Introduction to Home Staging

Are there necessary certifications and/or training? What else do I need to know about this business? Any books that can be recommended? Websites? Thank you!

You need to know how to explain to people that their kids’ art has to come off the fridge, and painting over the purple wall in the living room is well worth the money. Anyone can pack up people’s stuff and clean off shelves and garages. Psychology and tact are the skills that are the hardest to master, especially when it comes to religious and/or ethnic themes and items. Negotiation skills will serve you well, and an understanding of different personality types, biases, and traditions.

Connections with realtors will be almost mandatory. Work for free for 6-8 homes to get some experience and references if you do not already have a customer base that is easily reachable.

We are buying a model home and the builder asked us to make an offer on any furniture in the house. We have no idea how much (or how little) to offer.

From experience, I can tell you that the builder paid 25% under the going rate for that furniture. He would like to get that back, but would be willing to take a small hit since it is now slightly used for display and he would have to pay for it to be moved and stored. He would be happy to get half of what that identical furniture is going for at a Haverty’s or Rooms to Go in your area of the country. If he needs the money, and they all do right now, he will let it go for less.

Reasonable offer would be 25% of current retail price for identical furniture. Negotiate from there if you really like it.

Any ideas on how to get a legitimate Home Staging certification in Pennsylvania? Thank you in advance.

Simply apply for it and pay the fee.

Make your house look like a model home:

Remove personal items such as family photos.
De clutter bookcases and shelves.
Clear kitchen counters. Remove bottle of dish soap/sponges.
Straighten out closets and medicine cabinets.
Deep clean house, shine chrome fixtures, clean mirrors, windows.
Use a vanilla scented plug in air freshener.

Looking for use of the terms Executive, Mercedes, etc. words with class and power. Four Seasons Home Staging…..Center Stage Homes…Something snazzy!!!!

The naming of your business could be one of the most important decisions you will make. A name’s originality and legal availability will create a real asset value of its own, as it becomes marketed and gains market acceptance.

The name you choose will become the focal point of all the benefits and features that relate to your business. Customers will be able to find and refer others to it in the future.

Since any names that are suggested here may already be owned by another party, I wanted to go a different route…

I suggest either hiring a name creation firm or get together with your friends and/or family and throw a "name party" & have everyone bounce some ideas around. Compile a listing of names that you like the best. Once you have that list, do as much free research as you can before you delve into comprehensive research.

I listed some links where you can do some preliminary name checking. However, please be aware that this is merely scratching the surface of what’s out there.

Only comprehensive research will tell you if the name is truly available. But, these links are free & a great place to start, so I’d try them out first.

Comprehensive research consists of looking at marks that are similar in Sound, Appearance or Meaning in the pending & registered Federal AND State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files.

There are other sites that offer free searching capabilities in conjunction with their commercial services, so I’m not able to post those links due to the Yahoo! TOS. You’ll also want to check domain names & yellow pages, so simply do a search for "free domain name search" and "national yellowpages" and the appropriate links will pop up.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

I want to legally start a business in NJ. It will be based from my home. I will be selling the service of staging a home for selling and also remodeling and decorating advice. How do I go about making my business legal and how do I make my business name legal?

It’s best to start with your local city to make sure you follow their rules in starting a new business. They will tell you exactly who to contact. They will guide as far as obtaining a tax ID and everything you’ll need to do to run business legally. It is important to get your name registered asap– you don’t want someone else snapping it up while you’re doing your paperwork! Do this before getting a domain name registered for your website since you’ll want both to match.

whats the money like

As a business for yourself? If you can hook up with a realtor or two, you could do very well for yourself.

Your fee (not including any accessories or rentals) could range anywhere from $350.00 – $1,000.00 (and higher) depending on the house, the area, and how much you have to do.

Buy some large baskets that are lined with cloth or canvas and store toys in those

Just wondering if I should or just leave it alone. I don’t know if I can handle pulling out all the Holiday stuff either after packing all my knick knacks in the crawl space….. but if you told me Christmas decorations might help sell my home… then heck, maybe it’s worth dragging them out. I think I am skipping halloween and Thanksgiving decorations though…
I guess I can’t bring out my Santa praying to baby Jesus! LOL

Your goal in staging a home is to depersonalize the home as much as possible so any prospective buyer can see themselves living there. In light of that, decorating for the holidays seems counterproductive.

To decorate and stage homes for sale

If you are asking how to do it…….one realtor told me some ways stage and quickly…unless it needs a total overhall. Weed and fresh mulch flowerbeds, clean windows, open blinds, all of them!!, wipe walls down with rag, and or walk around with that can of paint and a little brush and touch up where you have chipped it off. Get some lemon oil and do ALL of the wood baseboards and all. Rid it of clutter, get it out, store it, even in the garage. They said cleanliness is key….if you over decorate, which is nice, but they will spend time looking at that not your house. Last, bake some cookies or bread before an open house, it makes the house smell yummy and put them in an "at home" feeling.