10 Questions to ask a prospective Home Stager

Editorial note: I am pleased to welcome Dane Caldwell as a guest author to VaughanBlog.com. Dane is lead consultant and founder of 2 Hounds Design. With her background in design and decor, Dane brings both a comprehensive and professional approach to her design consultancy business. I am confident you will value her insight and advice.

Carl Minicucci, VaughanBlog.com

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As a consumer considering hiring an interior decorator or home stager you need to do a little homework also know as due diligence. Many of these questions are generic to any service provider.

To help you I’ve provided a list of 10 Questions…and many follow-up questions:

1. How long have you been working professionally as a decorator/stager?

• This question is important to determine if you are speaking to a professional or a hobbyist. A hobbyist will tell you they’ve been ’staging’ for years for themselves, friends and family. How nice for them, however, this does not tell you if the friends and family would feel the quality of their work was good enough that they would pay for this person’s services.
• If they are just starting out, and they tell you that up front, great, you are ready to move on to the next question.

2. Do you have a portfolio I can see?

• Of course you have to get a ‘yes’ but there is more to the question than just getting a look at the persons portfolio. Follow up questions:
• Are the photos in your portfolio your own or are they ‘examples’ or photos provided by your trainer?
• Did you select the accessories, furniture, paint, etc. or was it a collaboration with others? (HINT: you want to hear that they made the selections).

3. What formal training have you received and are you certified or accredited?

• There is no such thing as a certified or accredited stager. Currently to be certified or accredited the designations are awarded by an independent (from the trainers) institution. There is no such independent institution for home staging.
• There are many fabulous decorators and stagers who are naturals with little to no training as well as those who have taking training. The point of the question is to help you find the needle in the haystack. You are placing one of your largest investments in the hands of a stranger at the very least you what to know the person you are hiring doesn’t mislead consumers by claiming false certifications.
• The point of the question above is to see if you are going to be told the truth and not meant to bash those who have taken the training. Training is a good thing…false claims of certification and accreditations is NOT.

Assuming you’ve gotten the desired responses you can continue with the questions.

3. Is your business covered by insurance?

• If the answer is yes, then request to see a copy of the ‘certificate of insurance’. If insured, they will be happy to provide it. Obviously, if the answer is ‘no’ you need to end the conversation and move on to another decorator/stager.

4. Have you worked on condo’s, lofts, houses like mine?

5. Are you familiar with the market in my area?

• A stager who lives outside of your area may not be familiar with the various buyers who will be looking for properties in your area. In the downtown core of a city it is extremely important you hire someone who specializes in the downtown as there are very many diverse niche markets with even within a single condo building. You want a professional who can market your property to each niche, not just one type of buyer.

6. Are you familiar with the expectations of buyers in my price range?

• You want someone who knows the buyers and what is expected in various price ranges. An example would be a multi-million dollar property without top of the line appliances. Buyers who are shopping for a home in this price range will not be impressed with standard appliances. They are expecting to find Sub-Zero, WOLF etc in the kitchen as well as in any other room (butler’s pantry, bar, master suite etc) with appliances.
• Another example in today’s downtown Toronto real estate market buyers expect to see upgraded counter-tops in entry level condos but not necessarily in entry level homes. You need a professional who is experienced in these details.

7. Do you have insured resources to draw on for trades people if required as well as trade discounts you could pass on to me?

• While you are not entitled to the trade discounts, some decorator’s who stage may be willing to pass on a portion of their discount to you. This could save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

8. Are you insured to act as a contractor/project manager?

• If you are not able to or willing to take on the work to be completed to prepare your property for sale you need to know your decorator/stager is insured to do this. Yes, this insurance is above and beyond the insurance discussed above. Again, you would be requesting to view the certificate of insurance.

If you’ve made it this far you are doing well and are most likely talking to a professional who is running a business not a hobbyist. The last couple of questions are about working with the professional.

9. What is your availability if you were to be awarded my project?

10. What are your rates?

• Rates vary by area but if someone offers to work for you for peanuts…well you’ve been warned here: you get what you pay for.
• Or as world famous Home Stager Debra Gould says, ‘When hiring a stager don’t be penny wise and pound foolish!’

Dane Caldwell is Lead consultant and Founder of 2 Hounds Design. Email Dane

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