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Home Staging Anyone
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That was an exceptional post. I can understand by your post alone that you have what it takes to be successful. If I were to enter into the home staging business, you would definitely be the person from whom I would seek advice.
Thanks for joining. It`s so important that Startup Nation has successful people to help guide others. I would love to hear more about your personal experiences and especially how you handled some of your more difficult clients as that is a subject of particular concern. I expect that your knowledge will branch into other areas of business and will serve to help people that have nothing at all to do with the Staging business.
Many thanks!
~Eric
Thank you for the excellent information. I am so grateful to gather solid info from someone out there doing actual staging! I checked out your site and have seen alot of websites for stagers...I am confident that it`s only a matter of time before I begin to see an upturn in business. Actually in the last 60 days I have seen an increase in my own business. I am patient and believe all things happen for a reason. Again, thanks for the info and keep on staging!
Gerri
I stumpled upon this site and was excited about it`s existance. I am just starting a course on home staging and am very excited about it as well as a little nervous.
Years ago, when a neighbor was about to list her house she asked for me to come and see what I could do to help it sell. I went through it and made some changes on furniture placement and made suggestions on de- cluttering and such. Back then, I never realized their was a name to doing that. Now to find out that there is an actual business for it is great. Now comes the scary part, getting started. I have no idea how to do that.
There are many houses in my neighborhood currently on the market and they are not moving, partially because the market has slowed down, but mostly because they are not "stagged". I was thinking about sending out a letter to the homeowners, offering my services. I don`t expect payment yet because I`m not certified but it would provide me with experience and hopefully if I do I good job testimonals and before and after pictures.
Do you think that is a good idea? Or should I wait until I get my certification? I would appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks,
Laurasouthrynladie2006-9-22 10:33:7
I will visit the link you supplied to me and hopefully that will help out, but again I will take any suggestions that you could give. You have been doing this for sometime and obviously are successful at it. I hope to achieve that success in my area.
Again, thanks for the advice
Laura
I love the advices given to you, but I think we should start discussing the specific strategies that you can implement immediately.
First of all, recognize that you have a big challenge of marketing something to the customer base that really still are not convinced that they absolutely NEED your services. The ball`s in your court to convince the prospect that the service you provide is NECESSARY and logical, not a fancy little feng shui-like session. From my experience, home staging is still considered by average home seller in the same category as feng shui, something of a unncessary but a nice touch kind of a thing. So educate them the facts of the market (it`s gradually settling into a buyer`s market for most of the housing markets) and the challenges they face in this market, they`ll be more inclined. About one out of every 1,700 homes in the US foreclose every year, many of them due to the fact they sat idle on the market not being presented or marketed well. We have in-house stagers who also are pro-level photographers and do multiple things. Packaging your service with other items can work wonders for you as well. But this is open to debate. Too many things can also make you lose focus.
Second, work with REALTORS! Real Estate market is a big giant spider web of different industries coexisting and cohabitating. If you form a mutually beneficial with real estate agents, they will come running. I highly recommend doing a kick-back program and reward people who bring you referrals. If you choose to ignore the realtors or anybody sending business for that matter, you will not only appear to be stepping on their toes (Realtors are jealous types, they like to be the ones giving full spectrum of advices on the sellers` homes), but risk losing business opportunities. Network with them, make long-lasting relationships with them, and you will come out a winner.
Also don`t forget the FSBO markets. They`re a do-it-myself bunch, and very frugal spenders usually, but because of the fact that they`re flying solo, they might appreciate your service even more.
The list is endless... MLS photographers, termite inspection company, escrow officers, title insurance officers, professional real estate investors like myself, etc, etc.
Most importantly, back up all the marketing strategies with good service. Make note of days it took the property to sell or # of showings it had (easily available via any realtor or internet) and incorporate them into your marketing presentation. Take good high-res photos of the services you`ve done. Portfolios are a good idea, but be cost-sensitive. At the end of the day, it`s the photos that sell the services, but you, the person. People really buy the people, not their products.
As far as terms of payment go, make sure you incorporate some important legal language in your contract. A lawyer will tell you that the most important clause is something that goes like "in the event of dispute, the loser shall pay winner`s full attorney costs". Use "Shall" whenever you can, because it`s the only recognized difinitive term (no "can" or "may" or "should"s) Sounds hostile, but this is absolutely crucial in any business contract and is one of the most commonly omitted item by small business owners. A poor man`s way to research contract terms is to ask another veteran in the field to see their service contracts pretending to be a customer.
You must be flexible in terms of payment. Take all major credit cards (not that expensive).You can set it up so that the payment will be wired by an escrow officer directly to you upon the close of transaction, by adding a simple term in Addendum, a real estate purchase contract supplement. Something simple like "Sellers shall pay Laura`s Sexy Home Staging Services, Inc. $10,000 upon C.O.E." Make sure to bullet-proof that by doing a seperate official contract that states "Mr. and Mrs. Sellers shall pay $10,000 to LSHSS, Inc. immediately upon C.O.E. In the event of the cancellation of Escrow, regardless of whatever the reason, the Client shall pay Provider $10,000 within 15 days. On the 16th day of non-payment, a non-refundable late fee of $25 will be accrued to total amount owed consecutively blah blah blah.." you get the point.
