Carole Morgan RESA-PRO Certified Design Special

When you decide to make the plunge into home staging there are a few things you should know. You are trusting a perfect stranger to come in and develop a strategy that will help you sell your property for as much money in as short a time as possible. Beware, this is an industry that is in its infancy and depending on what state you live in regulations for the most part are minimal or don't exist at all. Most regulation is broad to cover business but not this specific industry.

Now we have all sorts of people who have a knack or have watched HGTV for years and know exactly what to do. Shop around. Ask questions. Here is a list of comprehensive interview questions that should help you make the right decision about the home stager or home staging consultant that is the best fit for you.

Do you feel the home stager or staging consultant possess honesty, integrity and trust

Does this home stager or staging consultant have a history of Customer satisfaction

Is this home stager or staging consultant have credentials. Are they insured

How much experience does this home stager or staging consultant have. Skilled specialists

Is this home stager skilled project management

Is this home stager or staging consultant a member of any ethics driven industry related organizations

Is this home stager or staging consultant a member of the local association of REALTORS

Does this home stager or staging consultant offer a vareity of service levels.

Does this home stager or staging consultant provide rental furniture, art and accesories

Does this home stager or staging consultant accept credit cards

Is this home stager or staging consultant support local charities

Are the photographs that this home stager or staging consultant uses professional quality

What awards or recognitions has this home stager or staging consultant been awarded

Most professional home stagers have a wide variety of services, ranging from full staging of an occupied home, to full staging of a vacant home complete with furniture, art and accessories. Many home stagers also have a consulting program where they will walk you through your property and give you all the examples and detailed information you need to properly prepare your home for market. In between these services you can also ask the home stager if they have sweat equity programs. For example, StateRight Home Staging we offer professional full staging services and consulting, but we can also work with you to stage your property which results in a lower staging fee. In some cases we bring in additional art and accessories to help enhance the target approach we are taking to market a property properly.
See these examples:

This furniture is the homeowners but the accessories are from the StageRight inventory.


This property has all StageRight inventory

This property has 3rd party rentals and StageRight accessory and art inventory

In some cases StageRight will do a staging consultation and upon request we will provide furniture, art and or accessories.


Carole Morgan CEO and Owner
Certified Design Specialist-Home Staging and Redesign, Home Staging Consultant
Real Estate Staging Association RESA-PRO
Real Estate Staging Association Professional Stager of the Year Finalist, 2011
Battle Creek Area Association of REALTORS Affiliate of the Year, 2010
President Southwest Michigan Chapter of the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)
RESA Professional Stager of the Month, January 2010
RESA Professional Stager of the Year, Nominee, 2010
269.207.9632
stageright@jasnetworks.net

When you are ready to make the plunge to hire a professional home stager or home staging consultant make sure you do your homework. Because this industry is very new, especially in our area, there are very few regulations or government standards in place to insure you are hiring a professional.

I am a professional home stager and staging consultant and I see home stagers or individuals who say they are home stagers or home staging consultants come and go. They stage a few houses (typically very badly) and then they go away leaving the real home stagers holding the bad reputation baggage.

Here is how you can protect yourself by asking the right questions:

1. Ask where they received their professional training. If they do not list their training credentials in their advertising, business cards etc. they didn't receive any.

2. Ask about liability insurance. They need to have that, protect yourself and do not hire anyone without insurance.

3. Ask about affiliations. These stagers or staging consultants should have several affiliations such as the local REALTOR Associations, Staging organizations etc.

4. Ask them for references of properties they have recently prepared for market. Most non-professionals will have friends and family say their home was staged but there is little to no experience outside of that. Do recognize that everyone has to start somewhere and with the first 3 questions you have at least established that they are are on the right path to professionalism.

5.Ask if their company is incorporated. Fly by night stagers or staging consultants do not incorporate because they are in it for the money and not as a partner in your success.

6. Interview several home stagers, choose the one you feel is the best fit for you. Your home is your largest personal investment choosing the least expensive home stager or staging consultant may not be your best choice.

As a professional home stager and home staging consultant I often run into situations that are not ideal for the purpose of preparing a property for market. Just recently we were awarded a job where the homeowners had painted the entire house off white and there were no opportunities to paint. To solve this dilemma we introduced pops of color in our art and accessories to create interest, drama and to creat a flow for the potential buyer to follow while viewing the property. Our art and accessories complemented the furniture we brought in and still remained neutral enough so as not to discourage the potential buyer. The results were fantastic and we thought we would share those with you.

We just completed a large staging job on a vacant property. The property was considered a luxury property in a pretigious, gated area. The surroundings were back-to-nature. The property was on a small fishing non-motorized lake, there were cattails and water grass everywhere, it was quite serene and quiet. The property itself was very neutral in that it's color scheme was commensurate with the outdoor surroundings and had a huge open floor plan. How then to stage to feature the open space, add some color for interest and not compete with the surroundings. We tried to use accessories that were outdoorsy, reeds, lotus blossoms, water lilies, sticks, baskets and patterns that complemented the outdoors..

Our pops of color included teal, orange and green. How did we do?

Trying to set a scene without competing with the view

Carole Morgan RESA-Pro, ASP

President Southwest Michigan Chapter of RESA

RESA Professional Stager of the Year Finalist, 2011

Affiliate of the Year Battle Creek Area Association of REALTORS