What Are You Paying Me For? A Four-Part Series About Price & Value – Part 3 – The Vacant Property

What Are You Paying Me For? A Four-Part Series About Price & Value

Part 3 – The Vacant Property

By Jennie Norris, ASP Master, IAHSP®, Chairwoman, IAHSP®,

President & CEO, Stagedhomes.com and Owner of Sensational Home Staging

In today’s market, many people can be confused about what they are actually paying for when hiring a professional Stager.  In my last post, I talked about the Staging Consultation and what the underlying costs are – and what you pay for when including this service as part of preparing your house for sale.  Remember, professional Stagers have business overhead and marketing expenses, and the costs to having an actual business – not just a hobby – and why it’s important to hire someone that knows what they are doing. In this post – we talk about The Vacant House.  This type of Staging has a lot of work that goes in before the actual Staging takes place.  There are different types of Vacant StagingModerate, Fully Furnished and Luxury and based on your budget and the type of property we are Staging, we will recommend the most cost-effective solution that gets your property SOLD. What we don’t want to do is say something is “Staged” when there is no furniture in the property, when the “Staging” is not going to truly help a Buyer visualize living in the house or when the quality is not of the standard based on the type of property. If you are not going to Stage it right, then don’t do it at all because you are wasting your money.  You need to invest the money up front to get your house or listing SOLD so Stage it so that it will SELL. Here is a run-down of what typically goes into Staging a vacant property: For a Vacant House: I drive to the location of the house to preview the property – typically at no charge to the client or you.  While we are there we begin to form a vision and plan for what has to be done to Stage the house.  I am not being paid at this point.   We go back to our house or office and prepare a detailed proposal – and have to research pricing for rental items and furnishings that are needed for the Staging.  I am still not being paid a dime.  This process can take hours to even days to find the exact pieces that are needed for your particular house or listing.   I put the proposal together and then share it with the client.  I answer any questions they may have about the Staging and pricing.  I negotiate.  I listen to concerns they may have and overcome them.   Hours have gone into the process at this point and I have still not been paid anything.   Once the Client agrees to the Staging, I have to send them a Staging Services Agreement and secure payment, and confirm the date for the Staging.   Then the work begins of pulling the Staging together.  I take time to source furnishings from our own inventory or outside source.  I coordinate the financial aspects of the Staging.  I pull a team together and hire them for the Staging day.  More time in the process is taken here.   Once we process the payment according to the terms of the Agreement, I finally get paid.  On Staging Day we meet early and get loaded up and ready.  80% of the Staging is completed by this point because I have been planning this project mentally and now it’s just a matter of executing the plan.    We drive to the house and get the Staging done.  I coordinate the entire project – what piece goes where, what each room should look like, and convey that to the people hired to work on the project.  The team does the set-up   Once the Staging is complete, I coordinate the return of trucks (if needed), pay for labor, and then turn to the marketing of the property.  If there are any incidences with the Staging, an insurance policy is activated and I take care of it. Our goal is to make the process as user-friendly and easy for Sellers and to get the house sold.   We take photos that we will share with Realtors as needed.  I post the property on Social Media and if I get a call from the house we Staged, the leads are passed to you as our partner in success.   And once the house Sells, the team comes back and removes everything efficiently and effectively, and restocks the inventory.   All this is done and included in the price of the Vacant Home Staging.  

Can you see why something like this would cost more than $500?

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