The article below by Rachel Naud was published in the Calgary Herald on November 10, 2011. It touches on a number of very practical points.

Selling your home can be one of the most personal transactions you’ll ever experience.

Think about it, your home is where you make your memories, mark your milestones, celebrate your achievements and learn from your failures.

It’s hard to put a price tag on the place where you built your life.

Yet when it comes to selling your home, homeowners are wise to leave their emotions at the door.

That’s probably the first thing a homeowner needs to know and do before putting up a for-sale sign.

If you want to sell your home for top dollar, home sellers need to have their home “move-in ready,” says Carmen Paradis, a realtor with Re/Max Real Estate Central.

“Buyers want a house they can just move into,” says Paradis.

“They don’t want to have to do anything. People do not want to do the work. They just like to move in and live.”

And although some home sellers may translate this to mean they have to completely renovate their bathrooms and kitchens before putting their home on the market, Maxwell Canyon Creek realtor Joe Samson says this isn’t the case. In fact, sometimes he even advises against it.

“If you’re trying to sell a home that’s below the average selling price, there’s no point in spending $15,000 on a kitchen renovation,” says Samson. “Renovate to what your surroundings are. Don’t get carried away and out-renovate your neighbours.”

He says if a buyer walks into your starter home and sees high-end appliances and granite countertops, they’ll also most likely see a higher price tag.

“If buyers are looking for a house in the $300,000-range and nine out of 10 houses are $300,000 but yours is $350,000 because you have all this beautiful stuff in there, it’s going to take longer to sell, if at all,” says Samson.

“Doing renovations like that will force you to sell higher than your direct competition. You’ll never get your money back.”

Instead, both Paradis and Samson say the biggest investment a homeowner can make to fix up their homes doesn’t cost much at all – paint.

“Paint is biggest thing you can do,” says Paradis. “Sometimes, even if you wash your walls, you can’t get smudges or fingerprints off. Paint fixes that.

“It can also fix odour in the home. Odour turns people off. Especially if the home sellers smoke.”

When it comes to choosing a paint colour, Paradis recommends going with a neutral colour that will appeal to a wide range of buyers. The same rule applies to carpets.

“Some people really like colour but it doesn’t appeal to everyone,” says Paradis. “So let’s say you put in a carpet two or three years ago but it’s purple. You may want to get rid of that.

“Replacing your carpet is one of the most inexpensive things to do but it will give you great bang for your buck. People walk in and it feels fresh and clean and gives you a lot of value because you have more people interested in your house.”

Paradis also recommends fixing all those little projects you have been meaning to get to for years, such as squeaky door handles and loose railings. “It’s the little things that turn people off,” she says. ” It just doesn’t look good.”

Curb appeal is also huge. So if you have chipped paint, an unkept yard and garbage on your lawn, you could scare away potential buyers before they even step in the door.

“If the house looks unkept, quite often people make the decision even before getting out of car,” says Samson.

“They’ll say forget it. I don’t need to see this house.”

Instead, Samson suggests homeowners make the outside of their home look engaging, welcoming and well maintained.

“You want to create an image so people think your house feels like home,” says Samson. “They want to envision themselves living there, not seeing themselves fixing up the outside for two months.”


Independent of market conditions, home staging is a highly effective marketing tool used to maximize the selling price of Toronto area homes and condos.

StagingWorks is the premier Toronto home staging company. We provide a complete range of professional services which include vacant home staging, occupied home staging and condo staging. We have staging packages to accommodate most budgets and serve Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas.

Please visit our home staging portfolio for more samples of our staging projects. Give us some some details on your home and when you’re planning to sell, and get a free home staging estimate. Or, call us for a free estimate at (647) 409-2091 or anne@StagingWorks.ca.

StagingWorks has been voted Toronto’s top home stager by Toronto Life.





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The article below by David Berman was published recently in the Globe and Mail.

David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff, remains a contrarian voice on the U.S. economic recovery, and he is also sticking to his argument that Canada is in pretty good shape – and that includes the country’s housing market.

That market has taken a few knocks recently, even attracting derision from the foreign press. The Wall Street Journal ran an article on Tuesday arguing that Canadian home prices are on a fresh tear, even as income growth lags record-high debt levels.

“All that has raised worry at the country’s central bank, which repeatedly has warned about rising debt levels, and among some economists, who say the market is ripe for a correction – maybe a steep one,” the Wall Street Journal noted.

