Stage Right

When the going gets tough, the tough get a stager. The first time I heard the term "stager" was in the late 90's at a real estate conference. I was standing near an elevator next to a group of real estate women who were talking about this concept they called "staging". Apparently someone felt there was a need to make homes look nice inside and out before offering them for sale. Staging required the right colors, the right furniture, the right ambiance.  I wasn't buying what those ladies were selling. Seemed like a gender thing and given the choice or staging or burying St. Joseph I would choose the shovel.

Today I'm convinced it is better to paint than dig and staging is a phenomenon with traction. A new business is booming and it's making a difference in a tough economy. With a professional attitude and sharp skills, the talented people of this new industry are earning the confidence of Realtors and home sellers. The business is not interior decorating, it is interior and exterior enhancing. The best people in the business are savvy about increasing the return on an investment and getting things done on a tight time schedule. I've seen houses sit on the market with no interest before staging and fly off the market with multiple offers after staging.

Staging as a business isn't for the meek and working with a stager isn't for the control freak. The effective stagers learn your objective, they balance what your expectations are with reality of the market, and they give you sound advice on how to get the biggest bang for your buck. Tough love is what you might be getting up front so you can get what you want in the end. If you need to be in control as a home owner, you might need to sharpen your letting go skills. The stager will give you a recipe for success and if you want to reduce by half-measures you're likely going to be disappointed.

In this economy, self medication is not the answer. Hire a professional stager, pay the cost of admission, and stick with the plan. I like what one stager said about her service: You don't have to hire a stager, but the staging service can be done first and it will cost you less than the amount of your first price reduction.