Listing clients ask me all the time.... do I really have to do all this work to prepare my home for sale?

The short answer is yes if you want to ask top dollar and sell your home in the shortest amount of time possible.

Buyers are busy people just like you and me.

They book 5, 6 or 10 houses to look at in one day. They spend less than 5 minutes in your home if you have not given them something to capture their attention.

Give buyers what they are looking for- clean, modern decor and rooms arranged for good flow that show how you can live in a home.

Your home is a product for sale. It is up to you to market it by having it professionally staged. 

Advantage Staging creates desire in the buyers mind and helps to initiate action on the part of the buyer to make an offer.

In this home staging  the bedroom went from "use your imagination here" to "move right in to your new master bedroom".

Investiment, minimal.

Impact, priceless.

Winner of the Trailblazer Company of the Year Award   2009

Travelling is a wonderful thing. It allows you see other ways of living and inspires you to want to bring home some memories. It can have such an impact on you that you just have to bring back some of that happy feeling by decorating your home with items that make that happen for you. Only thing is, buyers don't have those fond memories of the place you travelled to.

When you list your house for sale, it is now a product for sale. That means all the personal themed items are stored away and the house is marketed for sale to appeal to the widest range of buyers.

65% of people will pay more for a house that looks "move in ready". And that means neutral decor and colours that allow them to see their belongings in your home. So long safari and hello beautiful bedroom retreat.

This home staging at Norstar Harmony Village in North York now has buyers saying "absolutely beautiful, I want to move right in".

Winner of the Trailblazer Company of the Year Award  2009

Advantage Staging has the unique opportunity to stage the lobby of the Remax Premier office at the centrally situated Vaughan Mills location with a new look every quarter.

You may remember when I arrived at Remax it started out looking like this....definitely could use a little more warmth to welcome clients.

I knew I could create a warm, welcoming look very easily by adding furniture with the right texture fabric and colour. The first staging looked like this....

And now the lobby looks like this......

Subtle changes were made that effect the mood of the space, creating a welcome feel. Clients and visitors comment every day how comfortable the furniture is. They feel right at home and don't want to get up as they feel so good sitting there. Now that's what I call effective marketing. Creating such a great space that your clients look forward to coming and don't want to leave!

Watch for the changes at Christmas... with the launch date for the new office being December 3rd.

Winner of the Trailblazer Company of the Year  2009

Adantage Staging recently had the amazing opportunity to stage three condos in one day for the Norstar development of Harmony Village in North York.

These are inventory houses that have been on the market for two years. After staging this week, one has sold already and I am confident the others will follow shortly.

The before photos demonstrate how cold and uninviting an empty home can appear to buyers. After staging, the buyer can now envision how they would use the space and see themselves living there. I suggested to the marketing team that the condos be sold with the furniture.

For less than $40 per month on your mortgage, you can move right in to your new dream lifestyle. Put your feet up on the coffee table the day you move in with no muss or fuss. Just unpack your clothes and personal belongings and say …. Honey, I’m home!

Winner of the Trailblazer Company of the Year Award  2009

I recently spent three days learning the ins and outs of running a successful design business with Kimberly Seldon of Kimberly Seldon Design Group here in Toronto.

Kimberly is a dynamic designer who embodies success in the Toronto area. Appearing as a regular on Cityline TV, speaking at design shows and featured in many magazines and books, Kimberly is a wealth of information that you can use immediately in your business model.

The one thing that I learned from Kimberly was how to discuss a clients budget. Clients are always reluctant to state what their budget is for many reasons which you are not privy to. Kimberly suggests that you ask them if it is a million dollars. By doing this, they invariably break down laughing and say what their actual budget is or they might even say that it is higher than that. Either way, you can't lose by asking the million dollar question.

Winner of the Trailblazer Company of the Year Award 2009

Don't blame me if you can't get those lyrics out of your head after you see the house I staged in the country. When I pulled up the winding lane to the perfect country home, I couldn't help but start to hum the tune from that long ago show. I am a city girl through and through but I can tell you that once I staged this beauty I could see myself living here. Some lucky family will buy this home and will have found their own little piece of heaven on earth. Nothing to do but move right in and enjoy the horses, the indoor pool & sauna or relax in the  spacious master and ensuite. Not to mention the lifestyle of horses in the country to ride along a winding trail.

All I did was highlight the existing focal points to draw attention to the lifestyle moment you could enjoy living in this property perched atop a ski hill looking out as far as the eye could see.

Watch the video and feel yourself relax, let the stress of the city melt away.........at 5833 Line 5 North, Moostone.

