What to expect when you’re expecting a stranger, I mean a stager.
Once you’ve given a heads up on the client you are passing along into our care, there are more practical items on the list of the staging experience.
Farrington Staging considers the homeowner as our client. We consider ourselves a part of your team. In that role, we are there to make you look good.
We speak to your clients in the most respectful way about your expertise and your guidance in the selling process. We have staged hundreds of homes and as we are actively working in the design industry, feel like we have a good handle on creating a captivating home, but we know that your number one goal is creating a beautiful home that will draw buyers in, whether through online pictures or in-person showings.
Here are some good tips to bear in mind when engaging with a stager:
Speak to your client about WHY you are choosing to bring in a stager. Selling a home is more like a different language than designing a home. It attempts to speak to as many people as possible and remove much of the particular story or mystique of the seller so potential buyers don’t become entranced in the home’s former story. The home’s story and its new occupants are what attracts and eventually gets a buyer to sign. A stager mediates between home and asset. We look for ways to draw attention to great aspects of the home and then may create interesting distractions to draw the buyer’s eye away from less attractive elements. Overall, let the seller know that a stager is coming in for their benefit.
As most agents know, we advise the seller to pre-pack all personal and family photos.
In speed stages and enhanced staging, let the buyer know that the stager will most likely be creating piles of goodies that can be packed away in preparation for a move or donated. It’s very helpful to have boxes on-site to make the process smoother.
If space allows, move all packed boxes to the garage, storage pod or facility so they aren’t covering up valuable square footage inside the home.
Don’t pack everything before the stager comes. This includes books, vases, pottery, lamps, trays. We use a lot of those goodies and far prefer to place familiar styling goods in the home so it still feels comfortable for the seller.