Answer to Staging Question

Yes, a lot of these questions will be answered in the book.  For now, on a flat rate you should always have a minimum number of hours that the rate covers: 4 hours including travel, for instance. Then you move either to an hourly rate of XX dollars or a full day rate for 8 hours including travel, etc. (So if you travel 15 minutes each way, that's a total of 7-1/2 onsite hours).
 
If you don't want to provide boxes, tell the client that is their responsibility.  Moving the excess too is their responsibility.  Whatever you don't want to do, you make sure on the front end that they directory2@barbarajennings.comow what you will do and what you won't do.
 
This is why it's so important to put things down in writing.  It is up to you to decide what you will or won't do. You can be as involved as you want or merely give consultation as to what they should do.  If you're working on a half day rate, tell them you'll supply them with a complete list of tasks that need to be done, and rearrange the furniture and that's all.  So it's like a mini redesign.  With a checklist, they can do the rest after you're gone unless they just don't want to do it.
 
But if they want you to do everything, it will take days and they will need to agree on your daily rate of XX per day.
 
There's way to handle everything but communication is essential and paperwork is too.
 
Hope this helps.

Barbara Jennings is the West Coast Pioneer in Interior Redesign and has been in the redesign/home staging market since 1986. She is author of 9 books on interior decorating subjects and her most recent one, Home Staging for Profit, is a tutorial for those wanting to start their own home staging business. For more on that book, please visit:

Home Staging for Profit

 

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