I have spent my life in design of one sort or another, but have only been a Certified IASHP stager for a year. With my full time corporate job keeping the design part of me working only part time, I don't have a ton of experience in home staging -- at least next to the likes of all of you! I do, however, know how to talk to people. I know how to write and present a contract. I know how to be compelling and sympathetic. I know how to help people. In fact, that's why I do this. The world is divided into two sorts of folk: those who serve, and those who are served. I'm the former. No matter what I've done in my life, the common energizing force has been that of service to others.
The fact that I can serve (help) people, and be creative is just great. The fact that I'm "new" in home staging means I've struggled with how to price these jobs, just like every other newbie. So, I stood on the shoulders of others and did what I was taught: charge accessories at 20% of their retail value, and bill your clients every month for "rental" while they're on the market. And, oh by the way, encourage them to remain staged until closing, not contract, so that if anything goes pear-shaped with the contract, their home can bounce back on the market, still staged. Okay...that's what I've been doing.
Doesn't feel good.
I today's "cool" market, homeowners are investing in deferred maintenance. The smart ones are staging their homes and hiring Realtors with contemporary marketing techniques and a strong internet presence, who are charging them a full (rather than discounted) commission. Then, they go on the market, probably at a price point lower than they had hoped. Well, the house doesn't sell right away, so here comes another mortgage payment. There goes their opportunity for a great deal on a house they'd like to buy. And before you know it, they're faced with a price drop. Adding insult to injury. here comes the envelope from their Professional Stager; that happy, lovely woman who helped them transform their home into a showplace, but wait! the happy little envelope contains an unhappy little invoice. Doesn't feel good.
Sorry folks. I can't do it anymore. I've stopped sending rental bills to my currently-staged clients, and I'm putting a little more money up front in new contracts. That way my price is my price, and isn't contingent on the homeowner keeping or not keeping their house clean, the Realtor being aggressive or not about marketing the property, nor the temperature and mood of the real estate market.
Staging, in my book, should be a positive experience for the Realtor who can bring you volumes of business, the homeowner who will tell their story at every cocktail party and business mixer for the next few months, and for me. I need to feel good about what I do, so "Begone Monthly Inventory Rentals"!
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