not up to us to front the cost for paying for these services. These tradespeople would never agree to being paid after the house sold and it does not make sense to ask a stager to carry those costs either.

We work hard to create partnerships with realtors; we offer them discounted rates on staging services, we keep them informed every step of the way on both our recommendations and progress with a property and we are diligent about following up on properties we have staged. We want to know the feedback - good or bad - and we will go back to a property to tweak it if the response has been less than favourable. We provide our realtors with small photo albums of our "before & afters", we give them a monthly newsletter with sourced out articles, stats and relevant industry information. We have made up a pamphlet for them to give to sellers which helps sellers understand what we do and what to expect for their consultation. We are always trying to think of ways we can help the realtors we work with - we pick their brains as often as we can to ensure that we're not missing something.

In terms of the deferred payment I think more stagers might be open to it if:

1) Stagers were paid regardless of whether or not the house sold - this way they would not be forced out of business by carrying huge monthly costs for rentals

2) Tradespeople and materials (countertops/flooring etc) were paid up front, by the sellers

3) A contract was made up, giving the agent a specific amount of time to sell the home (ie. 60 days) - if the house sold, then all was good and everyone would get paid. If the house did not sell, the stager was paid up to date for all costs incurred and the sellers could then opt to try for another 60 day period. All 3 parties would sign this contract - this would motivate the agent to sell the home, the stager to do the best job possible and the seller to keep the staging "show worthy"

4) If the house sold in less than 30 days and for either the listing price or above the listing price, the stager would be given a bonus in addition to the agreed upon commission - great motivator for stagers!

I think, bottom line, its essential to find a stager who is talented, passionate and dedicated to helping everyone involved in the real estate process. Motivating a stager to do his/her job means you have the wrong stager. A great stager will follow up regardless of the payment schedule and will go the extra mile to ensure that regardless of the size of the space, its beautifully staged!

As a stager, I would love to team with a realtor. If we used a contract to cover the staging expenses it could be done effectively and would benifit all parties involved.

Selling anything is all about the marketing. A house is a product the minute it goes on sale and must be presented to outshine the competition, which is where staging pays off. Love the beer marketing analogy. 

Re: Brian's comment on the 1,000,000 houses having better furniture than a stager could provide, that's true, but I have seem many million dollar plus homes that still are in dire need of decluttering and some rearrangment. Many are also too taste specific ( or tastless) and that can kill a deal.

Would like to hear from realtors in California's Central Valley on their opinions on the topic of realtor/stager teaming. linda@sellingbydesign-staging.com

We all know that staging shows good results. But I think that Stagers and Realtors not supposed to discuss each other's payment policies it will just increase our confrontation. What we need to think about is how to educate our sellers that investment in staging is rewarding and will help to sell their house faster. Please leave a comment on my blog How to educate seller to invest in home staging?

Great post :)  Sheds some light on areas that I haven't thought about !