From Homescape

So my home selling pets, would you like to pick a house stager but are not sure which in the bunch to hire? The fact that it seems like there are more and more people becoming home stagers almost overnight, doesn’t help simplify the dilemma.

It can be tough to know which stager you should work with, especially because staging is still relatively new in most parts of the country. But there are also many new bananas rapidly joining the staging bunch.

Staging qualifications
To make a wise and informed pick, you need to understand that a “professional stager” may just be an average green Jane or Joe who just fell out of a training tree. Many are transformed into “professionals” because they sat through a one-, two- or three-day foundation training workshop. That’s it, as little as one day, and voila! — a new staging banana with an impressive title tacked on it.

So be wise, home staging credentials that hype “trained,” “certified” or “accredited” can be a bit deceiving, especially considering that it can take as little as one day to be trained and graduated from foundation training programs. This is not to say that there are well-qualified real estate stagers who have been professional trained. But remember, above everything, the ripeness of EXPERIENCE trumps all else — even “credentials.”

Unfortunately, the home staging industry is an unregulated wild bunch. As a result, sellers are at risk, especially in a tough selling market. Picking a green stager could cost you some green. So while staging looks mighty tasty to those of you who are looking for some help, don’t blindly accept the fact that a stager who has a horde of initials after their name really knows what to do to maximize your home’s staged appeal.

Picking a ripe stager
So how can you pick out a green novice house stager from the ripe experienced stager? Well, it is not that difficult, if you keep in mind that home staging is an “image” industry.

Considering it is a stager’s job is to create a good first visual impression of home seller’s property, then a good stager needs to do the same for themselves. A good stager knows the importance of and how to present a good visual first impression of their company and their work.

To weed out amateurs from the experienced, first consider looking closely at the stager’s portfolio of work. Also, make sure that you ask the stager if they ACTUALLY staged the properties they show in their portfolio. Believe it or not, there are some foundation training programs that give green stagers a set of “starter” portfolio photos. Finally, if you have any doubts, you can always ask the stager for testimonials from past clients or references.

Considering it’s a jungle out there in the housing market, picking a stager doesn’t have to be as difficult. Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way at grabbing the ripe stager.

Staging It Forward...Craig Schiller founder of Real Estaging