Career Options
Home stagers set the sceneAs an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP), Kimberley Butler is happy to take on the role of the bad guy by addressing touchy subjects such as pet odours, carpet stains and clutter. But she also gets to play the good guy: if homeowners follow her advice, they stand to pocket more money from the sale of their house. LINDA WHITE |
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 [ 2006-06-14 ] |
-- Listing Impressions photos
"A home is ultimately a product and we want that product to look better than other houses on the market," Butler says of her dual role.
Staging is a process that involves cleaning, de-cluttering, de-personalizing and esthetically rearranging and freshening a home's interior and exterior so it's more inviting, more open and set up so potential buyers can more readily see themselves living there.
Home staging guru Barb Schwarz coined the term "home staging" from her background in theatre. The house, she reasons, is a stage upon which an ASP arranges the right props -- furniture, artwork, sounds and scents -- to engage an audience. The critics are the real estate agents and the audience is the buyers.
The industry has grown dramatically in recent years, thanks in large part to TV shows. There are now more than 4,000 ASPs in the United States, Canada and Europe. There is currently one International Association of Home Staging Professionals (IAHSP) chapter in Ontario: the Regional Halton Peel Chapter, which has a membership of about 40.
Butler has a background in creative arts, interior design and marketing. While vacationing in Quebec City, she met a couple from Los Angeles who told her about home staging.
She has worked as an ASP since completing the accredited training course more than two years ago and appreciates the flexibility, creativity and rewards the career offers. "I enjoy helping people sell their home for the best possible price or helping them sell a house more quickly if it's been on the market for some time."
Her tools of the trade include pillows, linens, towels, lamps and greenery, as well as paint chips. She appreciates her independence, but believes there are benefits to belonging to a professional chapter. "It provides a network to improve your skills and share ideas," Butler says. "There's more power in a group. You're able to do trade shows at a fraction of the cost of doing them independently."
Some start their home staging business while continuing to work in another job. They may dedicate themselves to it full time once it becomes established, while others enjoy the flexibility of a part-time business.
Though some home stagers have a small inventory of accessories and even furniture, they typically use what's already in a home. They provide homeowners with a list of projects -- such as painting, repairing damaged walls, replacing flooring, purging and packing -- designed to increase a home's value. Many will recommend contractors if the homeowner needs help and some will even pick up a paint brush and tackle some projects themselves.
What does it take to be successful? "You need to have a natural knack for home decor. Some people walk into a home and see what's there. You need to be able to think outside the box," says Wendy Whitehead, founder/president of the Halton Peel IAHSP Chapter and owner of Listing Impressions.
"TACTFUL"
"You need to enjoy decorating, even though staging is not decorating. You need to be a self-starter, enjoy meeting and talking to people, and doing presentations. You have to be detail oriented and a problem solver. You should also be very personable and tactful."
Marketing skills are also important. "A home truly does become a house after staging and that house becomes a product that is now to be marketed to the largest market possible," Whitehead says. "That is why houses are neutralized, to appeal to the largest number of potential buyers."
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STAGING GURU SPEAKS IN TORONTO
American Barb Schwarz is credited with conceiving and popularizing the notion of staging homes for sale and received a registered trademark for Staged Homes in 1985. She's the founder of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals and will speak at the Toronto Real Estate Board Realtor Quest 2006 Show on June 15.
In 2000, Schwarz began offering an Accredited Staging Professional course that requires hands-on training and adherence to a code of ethics and staging criteria. The three-day training course will be offered in Mississauga on June 20-22 and in Oshawa July 18-20. Visit www.stagedhomes.com or call 1-800-392-7161 to learn more.
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