Mary DeBella:
"Mary - It's GORGEOUS... a HOME RUN... a 10!! Thank you. I think I just found my new Staging person!"
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~ Erin Bergstrom, Windermere, Portland, OR
Otillia Biondi:
November 17, 2008
Professional Staging Services
Otilia is a very knowledgable professional who understands what it takes to sell a home. Her creative designs and eye for detail, accentuates the home's features and makes them jump out to all potential buyers. I would highly recommend Otilia and will definitely use her services in future.
~ Michael Tippan, Realtor, RE/MAX Real Estate Centre, Inc
Pamela Culp Blanchard:
Hi Pam,
I am writing to express my gratitude for your help in the selling of my family's home. We are very grateful that with your help we were finally able to sell our home.
It became evident after 42 days of our home being on the market that either there are no parties interested in a ranch house, or we are just not selling a sellable house. With that being said, we asked our real estate agent for some direction. He did express some criticism for the layout of the house and that perhaps investing a small amount $ into a home staging service may work to our advantage.
With home staging we were able to show some appeal as well as lure a potential buyer to see its hidden potential. I really had not anticipated that our staging specialist would have been able to dramatically impact our future showing as was done. The house which once was our "comfortable old shoe" was now the show piece home, where the layout flowed and our furniture seemed to show the rooms potential.
As a busy mother of 3 young children with a demanding career I am grateful for your assistance. I needed an outsider to help me realize what I was missing and what I was doing wrong in my attempts to sell my home. I would definitely utilize you again Pam, either for staging for living or staging for selling.
Thanks again and I look forward to working with you in the future.
Sincerely,
Molly
Hamilton.
Kim Abraham:
We highly recommend Kim to anybody who would like a quick and simple sale of their home. Her expertise, knowledge, sound advice and tactful manner, while, at the same time being honest, will help sell your property in much more timely and painless fashion. Thanks to Kim, we believe that we have saved ourselves possibly many months of having our house on the market.
~ Lisbeth Moore, Campbellville, Ont.
Eileen Forester:
Thank you Eileen…..your staging assistance helped make this a quick sale!!
Katherine J. Irving
Oakville, On
Victoria Sautner:
'I have used Vicky Sautner's services and can state first hand that her efforts are "outstanding" and that the results are "even more amazing."
Not only can she identify the problems, she can correct them. If you have any doubts, check the sale of 45 Greenhalf Drive in Ajax, E1161271-see for yourself-the results were more money for the sellers and therefore a fantastic ending for all concerned!'
~ John Crawford, Sutton Group Hertitage Realty, Pickering, Ontario
Cheryl Cudmore:
The Hillgarden house we staged on Friday, sold on Friday night for the asking price + $5000 for the hot tub. It hasn't even listed yet! The buyers had seen it earlier in the week, before staging, and were not sure. Once they saw it staged they told the sellers not to let anyone else through. They knew it wouldn't last on the market while they 'thought' about it!
~ J. Paradisi, Universal Concepts
Carole Zwiers:
I am delighted to confirm that Ms Carole Zwiers has successfully graduated from the design program at the Sheffield School. She proved a model student and did exemplary work throughout her course. Her final assignment, in which students produce full scale project boards,earned her an Award of Merit for exceptional and imaginative work. Ms Zwiers enjoyed both the more technical and creative aspects of her program and this was,I think, reflected in the excellent work she achieved on it. We have no hesitation in recommending her very highly. For more information, please feel free to contact me at the telephone number provided. tel.(613)749.8248
~ Alex Myers DIRECTOR, Sheffield School,OTTAWA
Susan McKinnon:
Susan,
Just wanted to say thanks for all you've done to help us. We both appreciate it so much. Our home looks so good now. Packing all those boxes and getting rid of the clutter is so awesome. The staging is wicked!
~ Joan & Rod Palmer, 9 Kenny Cres. Barrie, Ont.
