Montreal Real Estate Blog » Sveta Melchuk

Should your house be staged before you sell?

Sveta Melchuk — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:00:37 +0000

To Stage or Not to Stage – that is the question!
by Sveta Melchuk

Updated from the Home Staging archives. Originally published on Jun 18th 2007.

Staging a Home for sale will cost you money. Is it worth spending time and effort on it? After all, once the decision to sell has been made, you just want to get it over with as fast as possible, right?

First, did you determine the «right» price for your house? It should be based on certain objective criteria, such as the location of the property, sale price of comparable homes in your neighbourhood and today’s market conditions. But don’t forget the desirability factor…
While you can’t control some of the other criteria, you definitely have a say in the way your property looks, feels and is perceived by prospective buyers. Increase the visual/emotional value of your property and you will increase its desirability, therefore the price and the urgency to buy it from potential buyers. Why?

It’s the perception of the value that counts. The first impressions make a big difference in the way we perceive a person, an object or a service and, subconsciously, the decision is taken within the first 90 seconds on whether we’ll be «buying» and what value we assign to it.

Even before the prospective buyers set foot in your house, they are probably shopping on the Internet, checking the photos of the properties available in the selected neighbourhood and within their budget. They will make an opinion about your property based on what they see in the pictures and they will decide right there whether it’s worth their time to visit in person. If you have not managed to draw them in at this stage, you might have lost dozens, maybe hundreds of visitors to your house!

Your strategy should be to make the BEST first impression possible, in the Virtual world and for all the prospective buyers who will come to your door. Once they are visiting, make them focus on the property’s best features and show them the value of what they are getting. Choosing a particular house is a largely emotional decision, so make them choose yours. Statistics clearly demonstrate that a clean, spacious and well decorated home sells faster and for more money than other comparable properties.

Staging uses some simple but highly effective techniques to make your house look its best in preparation for sale. So, by spending a few hundred dollars on preparing your house properly, you will be gaining a lot more at the sale time. And staging services cost much less than a price «adjustment» on the house!

So should your house be staged before you sell?

This article was written by Sveta Melchuk from www.Home-Staging-Montreal.com. A Montreal firm specializing in Home Staging and Interior Re-design services.

Posted By: Sveta Melchuk. Founder of Home Staging Montreal, a Montreal firm specializing in Home Staging and Interior Redesign. Simple and effective solutions, to help you sell your property faster and for more money. Call Sveta at: 514-482-9776 http://www.home-staging-montreal.com/

Would you like to rent your property for more money?

Sveta Melchuk — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:20:11 +0000

Posted by: Sveta Melchuk. Founder of Home Staging Montreal

Professional staging/decorating for rental of a condo or an apartment is becoming more and more in demand. If you are looking for executive rental income for your unit, the property has to be presented accordingly.

Some of the apartments are quite new and others require some cosmetic renovations before decorating for rental. Some clients need help with managing the total project from beginning to end and taking care of things such as:

Make the list of what needs to be updated
Purchase all the materials, tiles, light fixtures, etc.
Provide renovation team to do the work
Provide cleaning team
Purchase all furniture
Purchase all accessories
Purchase linens, towels, even dishes if required
Decorate the apartment for rental

Decorating for rental involves some clever and creative thinking. We want it to look nice but we don’t want to spend a lot. We have to keep in mind the necessities for someone renting the apartment but also be practical. The unit has to look inviting but remain neutral in look and color.

We need to take into consideration our market and potential clientele we want to reach and stage/decorate accordingly. But chances are that our tenants will be less careful with our furnishings, so we need to plan for that as well. For example, I recommend darker color furniture and carpets as they will stay cleaner for a longer time. We want to include the minimum amount of furniture but it has to be comfortable for living. In general, the objective of decorating for rental is the same as that of home staging; creating a great first impression and allowing our potential tenant to see himself/herself living in that space.

As an example, please view a recent “decorating for rental” project by Home Staging Montreal team, where we first started by fixing up and repainting the condo and had it cleaned. Then we went shopping for vertical blinds, new furniture and accessories and we put it all together for a simple but effective urban look.

Here are some before and after pictures, to give you an idea:

If you would like to discuss with us how we can help you decorate for rental, give us a call or email us.
Our contact info is displayed just below this message. Looking forward to your comments!

