Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Home Staging?
A: Neither magic nor any shady practice, Home Staging is a proven technique used to enhance your home’s features while de-emphasizing any potential negatives. It combines elements of design, decorating, organizing, neutralizing and streamlining.

Q:Why Stage?
A: Staged homes have more impact in listing photos, on Realtors' websites, at open houses and stand out to potential buyers. It is popular throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe and growing.

Q: What is an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP)?
A: An Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) trains through Staged Homes—founded by Barb Schwarz, the pioneer and creator of the Staging concept. Only an Accredited Staging Professional has been trained under strict guidelines using techniques developed over 30 years, to ensure that you get what you pay for. Visit the Links section of this site for more resources about Staging.

Q: My house looks pretty good. Why should I hire a Stager?
A: The way you live in a house and the way you sell a house are two different things! It is important to streamline the home so that it appeals to the largest number of potential buyers. As an Accredited Staging Professional, I bring an expert eye with design skills and experience to help maximize your home's sales potential.

Q: Who pays for the staging services?
A: There are several ways to go about this:
- The homeowners pay the cost of Staging.
- The Realtor may pay the initial consultation fee and ask the homeowner to pay for any extra services their property requires.
- The homeowner can make the initial investment in Staging with the understanding that once the house is sold by htier Realtor, they will receive a refund for the consultation fee.
- The Realtor  can offer to pay the cost of staging as an incentive for the homeowner to choose them to sell the property.

Q: What if the house is vacant?
A: Vacant properties are especially hard to show due to the fact that they rely on the buyers to use their imagination and make the extra effort to picture themselves in the house. They have a tendency to feel cold and unwelcoming. The listing pictures don’t grab buyer’s attention like they should. Staging Places works with you as the Realtor or the homeowner to decide on a case by case basis what each vacant property needs. Depending on the size and time involved, the price will vary. We set up a time to look at the property and from there Staging Places will propose a bid for the job.