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Do you have any questions? Top 5 a homeowner or Real Estate Agent should ask a Home Stager!

By Michelle & Joe Kaspari

Home Stager with Essential Home Staging

June 17, 2008 11:33 AM

Do you have any other questions?

I often find myself asking this question to clients during a bid proposal. Typically this is after a review of our homeowner or realtor staging packet. If my clients are anything like me they will think of a great question just after I have walked out the door.

Education is priceless! Especially when it comes to HUGE investments such as a single family home.

Because of this we provide our clients with a few questions that may have, unfortunately only came after we parted our ways.

Questions to ask when hiring a home stager...

1. Are they Licensed? According to the State of California, designers or relevant trades are required to obtain a "Special" Business License. This allows consumers relevant information regarding their business practices. A Professional Home Stager should always be able to provide their licensing information.

2. Are they insured? Although it is not required by law, Professional Home Stagers should be insured for any potential damages. While Professional Home Stagers use extreme caution staging there is a possibility of potential damages occuring. Who will incur the costs should damages arise?

3. Do they have a portfolio of their work? Don't assume the photos you have seen on their website are their own. It has been discovered on the Internet, that some Home Stagers are "borrowing" photos from other Staging websites and passing them along as their own. A Professional Home Stager should be able to provide you with a portfolio at the time of consultation.

4. Can they provide references or have testimonials? Like any other contracted services, it is important to check references of previous clients. Was the client pleased with the outcome of the Staging or redesign process? Where there any challenges that came up, and if so, how were they handled?

5. What is their background? With today's Internet community, it is extremely easy to become "certified" in any profession. Look for a Home Stager that has had work in the 'Visual Merchandising' or 'Interior Design' field. People with these backgrounds will have more ideas for challenging spaces. They have been responsible for creating environments that appeal to 'buyers'

The goal here is to give a prospective client enough information to make an educated decision on investing in a Professional Home Staging Company.

For more information or answers to your questions please call Essential Home Staging at (916) 402-6098 or visit www.essentialstaging.com

Joe Kaspari, Essential Home Staging, LLC

Comments(12)

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Carol Perez

Tarbell Realtors - Upland, CA

I would have never thought of a home stager needing to be licensed

Jun 17, 2008 11:34 AM

Carey Pott

January Financial - Foothill Ranch, CA

I had no idea that stagers should be licensed and insured - thanks for letting us in on a valuable fact of the business!

Jun 17, 2008 11:34 AM

Michelle & Joe Kaspari

Essential Home Staging - Sacramento, CA

Essential Home Staging, Sacramento

Licensed? Yep it's required to be in business. Big or small a Professional Home Staging Company is certainly a business. Insurance although not required is really really smart. For all involved!

Thanks for the comments! Glad to be helpful!

Joe

Jun 17, 2008 11:43 AM

Susan Hilton

CENTURY 21 Beal, Inc. - College Station, TX

Texas Aggie Real Estate, College Station Bryan Texas Real Estate

It seems that "everyone" is a stager now! Thanks for the list of things to ask.

Jun 17, 2008 11:52 AM

Lori Kim Polk

Premiere Home Staging : Home Staging Services - Roseville, CA

Home Stager - Roseville, Sacramento

Hey there Joe. Great Blog and super points! You are right... a legitimate business needs to be licensed and insured. Some people can get away with a DBA though. As long as the taxes are paid.. uncle Sam is happy. Unfortunately, many clients have a hard time differentiating the difference when PRICE is their only option. It makes it really hard when we have gone through all the ropes to have a viable, honest, professional business.......... and some "Sally wannabee Stager" comes in and undercuts "the professionals" because of the price. True ... you can't make a living by doing that. But overall, it hurts us all. Education, education, EDUCATION across the board is key.

Jun 17, 2008 03:18 PM

Lori Kim Polk

Premiere Home Staging : Home Staging Services - Roseville, CA

Home Stager - Roseville, Sacramento

Please post this to localism too! What is presented here is very important.

