Many people are afflicted with one or all of the above maladies… are you one of them? Do you feel dumbfounded with all of the choices out there when it comes to selecting paint colours, decor, style of furnishings, etc.? Well, you are not alone!
With so many choices in fabrics, patterns, colours, and styles, one can get confused… overwhelmed. You may feel anxious, wanting to have the perfect home to enjoy and to show off to family and friends, but whenever you attempt to decorate, it never seems to work out, and you can’t understand why. You’ve watched all of those HGTV designer shows and thought that you too could put a look together… but something just isn’t right, and you don’t know what it is. It may drive you crazy so you give up. Well have no fear, Groovy Chick Redesign and Home Staging is here!
Let’s begin with a simple in-home consultation and learn a little bit about you, your likes and dislikes. We’ll consider the things that you have and see what could stay or should be removed from the space. We will talk about where you see yourself in 2, 5, 10 years down the road. Will you be up-sizing, down-sizing, remodelling, selling, etc.? Once that is established, we’ll devise a plan that will work for you and your home.
Groovy Chick Redesign and Home Staging is able to secure designer discounts at preferred vendors that will benefit you, the client. Many a home seller has told us, “I wish I knew about this service years ago. I just love my house now and am sad to have to sell it!” That doesn’t have to happen. So, let’s the begin the transformation by forming a relationship! Give us a call or send us an email. We would love to help you!
Designed to sell or decorated to stay sunroom sofa
Will pink door and trim sell a house?Repainted garage door and trim.
Hello Mr./Ms. Realtor. Welcome to my blog!
Have you been worrying about losing clients or wondering why, after all these years, your listings are taking much longer to sell? It may be that your tried and true methods no longer work in today’s market… and I have the fix for you! It’s called the ‘homeowner consultation’ which involves the seller, a home staging expert, and could include you as well. A consultation usually lasts two hours, involves room-by-room critiquing, and leaves the homeowner with a clear understanding of what things need doing, what things could be done, and what things are not that critical, in getting the home ready for the market.
The consultation will open the homeowner’s eyes, to view their own home as potential buyers would. When you are too close to your ‘stuff’, are comfortable with the way things are, you are forgetting that the buyer is seeing your place for the very first time and doesn’t know or care how you live in it. What they care about is how they will be occupying the space. The homeowner’s personal style is a distraction to the buyer and people today are very visual, meaning that they need to see how things could be… not the way they are.
A home stager has the know-how for what look sells and what look doesn’t. A home stager is the realtor’s best friend. How much financial involvement the real estate agent commits to is strictly up to them. It could be just the consultation, part of the staging, or all of the staging. The realtor who pays for it all is deemed to be knowledgable, confident, and serious about getting top dollar for their listing. Not only that, but the realtor will come across as knowing what the market is demanding by bringing in a home staging expert.
And the 3 reasons why all realtors should include a home staging consultation are:
A higher selling price for the homeowner
A larger commission for the realtor
A much quicker sale
Remember… the quicker the sale, the faster the REA can move on to his/her next listing. It’s a win-win for all involved!
Are you a real estate agent based in (or have an upcoming listing in) the eastern part of Toronto or GTA? Have you wondered about using home staging as a marketing tool? Drop us a line, send us an email, let’s meet and discuss.
F.Y.I. The above house sat on the spring market for weeks with little or no interest. Any idea why? Answer: Most people just couldn’t get past the strong pink colour in the first photo. After a consultation, new paint colours, some styling, and updated photos, it SOLD!
The days of baking a pie or loaf of bread for your open house are gone. That was a gimmick used to entice buyers to fall for home. A little tidying up, a familiar smell, and presto…the house was sold! Not anymore…
Today, buyers shop online for their ideal home and they expect instant gratification. They don’t want to have to ‘deal with’ the previous owner’s style, neglect, or problems. The home seller’s best friend should be a home stager, who will guide them in what today’s buyer is expecting and it all begins with the consultation.
