Hello,

I have been teaching home staging classes for aspiring full time or part time home stagers since early 2008 in Quebec and in Europe. 

I get to meet wonderful people who are looking for a new challenge and they are very motivated and excited by the end of the 3 day course.  I try to keep in touch to follow their progress in the home staging business.  Not all of them continue and persevere long enough to make it happen and that's normal. 

I tell the prospective students that Home Staging is a growing field but we have to work very very hard and learn to be patient and not to give up if we REALLY want it to succeed!  Over time we develop notoriety and business network which will propel our business forward, but it does take time.

I see a growing demand for courses - in the last year, I have had many requests fro classes in French in the Gatineau, Hull and Ottawa area.  So here I am, trying it for the first time - in Gatineau, December 5-6-7, 2009.  I am also looking for a house for sale in the area, which my class could use for a practice session in return for a F.R.E.E. home staging consultation on December 7, 2009.

Please contact me for more information on www.home-staging-montreal.com or 514-482-9776.

If home staging interests you and you are serious about making your life better, this might be what you need!  I know that making other people happy makes ME happy!  Cheers!

As I teach Home Staging classes, I always get tons of questions from aspiring home stagers, looking for a fail-proof formula to success.

I probably disappoint them by telling them that there is no such thing, but I give them suggestions and ideas and tell them what works (and what doesn't!) for me, everything I have learned from trial and error in the last four years.

Several factors are important to make us successful.  Today, I want to concentrate on FLEXIBILITY. 

Every property is unique, every seller's needs and requirements are different and so are their personalities!  It's almost impossible, I think, to always sell the same packages, as they will not fit everyone.

I have a 'standard' offering of services, which are priced and a per-service basis, but I'm always wiiling to work with a client to modify them.  For example, a small one-bedroom condominium will certainly not require as much of my time as a three bedroom+office+basement house.  Another example is of a client who wants me to help her decide which furniture will move to the new house in two weeks and which one will stay behind and be used for staging the old house.  And many more examples...as many as there are sellers out there.

So, being flexible and fair to the client is one of the key ingredients to success, in my humble opinion.  I am curious to know what you think, please let me know!

Today's blog is about a topic that has been bothering me for several months now and I would like some help in finding the answer.

Even if the recession has hit Montreal less than some other areas in North America, the last several months were tough on realtors and home sellers, the average decline in the number of transactions hovering between 30% and 37% compared to the same month in 2008.  The time to sell a property doubled as well, on average from 3 to 6 months...

With these statistics, I was convinced that my time has finally come and the realtors will be thrilled to have me around to help them sell properties faster and better.  So, I have made presentations in several offices across the city.  The topic of How  Home Staging benefits agents is obviously close to their heart, as many came to hear me.  They applauded, they stayed after the presentation, they came one by one to tell me how great I was and how excited they were to work with me, how many clients they had for me and then......you guessed it.....NOTHING, ZILCH, ZIP, NADA....

When I follow up with them, they either don't return my calls or make up some lame excuses that they totally believe in Home Staging but their clients don't want to do it or don't need it....I don't believe it for a second, as I have rarely seen a house which didn't need any home staging at all and many home sellers contact me directly through my website.

So, what's the problem?  My guess is that most agents don't know HOW to introduce the concept and the value of Home Staging to their clients in a positive way.  A realtor girlfriend of mine gave me another reason - 'Agents are cheap!' she said.  By the way, she is one of the rare agents who has NO problem in recommending home staging to her clients and she refers me business on a regular basis.  It works for her, her properties sell!  If she can do it, why the others can't?  What are they afraid of?

I am very perturbed -I would love to hear from all of you - realtors and stagers - hopefully together we will find the answer and then I can build a marketing strategy knowing what the problem is.  HELP!!!!

Good day to you all!

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 client to 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.

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!

As part of my Home Staging training program, I organize practice session at a client's home.  As each home is different, each staging project is different as well.  We have staged vacant homes as well as performed a minor miracle on a lived-in home and all that in about 4 hours!

I want to share some projects my classes worked on, as I am very proud of the results.

The first one is a vacant condominium in downtown Montreal, which is listed for $300K.  I prepared everything in advance by renting the appropriate furniture and bringing the accessories in before the staging day.  The students had to try different configurations and reach a consensus on the optimal furniture positioning and accesories placement...  They saw what a REAL staging is and how hard we work (LOL)!

And here are the results!

Bedroom Transformed!

Living room and dining room area

Let me know what you think.  I will post another project in a couple of days.

Have a great week!

Everyone wants to know.  I get that question in all my training sessions and I understand why.  The state of the economy being what it is, real estate is in crisis...How bad is it really?

Here are the most recent stats and predictions from the Montreal Real Estate Board:

In January 2009, there were 37% LESS transactions recorded than 12 months ago, but the median price of a typical single family home is keeping steady.  Good news and bad news!

The realtors still list properties but they are taking longer to sell.  There seems to be less buyers out there and the ones who are buying are more cautious and more selective.  They expect MORE for their money.

I think that the sellers who are serious about selling their properties will soon understand that they have no choice but to give MORE to the buyer.  Therefore, making the house look its best and offering a move-in solution will become even more important in 2009.  Home Staging services will, in my opinion, become a NEEDED asset to the realtors and the sellers (I certainly hope so! LOL).