Terrylynn Fisher:
Terrylynn is always a pleasure, efficient and on top of it. She is always thinking in her clients' best interest. She stands for excellence and will not accept less. We would choose her again because she made a very painful, scary experience much easier. I had never sold a home before and Terrylynn walked us through it and guided us as needed.
~ Jodi Coloma, California
Karen Fahey:
Working with Monarch Home Staging was very reassuring to me as Karen Fahey spoke to me in plain English and really explained the reasons behind her suggestions and recommendations.
My biggest pet peeve is when professionals come in and do not listen to your needs or wants and push what they believe is best for you. I was hesitant about using a home stager as I was doing a “staging for living” and was not selling my home. I am very specific in what I want the end result to be and needed help to get my furniture layout and theme together. Karen listened to my needs and what I wanted as a final result and she helped show me the steps to take to get there. Which was exactly what I needed? I felt as if we worked as a team. Her expertise, listening skills and understanding of the customer’s needs, is really what made me feel comfortable with Karen Fahey. I ended up with the outcome I was looking for and felt that my ideas and needs were definitely incorporated.
~ Kathy Raymond, Laval,Qc.
Anne Bourne:
Hi Anne,
Thanks for all your hard work. The loft looks great! I will recommend you to anyone I know that is moving.
~ M. Slattery, Newmarket
Barbara Bryan:
Hi Barbara,
I just wanted to thank you for your excellent work in staging my clients' house for resale. Your advice, design and decoration choices, planning and execution of this project were first rate, and achieved first rate results. I was very impressed with your creative vision, at the same time always practical, flexible and budget conscious.
All your suggestions were tailored toward maximizing my clients' investment and in presenting their property for sale as effectively as possible. I definitely believe it was all worthwhile -- The end result was that my clients' property sold in less than a week and set the new standard for price for bungalows in the neighbourhood.
I will definitely recommend you to anyone who may require staging services.
David Hahn
Realtor,
Royal LePage
~ Toronto, Etobicoke
Floydilou Rochelle Kerr:
"After viewing a home last week, I immediately wanted to have the homeowners contact HomeStagersExpress.com. I believe that with proper staging services, the listing price could have been increased significantly, based on its location and the value of homes in the neighbourhood.
~ Shannon L., Friend and Current Home Buyer www.shannonleroux.com, Greater Toronto Area
Twyla Hollett:
As a Realtor I understand the importance of Staging, it is just difficult to sometimes bring the Sellers on board. I offered Twyla's staging services to our client and the next person through put in an offer(after sitting for 3 months). The client loved the "lifestyle" Twyla displayed in the space.
~ Lesley Hames, White Rock
Susan K. Streeter Honerman:
“Since Tom is in the air more than he is on the ground, it was wonderful to find a stager/designer/organizer in one-stop-shop! We needed all three skills to bring our house to “market-level.” At our consultation you told us that we would learn lifelong skills for the future, boy were you right – we use the equalizing and repurposing skills daily. The amount of information you are willing to share is amazing!”
~ Laurie and Tom M., Farmington, MN
Jennifer Hilton:
Jen was easy to get along with and the experience was different and fun at the same time. Saw how an organized room and a staged room could make such a big difference in selling a home. our home sold in 2 days for over asking price.
Thanks Jen, it was a blast!!!
~ Phil & Aline Somers, Sudbury, Ontario
Adrienne Harris:
Thank you for your professional consultation- Your thoughts to constructive detail & recommendations, greatly appreciated!
~ B. Anton, Vernon BC
Julia Fedak:
"If you're looking to score in the real estate market, your best investment may just be two hours with Julia Fedak."
She dispenses advice to homeowners wanting to change their dÈcor or wanting to sell their property faster and for more money.
And with results like these, it's no surprise a growing number of home sellers are hiring consultants like Ms. Fedak.
The certified Canadian Staging Professional and owner of Platinum Home Staging Design, works with homeowners and real estate agents to prepare the maximum appeal to homes and listings being sold in today's market.
