While staging homes in Portland, Seattle and Palm Springs for over nine years, I've heard some pretty funny questions. Here are the seven that stick out most in my mind.

Anybody can stick a bunch of letters behind their name. ASP®, RESA®, CSP® AHS, LEED AP, PhD. YADA. YADA. YADA. Do those letters mean anything? Int his post I'll go over what the letters behind your staging professional's name mean and what they did to earn them.

My best advice when staging your home is to hire a professional (who is not a friend) to help you. Pay them for their time. Get honest unbiased advice. Here's why.

There is good staging. There is bad staging. I mean, like really bad staging. In an industry with no regulations, no standardized accreditation system, and tons of “hobbyist professionals”, one gets what one pays for. The problem here is if an inexperienced home stager will actually stop your house from selling.

By having each and every thing in one room be all one color, you are proverbially painting yourself into a corner (pun intended). You would, for all intents and purposes, force your future self to stay with that one color forever, with your only way out involving a large investment in time, money, and energy.