Next week, I am giving a presentation to a group of realtors from the biggest real estate agency in Quebec and I am anxious to see their reaction and willingness to work with me and my teammates.  Are they finally ready for Home Staging?  Maybe they won't have a choice!

What is your opinion on that matter?  let me know.

I just had to share this one with all of you, as this real life case is proof on what Staging a vacant property can do!

I had a client who was not able to sell his condo for several months, as in spite of the fact that it's quite nice, it is situated in a very lively area of Montreal (not to say 'party time' central') - not to everyone's taste...The client already moved to another house in suburbs and the property was sitting empty.  Several visits a week but no offers...

So, I asked the client to use his place for my Home Staging training practice session at the end of october.  I staged it wih my students and sent the client the pictures.  He liked it so much that he decided to keep the furnishings for one month.

Last week, the agent received two (2) offers on the same day.  The offers differed by $12,000.  Guess who put a higher offer in?  A buyer who saw the condo staged, of course!  Isn't that motivating for us, the Home Stagers, to see a concrete difference that our work makes?

I was (and still am) thrilled and the agent as well as the client are my fans LOL!

Happy Holidays to all!  Happy New Year, may it be good to Home Stagers across the land!

I am not sure why but I am being asked to stage quite a few vacant properties in the Montreal (Quebec)  area these days.  I think I am becoming the Vacant Property specialist! LOL

We all know that vacant properties are even harder to sell, as the defects on walls, floors and ceilings stand out more and over 90% of people are unable to visualize the empty space and what it MIGHT look like furnished...

I used to be scared of these phone calls for several reasons.  I was afraid to make a mistake -miscalculate the amount of furniture required, choose the wrong furniture and accessories, not have enough stuff to stage it with, etc...Well, now they are my favorite kind of Stagings! 

True, there is more work involved, more preparation, more organizing and more sweating!  On the first visit, I take pictures and make my list of everything needed - especially the furniture for the living room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom..Usually, I can reuse the same or similar furniture from one property to the next - off-white micro suede, chocolate brown leather - contemporary style - will look good anywhere!  Then, depending on the wall colors, style of the house and the accessories available at that time in my inventory, I decide on the ACCENT color.

The day or two before the staging, I prepare my furniture, bins (all accessories), artwork, mirrors, lamps, bed coverings, etc...and I go shopping if I am missing some items.  And then I am ready for a day of hard work and pleasure after I see the result.  I hire an assistant from one of my Home Staging courses and we set everything up, sometime trying different things until we are satisfied.  It does take several hours but the end result is worth the effort!  And the best part is that it's going to stay that way until the house is sold!

The only part I dislike is DESTAGING - after the house is sold, when we have to come back and dismount everything, pack it up and move the stuff back...but that's part of the job, so I try to stay positive and think that all this furniture and accessories will be finding a new home very soon!

House number 1:

House number 2:

Hello,

I know,  I have been delinquent lately, too busy with everyday running of a Home Staging business (and travelling to France to teach - poor me LOL).

But there is a topic that has been on my mind for a while now and that is the training programs available out on the market as well as the number of Home Staging graduates in the market.

 Home Staging services in Quebec are  on the rise !  As the general awareness of the concept is spreading, the demand for Home Staging is increasing and more sellers and realtors are open to the idea.

On the SUPPLY end,  we are seeing a proliferation of Home Staging training courses and dozens of Home Staging graduates every month.  The interesting phenomena at this time is that there seems to be more newly minted Home Stagers on the market than clients!  And they seem to think that easy money is coming their way.  As there is NO OFFICIAL accreditation of Home Stagers in the industry, anyone can claim to be one!

 So, how do you choose? What makes one training program better that another? 

 In my opinion, EXPERIENCE, honesty and a healthy dose of realistic expectations is what makes a difference.  No training program can guarantee a full proof success formula for its graduates.  But teaching them the ropes of the business, from the decorating basics to specific staging techniques to selling techniques as well as some essential business skills is what will help the graduates the most.  Providing means of coaching, follow up and participation in client projects will assure that the most motivated graduates will acquire additionnal skills. 

So choose carefully and ask a lot of questions before taking a decision!  Don't be fooled by the fancy marketing terms and false promises - ask a lot of questions and be realistic.  Home Staging is a wonderful profession and it deserves to be practiced in a professionnal way!

Home Staging has arrived in France - through the media, of course!  As France is experiencing a severe real estate crisis, the Home Staging seems an obvious service to help sellers and realtors.

 Great Britain has been at the forefront of the Home Staging for a while, but the rest of Europe is catching on as well. Slowly but surely, the French are becoming aware of Home Staging and its benefits.  Several newspaper articles and TV shows paid attention to the Home Staging in the last few months and the effect is quite dramatic, with hundreds of people interested in exercising the profession of a Home Stager. Eventually, the sellers will become aware of and interested in the Home Staging as well.

 Home Staging Montreal has had an incredible opportunity to participate in the birth of that market in France.  Our intensive 2 day seminar in French (of course!) is quite a success and we have so far delivered it to over 50 participants from all over France .  Four more sessions are scheduled (and pretty much full) over the next 3 months - in Paris, Lyon and Marseille. 

I know it's tough but someone has to do it!  LOL  And I'm happy it's me!