Winner of the Trailblazer Company of the Year Award 2009

United Way's 50th Anniversary Estate on the Bay Designer Showcase Home has wrapped up with the gala being held on a star lit night on Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie.  Michelle Finnamore of Advantage Staging was among 10 designers that were asked to redesign the 10,000 sq. ft. lakeside home to raise funds for the United Way.

It was a privilege to be part of a project that brought together the talents of many designers for a good cause that benefitted the community in a far reaching way.

   Cheryl Tiegs was in attendance as the rep for Cambria Quartz which was used in the kitchen.

It turns out that we were both involved with the Live Green, Live Smart green renovation of a 50's ranch bungalow in Minnesota last year. The ranch bungalow is the first home in the world to be renovated to a Platium level of LEEDS and exceed the requirements by 17%.

I always say......it is a small world isn't it?

Kevin Frankish, host of Breakfast Television and Mary Dobson, feature designer on Cityline were our chauffeurs for the evening.   Mary designed the laundry room and garage space which will be featured on Cityline October 27th.

My neighbour and good friend John Elms of Ultimate Car Rental

supplied a classic Rolls Royce for the evening as well. Along with

a few of my favourite cars like a '67 Corvette, a Maseratti and a classic

Pontiac Judge.

Here are a few of the images of the grounds that I staged to highlight the focal points of the property.

    Bradford Greenhouses supplied the large urns with fall florals for the front  

    entrance.

UCA Branding installed window film to the cabana sliding glass doors to highlight the bar area.

Martin House Art provided 5 pieces of exterior artwork made from 65% post consumer recycled steel.

 Iris in the garden was beautiful to see in the rising morning sun.

 The lime green bench brought a smile to everyone when they walked          up the path to the front door.

The eliptical steel ball was created specifically for the top of the 55 foot boat slip.

Michelle Finnamore of Advantage Staging has been busy along with 10 other designers at the fabulous Estate on the Bay Designer showhome makeover for the upcoming United Way 50th Anniversary open house tour.

I chose to stage the exterior grounds including the front door area, the cabana, the top of the 55 foot boat slip and the fish pond. It has been a pleasure working with the many suppliers who have graciously contributed to the fund raising efforts for the United Way. Wander through the home and grounds and see the lifestyle of lakeside estate living first hand.

For ticket information and dates and times in September please visit estateonthebay.com

I would like to thank the following suppliers for their contributions to my design concept-

Martin House Art - exterior Artwork  and mailbox at front door

Hiltz Marble & Granite - bar top on bar in the cabana

UCA Branding - glass door art and exterior signage

Bradford Greenhouses - urns and florals at front door

Nadia Painting. bar base in cabana

Ponds By Design - fish pond and water garden

In this example I would like to show the importance to Realty companies of their lobby reception area to the public. Whether it is a potential home buyer or an agent looking to join the sales team, first impressions count.

Gabe Bianchi of RE/MAX Premier opened the new location at 9100 Jane Street in Vaughan situated beside the Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre .  His concept for the new building was to create a main street atmosphere within the building. Two mortgage brokers, two lawyers, a home staging company amongst others are right in the building to serve the agents needs and to provide immediate answers to the buyers questions.

Part of the vision was to have the lobby staged by Advantage Staging. My suggestion was to change the look of the lobby every three months. Easy Decor rental furniture has  provided the furniture for the first vignette. I chose warm coloured, abstract artwork from a local art supplier and the props and accessories are from my rental inventory.  Every three months the look will change to keep interest high and create a positive energy in the building. Now the agents are looking forward to meeting their clients at the office as they have a story to tell that is unique to their location. And who wouldn't want that Advantage?

Investment, minimal.

Impact, priceless.

Winner of the Trailblazer of the Year Award  2009

In this example of home staging I would like to show Realtors and home owners the value in the buyers perception of a property when you take the time to tidy up and create a home that is ready to be shown.

Buyers spend less than 5 minutes viewing your home so it is wise to paint the picture for them to see how they would live in your home. It is in your best interest as a seller to present your home as "move in ready".

65% of buyers have stated that they will pay more for a move in ready home.

All I did in this home staging was tidy up, rearrange the furniture from other rooms in the house and place a few rental accessories and props throughout the home.  By doing this I was able to market the home to potential buyers that were looking for their new dream home. One that they could live and entertain in with ease.     

The investment for these two rooms was $300.00.

Investment, minimal.

Impact, priceless.

Winner of the Trailblazer Company of the Year Award  2009