Comments on: Should you do a home staging consultation if nobody’s home?

By: Kim Lee, All About Image

Kim Lee, All About Image — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:13:49 +0000

I have not done a consult without the client being there, but I have a stager friend that was asked to, and she walked into a very dangerous situation. The client was away for several days and had left her with the realtor as the contact person, however, the realtor was not present during the consult. My friend walked through the house checking things out and making her notes along the way. As she neared the back door, and stepped out onto the deck, there was a very strong gas odor. She locked up the house and left, calling the realtor to inform her of the smell. Come to find out, there was a serious gas leak that could have caused the house to explode. The gas company came and said that the owners could not go back into the house until the problem was fixed because it was both a health and safety risk. Additionally, because the realtor was “busy,” she took advantage of having the stager there to wait and meet the service person from the gas company! I think it’s important to have the client there so that you don’t take unkown risks, and so that they can deal directly with any issues that come up.

By: Laurelanne Bellezzo

Laurelanne Bellezzo — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:39:55 +0000

Aside from verbal consult vs. others, you might consider that this could also be a set-up. Who’s to say that the seller won’t then accuse you of stealing items from the home while no one was there, or–God forbid–you’d be the victim of a crime? You have to look out for your business, but more importantly, look out for YOU!

By: Donna McBrier

Donna McBrier — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:41:56 +0000

Debra, I know you do a verbal consultation but prior to learning of your company and taking your course I started my business on my own. I put together a lengthy evaluation form, covering every area of the home. When I’ve gone through the home with the seller I have them initial and date each section agreeing to the work I will be doing and the cost for that work. It is a bit cumbersome and I ususally come back to go over it (I take pictures and refer to them at home to write the report then return to go over and collect half of the total as a downpayment)
I haven’t gotten completely through your course yet but I’m hoping to learn how to do consultations without the huge paper report and stil have both myself and the sellers know what’s going to happen and know how to stay on track. In my scenario, the seller wouldn’t have to be there initially (but I like them there) however, we have to meet to go over the report.

By: Debra Gould, The Staging Diva

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:37:30 +0000

Leah, thanks for sharing that. I’m sure it will be helpful to others joining this discussion!

By: Leah Fritz, Perfect Place Home Staging

Leah Fritz, Perfect Place Home Staging — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:09:55 +0000

I have never had this type of request Debra, so this post gives me the opportunity to prepare my response if I ever do. I feel that home stagers should do consults, not inspections… There is a definite difference between the two in terms of service and relationship. The one-on-one dialog I have with a client during a consult helps to build a relationship, and is THE opportunity for me to secure more paid hours on that project. I had a client a year ago that had moved to their new home on the east coast, but chose to fly back to Wisconsin to meet me at their for-sale house to do a staging consult (paid consult of course). Now that’s what I call committed to the process!