What happens on a Staging Consultation?

People often ask how a consultation works and what it is I actually do as a Home Stager. When arriving at a consultation, I spend the first few minutes just talking with the homeowners and try to get a feel for the way they like doing things. It’s a good opportunity to find out if the homeowners are ready to get started or if they are uncertain of the process. Often it is the real estate professional who has contacted me and the homeowners just aren’t convinced they need the services. However, once they have seen the results no one has ever come back to me to say they didn’t require a little work to get the house sold.

To get started, I evaluate every room in the home, filling in a handbook that is left behind with the homeowner. This handbook tells the homeowner which items should be removed, repaired, cleaned and replaced; which walls, if any should be painted; and all sorts of tips for preparing their home for resale. Also taken into account is the curb appeal of their home and their back yard; both areas that are important to potential buyers.

Sometimes on a consultation, upon walking into a home, you look around and think “Oh where do I begin”?. On others, all that’s required is some de-cluttering and re-arranging of furnishings. No matter what type of consultation it is, all homeowners get the same type of service, respect and attention to detail.

Last year I had a consultation that I really had to wonder about for a little while, but once the consultation started, instinct took over and everything began to fall into place. The homeowners were great; following me around and making changes as soon as I had suggested them. The wife was thrilled that I suggested the living room be turned back to the space it was intended for as her husband had been using it as a family room, play room and computer room. They were eager to get started and knew that although they were probably going to be spending a bit to do it right, they also knew this amount would bring them top dollar when the offers were presented to them. I later got a phone call from them, apologizing for not phoning right away, but just to say that without my help they know the home would not have sold, and certainly not for the price they ended up with. That phone call just made my day. They didn’t have to get back to me, but I walked around with a smile on my face all day from that one call.

Another property on which I consulted had a recreation room that was used as a storage unit. Potential purchasers just couldn’t see past the clutter. No money was spent changing the look and feel of this area. All that was required was a little time to organize the items that hadn’t been used for years. Some things were sent to the goodwill shop, some were reused in other rooms, others were thrown out and everything else was used to make this a very pleasant sitting area. The homeowners were thrilled with the results and potential purchasers could then imagine their own furnishings and themselves in this new rec room.

My advice is to bring in a stager for a consultation and be thrilled with your results.

Annette Donald, owner of Staged by Design, is a Canadian Staging Professional? servicing Huntsville, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Muskoka, Dwight, Dorset, Novar, Port Carling, Bala, Sundridge, South River, Emsdale, Port Sydney, Barrie, Orillia, North Bay, and Lake Of Bays.

This post was found on StagingWeblog.ca
Follow the link to get to the orginal message.