If you're considering selling your home, you might also be thinking about having it professionally staged. If you've never had to hire a home stager before, you'll want to read these tips:

        Home staging is an industry for which official accreditation standards don't yet exist. As such, your screening of candidates is critical. Just as you would if hiring an interior designer or contractor, ask potential home stagers for refernces - and check them. If you can't tour homes the candidate has staged, at least ask to see a portfolio of before-and-after photos.

        Ask for an estimate. In fact, get a few estimates, as pricing in this industry varies significantly. Be sure you understand and are comfortable with how the home stager charges for their services. Some charge by the hour, while some charge a flat fee for the entire job. Still others charge based on square footage or number of rooms. Depending on the scale of the job, home staging can cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. A stager can orchestrate the entire moving process for you, from cleaning and packaging, to painting and removing furniture. Some will even rent furniture in order to achieve a desired effect, which will drive up costs.

        If you're willing to do the work yourself, however, a home stager may simply be able to provide you with a detailed analysis of what needs to be done in order to make your home appealing to the broadest spectrum of buyers. Such a to-do list could cost as little as a couple hundred dollars, making home staging a more viable option for sellers.