What do realtors know about garden staging? Nothing like a salesperson trying to get a customer to spend more money in order for them to make a commission. Ask to see other properties that they have stagged and check the time it was on the market beforehand and how long it took to see afterwards. Your agent will be the only one who knows you spent extra money so ask if they will update the MLS? You get all sorts of people want to take your money in the hopes thats it is the "answer."

Here is a link that might be useful: Propagating Perennials

Bullthistle -
I think you misunderstood me - I'm not the seller, I'm the potential vendor. I'm just wondering if anyone out there has experience providing this kind of service and what kind of fee to charge, flat fee or T&M.

Stagged? Ha-ha-ha! I picture properties being staked out and realtors bugling for clients. "Come and look at this house, I've got a bigger"...er...uh...I guess rack doesn't quite sound proper...

I think it's a great idea and could be a pretty lucrative niche market! Staging of interiors to sell homes often involves rental furnishings (in addition to things like fresh paint), which doesn't translate well to plantings. Personally, I think a time and materials approach would make the most sense. And a focus on more of a sprucing up of the outside rather than a real landscape re-do or renovation. Decluttering, weeding and grooming of the beds, any necessary pruning, a fresh coat of mulch and a recent mow and edging should be pretty much it. I'd avoid investing too much in new plant material unless the exterior was totally lacking. And a couple of good looking containers with colorful seasonal plantings at the entry will go very far in bumping up curb appeal.

Don't underestimate the value of your time :-) Landscape/maintenance labor here runs around $50/hour and your "staging" services should be comparable.

I did exactly this a few days ago on referrel from a realtor friend. I charge $150 for a l hour consultation and can make arrangements for the work to be done by a contractor if the clients agree to my suggestions. Tact is a really important consideration as some people have great sentimental attachments to some of their plants. Most often than not it is common sense to those of us in the business...remove old or overgrown plants, prune as needed, mulch and tidy up. Add some spots of annual color. Pop a nice wreath on the door and fill some pots with color on the porch or steps. Simple is usually better. P.S. Realtors are a great referral source for landscape designers and installers!

Write a very strong contract in these situations. Pay schedule is important and who is paying you is just as important.

Total stereotype that you need to watch out for:

Realtors are great for being nice warm and fuzzy when they want someone to do something for them. They will become extremely demanding if they think they might have a sale. They also tend to get you to do things without knowing if you are working for them or the client. When it comes time to get paid they tell you that they were not working for you and the seller has no idea that the realtor told you to do these things. No one wants to pay.

They often like to use the "when I get paid - you get paid" on you as well.

The tendency is to get as many other people to finance the marketing as possible.

I think that you will find that the more that you want to practice normal business (deposit and swift pay schedule), the less of a source the realto r will be.

Always ask yourself this. Why do they want me instead of a more proven comodity? The tendency is to think that they see great potential in you and really want to help you out. Is this what they do with every other contractor?

Don't let yourself get used.

Thanks everyone. I'm meeting with a friend who happens to be a realtor to discuss. You've brought up some interesting points.
I'll let you know if I find out anything useful.

The homeowner is the one who needs curb appeal & whose property is being improved;

The homeowner should be your client or customer & should contract the staging service & pay for it.

The Realtor should not be in the middle of this;
she should be the facilitator, matching the consumer (homeowner) with the service provider (you).

Even if you're working for the Realtor (maybe the property belongs to her corporate client & she's authorized to do such things), you should get paid when you do the work.

Your position is just like that of appraisers, inspectors, air conditioning repairers, etc:
they get paid when they perform their jobs whether the property sells or not.