Les rénovations les plus payantes

Sveta Melchuk — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:00:35 +0000

Comme vous pouvez constater, il est possible d’accomplir beaucoup avec des petits moyens! Une professionnelle de home staging saura vous conseiller dans les priorités et les démarches à faire pour bien préparer votre maison à la vente. Cette étape est cruciale avant de compléter le tout avec un home staging pour un effet irrésistible!

Tout le monde souhaite maximiser la vente de sa maison mais est-ce que vous savez par où débuter?

On doit bien se préparer afin de réussir et cela prend un peu de temps, un peu d’argent et, surtout, de l’effort!
Dans cette partie de mon article, je vais discuter de la première étape – les travaux de rénovations qui augmenteront la valeur marchande de votre maison. La deuxième partie de l’article portera sur les astuces au niveau de home staging (ou la valorisation résidentielle) – à ne pas manquer!

Il faut distinguer, bien évidemment, les travaux majeurs des réparations et améliorations cosmétiques. Si vous avez l’intention d’habiter votre chez soi encore pendant quelque temps avant de procéder à la vente de votre maison, allez-y pour des rénovations majeurs mais surtout celles qui sont rentables.

Selon l’Institut canadien des évaluateurs les rénovations les plus payantes sont:

Salle de bains: 75 à 100%
Cuisine: 75 à 100%
Peinture intérieure ou extérieure: 50 à 100%

Les rénos procurant un rendement moyen:

Réfection de la toiture: 50 à 80%
Remplacement du système de chauffage: 50 à 80%
Finition du sous-sol: 50 à 75%
Agrandissement pour ajouter une salle familiale: 50 à 75%
Ajout d’un foyer: 50 à 75%
Installation d’un plancher de bois franc: 50 à 75%
Ajout d’un garage: 50 à 75%
Remplacement des portes et fenêtres: 50 à 75%
Ajout d’une terrasse: 50 à 75%
Climatisation centrale: 25 à 75%

Par contre, si vous êtes prêts à mettre votre maison sur le marché immédiatement, la stratégie doit différer- il vaut mieux se concentrer sur les travaux d’ordre cosmétique, qui augmenteront la valeur marchande sans vous ruiner…
Selon www.homegain.com, un site américain qui fait des sondages auprès des agents immobiliers, voici quelques exemples des travaux à effectuer et leur rendement:

Désencombrement et grand ménage – 874%
Améliorer et rajeunir l’éclairage – 586%
Entretien paysager – 473%
Réparations plomberie et éléctriques – plus de 300%
Peinture intérieure – 250%

Renovations that generates the best return on investment

Sveta Melchuk — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:00:05 +0000

Everyone would like to maximize the sale of their house, but do you know where you should be starting?
It’s imperative to prepare well in order to succeed and that requires a bit of time, a bit of money and some effort.

In this article, I would like to cover the PRE home staging steps, namely the renovation work – which projects are more important, when and what will be your return on investment?

The first and foremost question is whether you are planning to live in your house for a while and enjoy the fruits of your labour or are you ready to move out.
If you will be living in the house for a few more years, go ahead and renovate, keeping in mind the projects which will increase the resale value of your home in the future. In 2008, all energy saving and GREEN home improvements were a big hit!

The Appraisal Institute of Canada released the following numbers:
Renovations which generate best return on investment

Bathroom renovation: 75 to 100%
Kitchen: 75 to 100%
Interior and exterior plastering and paint: 50 to 100%

Renovations which generate average return on investment

New roof: 50 to 80%
Replacing heating system : 50 to 80%
Finished basement: 50 to 75%
Adding of a family room: 50 to 75%
Adding fireplace: 50 to 75%
Installing hardwood flooring: 50 to 75%
Adding a garage: 50 to 75%
Replacing doors and windows (unless energy saving, then higher): 50 to 75%
Adding a deck: 50 to 75%
Central AC: 25 to 75%

But if you are ready to put your house on the market now, your strategy should be different: you should focus on some cosmetic improvements only which will increase the resale value of your property.

As per www.homegain.com survey of 2 000 real estate agents in the USA in 2009, here are some examples of recommended improvements as well as their return on investment:

Decluttering and a major clean up – 874%
Improving and updating lighting – 586%
Minor Landscaping – 473%
Electrical and plumbing repairs – over 300%
Interior paint – 250%

As you can tell, it’s possible to accomplish quite a bit on a reasonable budget. A home staging professional will help you decide on the priorities and the budget required to get your house sale ready. This is a crucial step before the home staging per say which is certain to give your house a WOW factor you are looking for!

