Real estate marketing is a term that is being talked about more and more: for a property to achieve its sale or rental objective, it is essential that it be presented in an attractive way, to obtain the desired attention and stand out among the other houses. This work is done by a home stager who often comes, but not always, recommended by the real estate agent.
The theory behind homestaging is simple: Something well presented will soon attract the attention or interest of the prospective buyer. Buying a house is a matter of emotions and a home stager knows how to work with those emotions that make the buyer fall in love. In other words, it prepares the house in such a way that it considerably increases the possibility of falling in love at first sight.
A professional home stager offers a consultancy, indicating the advice to the owner that he must adapt in the presentation of his apartment for sale or rent, or elaborates the project in its entirety, making all the changes to present the house in its optimal state. But how can you find a professional home stager who really knows what he is talking about and not just put 2 cushions and a plant?
Just as we did in this article about how you can choose a good real estate agent, now we have put together 9 key questions that will help you choose the best home stager to prepare your apartment for sale or rent:
1-Does it make a good impression on you? What’s your first impression: Do you like how he treats you? Is it a personal treatment and are you really interested in your home? Does it answer your email, phone? Can it explain in detail what the steps and their services consist of? Remember: the home stager will go to your house and work at your house to carry out the changes. You need a certain level of trust with this person and therefore your personal opinion about him / her is worth a lot.
2-Are you associated with the AHSE? The Association of Home Staging Spain is the only professional Association of home stagers we have in our country and was founded in 2013. What is important to know is that the AHSE submits its members to a fairly strict evaluation before accepting them, based on in criteria of experience, quality and professionalism. In fact, AHSE has one of the strictest acceptance processes in all of Europe. We can conclude that today, the AHSE seal is a quality seal; Hiring an AHSE home stager is synonymous with hiring a professional who knows very well how to prepare your home for sale or rent.
3- Do you have opinions on your profiles? There is no better reference than the experience given by your previous clients. Ask him for references from his previous clients or check his website. The opinions that are given in the profiles of social networks or platforms are a good thermometer to get an idea of the assessment and evaluation that a professional has.
4-Is it expensive or is it cheap? The price of the home staging project does not say anything about the quality. Neither the most expensive is the best, nor the cheapest is the worst. But it pays to study the budget a little more and not just look at the total investment. What type and what level of material do you use? And what level will be suitable for your home? Can he show you examples of similar projects? What leasing conditions does it give? Is painting, repairs, coordination of removing existing furniture etc. included? They are all important factors to consider before making the decision.
5-Do you have before and after examples? Take a good look at his previous works to see what kind of projects he has done and to see if you like the results and qualities of his later photos. But, it is essential that you ask for one more piece of information; What budget did you have for these jobs? It is not the same, having a low budget and having changed the image of an entire house (it requires a lot of creativity and work), than having a budget to spare to be able to elaborate even reforms and change the image of a house (which requires vision, management and weather).
6- Do you work transparently and professionally? Are there ways to find out your methodology for carrying out home staging projects? Do you have an established system and a specific way of working? Does it always answer your questions? How you answer difficult questions and how you handle them is more revealing than the answer itself.
7-Is it formed? Good home staging training can make a difference in the quality and work management of a home staging project. Ask if you are trained with one of the institutes recognized by the AHSE or by an international school.
8-Are they collaborating with other companies or platforms? Aside from AHSE, a real estate stylist may also be associated with IAHSP Europe, the International Home Staging Association. There are many home stagers in Spain that are present on platforms such as Houzz and Homify (where you can see their work and ratings). It is also a good sign, if the home stager is recommended by your real estate agent, that indicates an existing collaboration between the two and confidence in their professionalism.
9-Do you have your own statistics? The best way to assess if the work of a Home Stager is effective is if it has success figures. It is important to know how long it has been possible to sell or rent the apartment and if the sale price has dropped below the average. eye! It is not only the quality of the Home Staging project that a house sells; the house has to be priced, if not, it will be very difficult to sell quickly. And let’s not forget the work of the professional real estate agent, his actions are just as important to achieve success. The combination of these three factors (a good presentation of the apartment, fair market price and the appropriate actions of the real estate agent) are what determine success.
Do you have your own statistics? The best way to assess if the work of a Home Stager is effective is if it has success figures. It is important to know how long it has been possible to sell or rent the apartment and if the sale price has dropped below the average. eye! It is not only the quality of the Home Staging project that a house sells; the house has to be priced, if not, it will be very difficult to sell quickly. And let’s not forget the work of the professional real estate agent, his actions are just as important to achieve success. The combination of these three factors (a good presentation of the apartment, fair market price and the appropriate actions of the real estate agent) are what determine success.
Source: Idealista