"Staging is to optimize or enhance a room, space or house, utilizing paint, furniture placement, accessories, etc. in order to make it more appealing to the general buyer," said Ms. Fedak. "Staging gets the house in 'move-in ready' shape, allowing to secure more equity into the home. A professional stager has the background knowledge and design abilities to make this happen."
Ms. Fedak's service, like most professional stagers, typically begins with a two-to three-hour consultation, from which she formulates a list of recommendations.
These may include painting, moving or removing furniture (tip: if you put a table on an angle, it makes a narrow room look wider), repositioning artwork, hiding knickknacks and changing the lighting.
After this consultation, home sellers have the option of executing her recommendations on their own or hiring Ms. Fedak and a team of stagers to come in and do the work them.
Once this work is completed, Ms. Fedak returns to "showcase" the home sellers' rooms.
"Depending on the size of the house, this can take a few to five or six hours and entails moving furniture around - using as much of the client's existing furniture and accessories as possible and then if needed," she says, "I'll bring in my own rental furniture or rental accessories and this is all done before the house goes up for sale."
Ms. Fedak says she believes staging has become so popular because of the competitive real estate market.
"It's good for the real estate agent to hire a stager because it gives them a competitive edge, especially in a slower market, which we're in right now. They can hire a stager and they attract more listings this way, so from the real estate agent's point of view, it's good in a slow market," she said.
From a seller's point of view, says Ms. Fedak, a house is, for most people, their biggest investment and it only makes sense to make sure you get a bigger return from that investment.
"It's a fact that staging attracts more buyers and more offers," she said. "It also eliminates buyers chipping away at the 'asking price.'"
According to stagedhomes.com, staging increases a home's selling price by an average of 6.9 per cent.
As for staging advice, Ms. Fedak says the most important tip is to declutter and depersonalize.
"All those little touches that make your home special to you detract from your home's marketability," she said.
"The idea is to avoid making potential buyers feel like guests in your house. You want a person to walk into your home and say, 'You know what, I can see myself living here.' If you've got family photos everywhere, for example, the person cannot visualize themselves living there."
Another tip, says Ms. Fedak, is, "Paint is inexpensive. If your walls are scuffed or if they are marked up, if they're not in the best condition, paint them," she said. "You wouldn't believe the return of investment that you get just on paint alone."
Ms. Fedak believes the homestaging trend will continue to grow.
"I think it's definitely going to be here to stay and it's definitely going to be incorporated in most sales of houses, whether it be expedited from the stager itself or from the seller or a combination of both."
Staging, she added, is very reasonable.
"I want people to know that it is really reasonable in cost, even a consult gives them so much information of what they can do, if they don't want to hire a staging team themselves," she said.
"We work within people's budgets, so if they have a very small budget, we just utilize whatever we can."
Ms. Fedak says, it is definitely a good investment.
"Perhaps, it is the only service in the real estate industry that is provided that gives measurable value," she said.
"The buyer feels secure knowing that their best investment is a staged property and provides you, the seller, with the assurance you secured the best possible deal."
(ARTICLE FROM STONEY CREEK NEWS, APRIL 2006)
~ Laura Lennie, Journalist for Stoney Creek News, Stoney Creek, Ontario
Gloria Cravero:
Just a note to let you know what a fabulous job you did on the makeover of my client’s property. I must tell you, Gloria, that I had a great feedback regarding how well the house showed. You successfully mastered difficult challenges which had prevented the house from selling in the past – it sold within one week after your amazing transformation! I feel you increased the value of my Vendor’s home by approximately $20,000 in the final sale price!
Your energy, talent and professionalism were very much appreciated not only by myself but also my vendor, as was the truly valuable service you have to offer. I have already recommended you to other realtors. I look forward to working with you again.
~ Yvonne Little, Re/Max Abouttowne Realty Corp