Home Staging – 10 tips for better sale

Sveta Melchuk — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:22:34 +0000

Are you interested in selling your house fast and for top dollar?
If the answer is ‘YES’, then you need to get it ready to look and feel its best. The concept of Home Staging is not new and is used extensively in the USA and Western Canada to market real estate.

These Home Staging tips cover some of the things you can easily do yourself at a minimal cost.

Before you do anything, you have to stop thinking of your house as a HOME and start thinking about it as an investment, for which you want the largest return possible.
If you don’t have pictures that show your house at its best, you are probably missing out on dozens, if not hundreds of potential buyers.
Curb appeal (or, lack of thereof) can deter a visitor from wanting to pursue. The exterior of your house has to be clean and taken care of.
Buyers want to see space, above anything else. You have to declutter, so the visitors can focus on the house and not on your stuff.
Chipped paint, loose or missing tiles, broken door handle, a closet door that doesn’t quite close properly can become a BIG turnoff for a potential buyer. Fix!
Painting is the cheapest way to transform a room! Repaint main rooms in fresh, neutral colors.
Refresh and update. Simple things such as a new bed ensemble, a few decorative pillows and two nice table lamps will transform a bedroom.
Make the house as neutral as possible to please a variety of potential buyers and their lifestyle and taste.
Make sure there is sufficient light in every room– you can’t have too much light!
Space optimization and proper furniture and accessories placement is essential. It will give a home a warm and appealing look and feel and create the WOW factor.

So, a small effort will pay of at the sale time. Stage your house-sell your house WELL!

A Staged house that sold in 3 hours

Sveta Melchuk — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:44:01 +0000

I wanted to share this recent story with you – a Staged house sells in 3 hours! Of course it’s exceptional but it does happen inspite of a slower real estate market.

I was recently asked to help a lady prepare her home for sale. The house is small (2 bedrooms only and a very small office), but very well located and well maintained. The paint was recent and the color neutral enough on the main floor but needed to be refreshed in a couple of rooms on the upper floor.

The problem? Old and outdated furniture, outdated and darkish curtains, some clutter and several personal items, such as the owner’s artwork displayed everywhere in the house (pretty but not to everyone’s taste).

We worked on a very limited budget (approximately $700). I made a list of accessories to purchase and we split the tasks – I went off to IKEA and the owner shopped in smaller local stores to locate items such as decorative pillows, a vase, branches, a mirror and some fabric. She repainted her old dining room table a dark brown (instead of a previous blue color) and recovered the chairs with dark brown microsuede fabric. She also repainted a small office and a bathroom over a weekend. The seller also worked very hard to declutter and put some of her furniture in storage.

Last, but not least, we rented two small white chairs and we reorganized her furniture to optimize the spaces, changed the curtains on the living room and set up the accessories.

Before

After

As soon as the photographs appeared on the Internet, the phone started to ring. Three appointments were set up for the evening. The second visitors made and offer to purchase on the spot and it was accepted. The house sold the same day for %96 of the asking price. End of story!

Home Staging: an invaluable marketing tool

Sveta Melchuk — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:45:36 +0000

The concept of Home Staging is finally taking firm hold in the minds of Quebec consumers and Real Estate agents. Home Staging techniques originated in California over 30 years ago and are an accepted and widely used real estate service in the USA. I have had a couple of clients from California who wanted to sell their properties in Montreal and they told me that no self respecting home owner there would show their property without staging it first!

Especially valuable in a tough market, Home Staging helps sellers and Real Estate agents to sell properties faster and for better price.

The 2008 www.Homegain.com survey of 4000 real estate agents asked:

How much do you think staging increases the value of a home?

Over 78% of Real Estate agents believe that staging increases the value of a property by at least $2500!

But what is Home Staging?

It’s a set of simple yet efficient techniques which showcase the property’s assets in most attractive way to the largest number of visitors. It consists of decluttering, cleaning, repairing, depersonalizing, optimizing the living space and finally, creating ambiance and the WOW factor for the prospective buyers.

Some of the benefits to sellers are:

Better photographs will bring more visitors to the door
In the competitive market, your property will stand out from the competition
Buyers are looking for a turnkey solution, which you will provide
Properties which show well are easier to sell
The result: YOU will sell your property faster and for more money!

As you only get one chance to impress the visitors, Home Staging is an invaluable marketing tool in your work, which will help you sell your house well!