However, Mr. Rosenberg counters these observations. Yes, debt levels are a concern but he notes that homebuilders have shown some discipline in cutting back production, to an extent that didn’t exist in the United States at the peak of its housing market. In Canada, single-family housing starts have fallen 20% from year-ago levels.

“As such there is no evidence of any meaningful supply-demand imbalance that should undercut real estate valuation,” Mr. Rosenberg said in a note to clients.

“We see no reason why the Bank of Canada should be aggressive in raising rates, and at the same time, the demographics in favour of real estate are actually quite constructive, notably the influence from Canada’s business immigration platform. Note that in 2009, net international immigration to Canada surged 13%. So not only is the country acting as a magnet for international capital inflow, but Canada is also being increasingly viewed as a stable place to do business and a desirable area to live.”


Independent of market conditions, home staging is a highly effective marketing tool used to maximize the selling price of Toronto area homes and condos.

StagingWorks is the premier Toronto home staging company. We provide a complete range of professional services which include vacant home staging, occupied home staging and condo staging. We have staging packages to accommodate most budgets and serve Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas.

Please visit our home staging portfolio for more samples of our staging projects. Give us some some details on your home and when you’re planning to sell, and get a free home staging estimate. Or, call us for a free estimate at (647) 409-2091 or anne@StagingWorks.ca.

StagingWorks has been voted Toronto’s top home stager by Toronto Life.





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The article below By Sunny Freeman was published in the Toronto Star on March 13th.

Stephanie Bilbija, a university student and single mom, will have to save for a few more years before she’s a home owner, thanks to new mortgage rules that may force some Canadians to think twice about whether they’re ready to jump into the market.

The new rules as of Friday will make the maximum payback period 30 years — resulting in somewhat higher regular payments than with the 35-year amortization that has been the choice of about 30 per cent of home buyers.

Bilbija, 25, says she wants to own a home with enough space for her daughter to play, but she also needs to have money for other expenses.

“I would rather have the option of having a longer time to pay, if it meant I could get a house and still have cash flow as a single parent,” says the York University student, who has a part-time job and part of a down payment saved.

Some first-time buyers like Bilbija will have to make sacrifices to achieve their dream of home ownership now that the option of a 35-year repayment period is being eliminated.

Bilbija says she’ll save up more for a down payment and wait a few years to buy in an area just outside the pricey Greater Toronto Area.

The rule changes will increase the monthly payment on a $300,000 mortgage at four per cent interest by $105 — but will also reduce total interest paid by $42,288 over the life of a mortgage because it’s repaid five years sooner.

Dropping the amortization to 30 years will cut buyers’ maximum possible purchase price by six to seven per cent. That means someone who qualifies for a $300,000 mortgage could afford a home that’s about $18,000 $21,000 less expensive.

“When you reduce amortization, it increases your mortgage payment for the same purchase price, so if you have people near the edge of affordability, forcing them into a shorter amortization means they won’t qualify for as much house,” says Robert McLister, a mortgage planner and editor of the Canadian Mortgage Trends website.

“It means that you’ll have to find a cheaper house or you’ll have to move a little further out of the city.”

McLister says first-time owners should re-examine their monthly cash flow before deciding whether now is the time to enter the market.

“You don’t want to get in a situation where you have no breathing room.”

Mortgage holders’ total debt service ratio should be under 40 per cent of income and if they can’t comfortably buy a house and keep their debt ratios under that number, it’s probably wise to wait and save up more, he says.

McLister warns that the new rules won’t necessarily keep everyone out of trouble, so first-time buyers should avoid the tendency to buy the most expensive house their mortgage allows.

He adds that renting could be a better option for potential first-time buyers in some of the most expensive markets because much of the initial mortgage payments end up paying for interest rather than debt reduction.

But if buyers are absolutely set on securing a 35-year amortization period, McLister advises them to see a mortgage planner immediately so a mortgage approval goes through before March 17.

Pre-approval won’t do either; you have to have a firm purchase agreement, or the new rules will apply.

On a positive note, he adds that the new rules could save first-time buyers even more money because they put limits on some on those willing to max their mortgages out to secure a home and drive prices up in the process.

“If you start putting limits on those people now, those people at the edge, it’s going to put pressure on prices,” he says.