I do have to catch a plane, but I will be back on the forums later. Hope this helps.
Thank you for recommending people to work with REALTORS!!! Many people don`t know there is a difference between working with a real estate agent and a REALTOR. Anyone with a real estate sales license can be a real estate agent. Yet a licensed real estate agent can only become a REALTOR if they are a member of the National Association of Realtors and have take an oath to uphold the 17 articles which compose our profession`s code of ethics.
In your posting, you had mentioned the words "kick-back program". I would hope a REALTOR would not engage in a kick-back type relationship. After all, we are a heavily regulated profession and our credibility is dependent on our professional integrity.
Regarding "(Realtors are jealous types, they like to be the ones giving full spectrum of advices on the sellers` homes)", I disagree with the statement. Knowing the realtionship of Realtor and client, I understand that when a client hires a REALTOR they are hiring a professional for a specific service. After a REALTOR` s services are retained, a REALTOR`s role is to work in their client`s best interest for the marketing of their client`s home within the knowledge of the current market conditions and trends. Therefore having a home stager to work with client`s on cleaning, decluttering, and providing a more visually appealing facade can actually be a benefit to the marketing efforts.
As a Realtor, I welcome the opportunity to grow my networks because every person I meet has the potential to refer one or more clients to me. In addition, having the ability to refer the services of other vendors gives me a good reason to stay in contact with past clients and potential clients. Then when those clients are ready to move or they know someone who is thinking of buying or selling I will have a better chance of getting their referrals.
RealtorNicole2006-9-22 22:14:45
Thank you so much for all the advice. I think I am a "go-getter", it`s just the getting started part that has me stuck. I am working on getting out letters to introduce myself to my neighbors that currently have their houses on the market. I will start there, I guess I really just don`t know what to charge if anything at this point. I understand in previous comments, that I should charge for my services, but I don`t know what to charge at this point. Right now for me, getting referrals and before and after pictures are just as important as getting paid, because it`s a starting place.
If anyone has any other suggestions, again, I`m up for the advice.
Thanks again
Laura
I agree with you about the "kick-back" statement, I don`t want that kind of working relationship. I do want to make my way into the industry by working with realtors. Do you have any suggestions? Before contacting the neighbors whose houses are on the market, should I contact their realtor?
When I decided to make a career change and do this my initial thought was to be a "sub contractor" and work with both home owners and realtors. It`s the getting started part that I`m not sure how to do. Which do I do first?
Keep the ideas and suggestions coming, I appreciate all the help.
Thanks
Laura
How you market to realtors depends on the market niche you are trying to get your message to. As a baseline in residential real estate, there are: new construction; income properties; for sale by owners; entry level homes; fine homes and luxury homes.
If you want to build a working relationship with a realtor then consider checking your local paper for open houses. Then attend the open house and introduce your services to the Realtor. Give them two brochures of your services: one for them to keep and another for the homeowner. However, be mindful of others who are previewing the house because even though a only small percentage of homes sell from open houses it does happen.
Many of the home stagers I work with, will work within a client`s budget. They will do as little or as much as the client is willing to pay for. Up until recently I had the one home stager who would charge me for a one hour consultation with the client; but within the past few weeks I intereviewed three other homestagers who won`t charge me for the client consultation. Those three homestagers will provide the client with a written estimate which doesn`t have any specific recommendations on it. If the client would like to purchase their detailed written report they can do so but the cost is $150 to $300+ depending on the square footage. Three of the four homestagers will provide a detailed report free of charge if their services are purchased to conduct some or all of the recommended work. All contracts for services are between the home stager and the client and payment is expected at the time services are rendered.
Keep those thoughts and suggestions coming.
Laura
I recently started an Interior Redesign and Real Estate Staging business in TN. You can go to my website www.weredesign.com</A> , then "locate a specialist" and click on your state to get an idea of how others in your area set up their fees.
Hope it helps.
Christine Trebendis
Rooms Revealed
christine@roomsrevealed.com</A>
www.roomsrevealed.com</A>
I think Realtor Nicole is right, there`s nothing wrong with you setting up your payment policy such that your clients paying you at the time the services are completed and not waiting until closing. There may be some clients that perhaps due to financial reasons would like to wait to pay you from the proceeds of their home sale, however you can always treat those as case by case. Just be sure to stipulate in your contract with those clients that should they decide to take the property off the market, that payment is due at that time.
There`s a huge opportunity for home staging where I live (Washington DC/ Northern VA). We have a lot more housing inventory this year. And there are a lot of homes in need of staging help. A good example: I just listed a condo in a community of 150 units with 12 units actively on the market. Many of them were sitting 120+ days, and most were vacant - my listing included. I went in and staged it with some small furniture pieces and decorating items and it really looked nice. We received an offer within 2 weeks of having it on the market! The buyer and his agent commented that it showed very well compared to the others...
Good luck in your staging venture!
Thank you for the comments. I just got an e-mail today from a client who had her property on the market for just over a year. I staged it and it sold in 10 days!!!!! Staging works. Good luck with your new place!
Thanks,
Gerri