During our consultation (before the house is ready to be staged) I will recommend to the homeowner, things to do in order to sell their home quickly and for more money. Here are the 10 most common To-Dos:
#1 – CLEAN, Clean, clean! Buyers will be looking through your cupboards, closets, out your windows, at carpets, floors, ceiling fans, light switches, lights, counters, furniture, appliances inside and out. You get my drift…every nook and cranny! All surfaces must be able to pass the white glove test. Make sure that there are no cobwebs at ceiling level. Bathrooms and kitchen must be spotless.
#2 – Declutter. Any items that do not enhance the sale of the home must be removed. I have rental accessories to accent the rooms.
#3 – De-personalize. Please remove all family photos, diplomas, bills, jewelry, etc. These items cause a distraction to the buyer. Remember, they are buying the home to make their own memories.
#4 – Less is more. I will suggest removal of excess furniture or repurposing it elsewhere. We want to create a good traffic flow…not a road block.
#5 – Refresh the walls with a neutral paint colour. I can help with paint colour selection. Touch-up dings/paint/trim at the very least. Remove any wallpaper but if it must stay, make sure that edges are sealed. Buyers will notice!
#6 – No odours in the house please. This includes smoking, pets, strong cooking smells. If buyers smell something foreign to them, they will bolt. You can air out any odours prior to the open house or rent an air cleaning machine.
#7 – Fibres absorb odours. Replace old, worn-out, or stained carpeting. Shampoo if it’s newer but this may cause wall-to-wall carpeting to ripple and thus require stretching. Remove dark and heavy drapes.
#8 – Fresh bedding and towels…preferably new and white.
#9 – Make minor repairs. Buyers will notice imperfections, when looking at trim, opening doors, walking on floors, turning on lights etc.
#10 – The Exterior. Place blue boxes and garbage bins in garage. Weed or (at least) remove dandelion heads from lawns. Cut the grass, rake leaves, trim bushes, etc. Power wash outdoor furniture, deck/patio, driveway. Repaint the front door?
Bonus Tip – Moving is a stressful time and I don’t envy you but if possible, take some time away while the home is being shown. You’ve invested a lot of time and money in getting it ready for the market. Professional styling has made it magazine worthy. Why stress over having to constantly clean up and be ready to leave on short notice. Take a mini vacation if you can. You’ve worked hard and will be rewarded for it.
A home staging consultation with Groovy Chick Redesign and Home Staging is worth every penny. Any additional service will deliver as much as a 1,000% return on investment.
A homeowner called on me to do a color consultation. She was tired of living in a drab looking environment for the last 7 years. I went, and selected new paint colors for the whole house. She planned to have some rooms painted ‘now and the rest later’.
A couple of weeks had passed and the homeowner called me again. This time she said that she had put in an offer on a condo and would be selling the house. What?! She needed a painter and handyman pronto to do the work required before staging and listing the home. I found a painter and then consulted with the client on what needed doing in order to sell her home quickly. After a major purge and de-cluttering, I sent the painter to paint the rest of her house. Then I brought in my handyman to fix the many things that needed to be addressed. Any flaws detected by would-be home buyers would result in lower offers!
Time was of the essence now. The holidays were fast approaching and the growing list of work to be done wasn’t yet complete… let alone the staging. My client went on vacation to be with her family and left me in charge. The handy work was finally finished, the cleaners came in, and I was ready to stage the occupied home.
I then went to shop for the staging decor as well as for my client. She would hopefully take it with her to the new place. As I completed each room, I sent her photos of my work. She loved it all!
The open house took place on the weekend. Upon her return, there were multiple offers. It sold that same day for well over asking! My client was thrilled as she got exactly what she wanted PLUS she was equipped with paint colors and decor to take with her to the new condo!
The client absolutely loves her new place. It’s fresh, clean and offers a sense of serenity… it’s what she really needed.
Are you in a similar situation? Are you stressing over decorating? Well don’t… just call Groovy Chick Redesign and Home Staging. I would love to help!
Groovy Chick Decorates Durham 