Jun 17, 2008 03:20 PM

Kathy Passarette

Creative Home Expressions - Mount Sinai, NY

L.I. Staging/Decorating

Michelle ~ Good questions. Here in New York only interior designers need to be licensed by the state. The only thing I had to do was file my DBA with the county. Insurance is a definite - it was one of the first things I looked into when I started my business.

Jun 18, 2008 12:20 AM

Michelle & Joe Kaspari

Essential Home Staging - Sacramento, CA

Essential Home Staging, Sacramento

Leave it to California! We put a nail in a wall. Such as hanging artwork and we need a SBL (Special Business License). Your DBA is in essence a standard business license. I think we would be surprised at how many "home Stagers" do not even have a DBA. Let alone insurance. Maybe not here on AR but i'm sure they are out there!

Kathy, thanks for the info!

Jun 18, 2008 02:36 AM

Sharon Tara

Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH

Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

Very good list of questions that all sellers or realtors considering hiring a stager should ask.

Jun 18, 2008 03:19 AM

Fernando Rosado

West Palm Beach, FL

561-906-0050 or 561-840-8950

Is this posted twice? I just comment it on it ! On the other one. Heres my comment again

I dont agree with all of this. You do not need to be a designer to deal with challenging spaces, a person with a good eye can deal with those odd corners...I know I have and eventhough I have my accreditation as an ASP this is innate in me. ou could have a Master Degree in Design and not be good at it !!! There are many designers out there who are jumping on the "staging wagon" because the HGTV generation has learn, keep learning new things to do and ideas and love to do it themselves. This has taken many "designers" to start staging, and honestly these are 2 completely different things. Thankfully in Florida we do not need a "special Business license". I would never advertise myself as a designer but yes as a decorator.

The Insurance is really up to the individual owner, its to protect their inventory, so its a risk they should take. At the end of the day it is your charisma, rapport , and portfolio the ones getting us the jobs.

If you need to protect your pictures on your website watermark them. I have shared before and after pics of my work with stagers that are starting, as I love to give and help!

And please make sure your business license is active and business tax receipts.

Sincerely

Fernando

Jun 18, 2008 01:32 PM

Michelle & Joe Kaspari

Essential Home Staging - Sacramento, CA

Essential Home Staging, Sacramento

Great points Fernando! I agree with you that a degree does not necessarily mean you will do quality work. I also agree that some people (stagers) have "it". That "it" factor that you can't buy and that seperates you from the rest of the pack. Fernando, you know what I'm talking about cause you have "it".

However, I do think that experience is priceless. Whether that is hands on or education.

For example: As a visual merchandiser in the furniture industry, you are presented challenges with space planning, accesory placement, and stylistic choices every day. Setting multiple vignettes (sometimes up to 40 per week) that create flow and appeal to many buyers.

With that said, his type of experience should be desireable to a potential client.

I also agree with you that at the end of the day carisma, rapport, and your portfolio are key in getting customers to buy your service.

These questions are simpley to help a prospective client gain information to make the best choice for their needs. And posibly deter them fom hiring an unqualified stager. We have all seen photos of bad staging right?

Lastly Fernando, as a HUGE fan of your work and your blogs I respectfully disagree with sharing photos with new stagers. We often get calls from new stagers and offer as much help as possible but believe that allowing them to use our photos could misrepresent "their" work.

As far an insurance goes, I think it is important that a business protect itself and it's customers. And agreed that it is up to the individual owner of the business to have or not. I for one would rather do business with a company that cares enough to insure itself.

Thanks for your perspective!

Joe

Jun 18, 2008 04:02 PM

Cindy Lin

Staged4more School of Home Staging - South San Francisco, CA

Host, The Home Staging Show podcast

Yup, people should have business licenses, it is a business practice after all. It still baffles me that stagers don't have insurances. With #5, not everyone does have those backgrounds but that don't make them bad stagers either. I think more importantly is their work and experiences. Education is necessary, but hands on experiences are even more important, espcially with a lot of fluffy educational courses I see out there. I think asking for portfolio is very important and making sure they are legit and true. The other important aspect is making sure that the stager in question has a sound business practice.

Cheers,

Cindy

Jun 18, 2008 06:36 PM