There has been a lot of talk on AR lately about stagers and sellers and Realtors getting along. Sharing commissions between Realtors and stagers has also been suggested to help client's sell their homes. This appears to be a very "hot" topic for some who feel stagers should wait to get paid until a house sells similiar to that of a Realtor.
This topic has even made it into my my weekly Realtor(R) Magazine Online today:
The Realtor magazine blog has a survey of who is willing to team up with a stager and charge a joint commission rate? The survey currently has over 70% in agreement of joining forces.
I know the previous discussion about stagers and Realtors joining forces did tend to go off on some tangents, but I hope this is a dialog both sides are willing to continue.
Not every home needs to be staged from top to bottom. As a home stager, I feel there is a definite need for my service when a house meets certain criteria such as at least a $350,000 selling price, over ten years old, and the Realtor has determined a home staging consultation is required. Each home is unique and has to be evaluated as such.
In my opinion, a home stager should be paid at the time of service. We are talking about a few hundred dollars for the average home staging consultation, not a few thousand. It would be different if I had a Realtor partner who was bringing me in to meet homeowners on a daily basis for staging consultations. If a home stager was performing 10-20 stagings a week, perhaps then we could wait for some of our money.
Some comments left on blogs refer to the lack of benefits or proof of home staging. I base my staging statistics on reputable websites like www.homegain.com which in 2007 performed a survey of 2,000 realtors and determined that home staging has a 343% return on investment. I have to trust that Home Gain has provided me with reliable, unbaised statistics based on their realtor surney. I also use the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) website for staging statistics. RESA states, "In 2008 vacant homes in our study that were previously on the market an average of 190 days as un-staged properties, had not sold. Those same homes were taken off the market and stgaed and re-listed. Those properties on average sold after 28 days on the market after they were staged, which is 85% less time on the market." Of course, not all stagers are created equal and I am sure some stagers are better than others - this is were our portfolio comes in.
http://realestatestagingassociation.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=304550&module_id=28798
Home staging is a field very similiar to custom window treatments. Prior to any work being down on a custom window order, a deposit for materials is required or the order must be paid in full. Home staging is also a field very similiar to home decorating, you would not call in a decorator and expect NOT to pay them, would you?
Kate: My opinion is that a stager should be paid at the time of service. Work is done – you are paid. It’s that simple. What happens if the Seller takes the home off the market? That’s right you put in countless hours of work and expense and may never be paid. Listing contracts dictate commission, etc. Agents take the risk of a home not selling. If the agent has done a great job in qualifying the seller, and pricing the home, chances are pretty darn good that the home will sell.
Kate, I have the same feelings as Kathleen. When I'm finished with my consultation, I get paid. We all have expenses and we should receive payment when our work is done. I don't believe that's an issue here, at least not one that I'm aware of.
Kate- I've offered deferred payment to some of my Realtors but have yet to have one take me up on it. I don't have a problem but things need to be worked out. Kathleen made a good point about the Seller taking the home off the market, or relisting it with someone else. I would want a good legal instrument between myself and the Seller, so that if they relisted or took the home off the market I would have some compensation.
Kate -- I'm with the others here who believe that we should be paid for our work at the time of service. Too many other factors could come into play that we have no control over, and we bring true value to our clients.
Kate, I am a stager who recently got her Real Estate license and I saw that article reblogged in Realtor.com as well. The most exciting aspect to me is that 70% said they would use a stager!
It looks like we are all in agreement in regards for getting paid at the actual time of service.
Kathleen - You have some very good points, what would happen if the home went off the market and we had deferred payment until the sale? We would lose all the time and maybe even some materials.
Leanne - Yes, it is very encouraging to see that 70% of the Realtors in the survey would use a stager.
Thanks for all your comments.
I sympathize with realtors who put out a lot of their own money to market a home, and sometimes they lose everything. Most of the time they are rewarded for their work....eventually.
However, the stager has very little control of the process. If we do a consultation, the buyer may or may not follow through with our suggestions. The realtor may or may not do a great job marketing. The price may or may not be appropriate. We have no influence on whether the buyer accepts offers or keeps negotiating. Basically, very little of it is under our control - so we should be paid immediately.
And that's my 2 cents worth!
Like the results of the poll; however none live in my area!
Thanks for sharing.
I defer payment but only on gift certificates. If the Realtor wants to use it as part of their Marketing Package, that's fine. If it's used, I bill the Realtor for the gift certificate. The homeowner pays the balance of the fees which is the bulk of it. And the gift certificate has the same expiration date as the listing agreement. This way I'm not out of any money. It works for me.