“Home prices are driven by affordability, they’re driven a lot by first time buyers and these limits will rein in some of those people.”

Vancouver-area real estate agent Richard Morrison, says “irrational exuberance” in advance of the changes has driven an increase in sales, but adds that usually clients asking for a 35-year plan are in the minority.

He welcomes the long-term effects of the changes, despite a potential short-term lull in business, but says they could help to further stabilize the market.

“If we had kept it with five per cent down and 35-year amortization, you’re taking buyers from the future into the present and could have disastrous effects,” Morrison says.


Independent of market conditions, home staging is a highly effective marketing tool used to maximize the selling price of Toronto area homes and condos.

StagingWorks is the premier Toronto home staging company. We provide a complete range of professional services which include vacant home staging, occupied home staging and condo staging. We have staging packages to accommodate most budgets and serve Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas.

Please visit our home staging portfolio for more samples of our staging projects. Give us some some details on your home and when you’re planning to sell, and get a free home staging estimate. Or, call us for a free estimate at (647) 409-2091 or anne@StagingWorks.ca.

StagingWorks has been voted Toronto’s top home stager by Toronto Life.





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The following article by Connie Woodcock was published recently in the Toronto Sun.
 
Ever wanted to sell your house but didn’t want to pay a real estate commission?
 
Ever longed to see your home on the Multiple Listing Service — a starting point for about 90% of Canadian real estate sales — but didn’t want an agent’s help?

Soon, you’ll likely be able to do just that. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has reached a tentative agreement with the federal Competition Bureau to allow sellers to hire an agent for one part of the process only — the MLS listing. It’ll likely cost you a few hundred dollars instead of thousands.
 
You’d have to do the rest of the work yourself — stuff like setting the price, organizing appointments for potential buyers, running open houses and getting the deal closed. But it’s your house. Who knows it better than you do?

It’s certainly tempting to do it yourself when the average house price in Canada is $350,000 ($427,000 in Toronto) and the usual 5% real estate commission tops $17,000.

Instead, if CREA members agree, you could pay an agent a flat fee to put your listing on MLS and then say goodbye. Most potential buyers today find properties by going straight to realtor.ca. on the Internet.

But you might want to rethink DIY. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should

To rework an old saying, a homeowner who acts as his own agent has a fool for a client.

My husband and I have bought many houses in the last 35 years and one thing we’ve learned — a good agent is worth his/her weight in gold. In the search for a new house this year, we’ve run into do-it-yourselfers a few times.

One aging couple put the sign on the lawn — but then didn’t want to talk details like the asking price and wouldn’t arrange timely showings. A few weeks went by and a new sign went up: Royal Lepage.

Another elderly couple held open houses every weekend for months. It was a nice bungalow but without an agent, they had no one to tell them how to fluff it for potential buyers — tear out that neon turquoise carpet for instance — or to suggest a more realistic price. They gave up.

Hints on preparation

A good agent has the patience of a saint, extensive market knowledge and a willingness to work all hours to get your house sold. He’ll show clients dozens of houses to find the right one. He’ll give you hints on preparing your house and provide potential buyers with lots of information. Our agent has taken us through so many houses, I lost count months ago.

Bad agents, on the other hand, will treat you as if they’re doing you a favour just looking at your pathetic little hovel. One we met told us he charges a whopping 5 1/2% “because I’m worth it.” We didn’t list with him.

In Toronto — the land of three-day sales and multiple offers — it’s easy to think your agent isn’t earning his commission. But almost anywhere else in Ontario, where the market is slow this year and hard times have discouraged buyers, agents have worked hard for every sale.

So I think the good ones can rest easy — flat rate MLS listings are unlikely to hurt them. Bad agents? Maybe they’d better start thinking about other careers.


Independent of market conditions, home staging is a highly effective marketing tool used to maximize the selling price of Toronto area homes and condos.

StagingWorks is the premier Toronto home staging company.  We provide a complete range of professional services which include vacant home staging, occupied home staging and condo staging.  We have staging packages to accommodate most budgets and serve Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas.

Please visit our home staging portfolio for more samples of our staging projects.  Give us some some details on your home and when you’re planning to sell, and get a free home staging estimate.   Or, call us for a free estimate at (647) 409-2091 or anne@StagingWorks.ca.
 
 
StagingWorks has been voted Toronto’s top home stager by Toronto Life.