Ok, most of you know that I own the bulk of the inventory that I stage with. There are pros & there are cons. I thought as one who has a significant amount, I would give a little snapshot. I'm hoping that others who have a lot will chime in as well.....
Money money money..... money.... (do you hear the tune in your head? I do....) What do you see in this photo?
- Dining Table,
- 4 Chairs,
- 4 slipcovers for the chairs,
- 4 bowls,
- 4 plates,
- 4 napkins,
- 4 placemats,
- 4 wine glasses &
- an orchid
How much did all this cost? How good of a shopper are you? The more you hit the stores, the more luck you will have at finding deals.
I teach staging & redesign. In my class on vacants I provide a laminated copy of the most commonly used items in vacants. It is two pages long. It's not really a science either. Sometimes I need far more art & accessories than other homes..... built in book cases, large rooms & awkward floorplans can really create inventory challenges. When I come into a vacant home, I have movers bring the big stuff & a few boxes of accessories. My van is always stuffed to it's limit. When I'm done the rooms look something like this....
Where did everything go? You should have seen the boxes of stuff... You would have thought I was actually moving in. I know the neighbors did! It always amazes me how quickly the items disburse and all but disappear. I guess they blend well enough you get a feeling, but don't particularly notice any one thing. That means I've done something right (at least I think so). They are supposed to notice scale, size, layout & lifestyle. You want them to imagine life here, not oooh and ahhhh over the beautiful handmade wooden console table over there on the left.
The most common question I'm asked, "What do you do with all that stuff?" The real answer is I store it at other people's homes. It's what I tell them & it is true. Currently I have 17 staged homes (all vacant) and another stager is renting an additional set (which comes home on Tuesday).... that's 18 homes worth of stuff. I also have about 2 storage units worth of stuff that's not accounted for in that list. (I stage another home this wek with what is currently in storage, but will still need to buy additional pieces... I'm out of queen beds & coffee tables for instance.) I have the most inventory in stock as I've ever had & with the additional of the home that comes back Tuesday will have to rent a 3rd storage unit. The cost is going to be around $500/mo for all of them. In January I am getting a warehouse.... I'm such a happy girl about this, you have no idea!
So.... between movers fees (between $75-$250 total per home), storage ($500/mo) & taxes (yep, you'll need to claim your inventory) is it really worth keeping your own inventory? Most jobs I collect 3 months fees + staging & delivery fee (I charge $100 per home) up front. The average job is between $1800 - $2400 for a living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, master bedroom & bath. I do an average of 7-10 homes a month. My current monthly income (additional months beyond contract or smaller contracts that I allow month to month payments is $2400) + the above average x # of homes) If I only took the monthly rental bill (exluding staging & delivery fees) for the 18 homes I have staged (includes other stager who rents my stuff) the income would be about $7500/mo. For me, this makes it worth it.
I do have to add that my options for rental are slim. I've been doing a lot of homes over $500K and the rental inventory available is not sufficient for this price point. If I had inventory available to me, I might not have chosen this route.
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocet and national speaker speaks her mind about real estate and the home staging industry. In her 'no holds barred' approach, audience members find real answers to the industries pitfalls and learn how to overcome them with tried and true information and guidance. With marketing as her passion, she turned a small home based business into one of the nation's largest home staging and training facilities. She now operates as the CEO of First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign as well as an instructor for Certified Staging Professionals International Training Academy (CSPI) - the world's largest Staging Training Organization, and regularly speaks at the StagerList Expos and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.
For more information on having Marro speak at one of your real estate functions, please contact her at 843.822.2622 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com
If you would like Marro's team to provide information on staging a property in the state of South Carolina, or the Greater Charleston Area, please visit www.WeStageSC.com, email marro.melissa@gmail.com or call 843.822.2622.
For more information on Marro's CSP Staging Training, please visit www.StagingAndRedesign.com, visit the CSP Calendar for dates or email marro.melissa@gmail.com. Below is a list of Marro's current CSP Certification class dates:
April 10-12 Charleston, SC
May 4-6 Covington, KY
May 18-20 Charlotte, NC
June 22-24 St. Petersburg, FL
June 26-28 Marietta, GA
July 5-7 Memphis, TN
July 10-12 Charleston, SC
August 2-4 Washington DC
August 24-26 Chicago, IL
