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!!!!
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!
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!
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Home staging (valorisation residentielle) and interior redesign services in the Montreal area. Simple and effective solutions which will allow you to sell faster and get more money for your property
Sveta Melchuk is the founder of Home Staging Montreal (HSM), a premier Montreal area firm that specializes in staging homes for quick and profitable sale and re-decorating them efficiently and at modest cost so you can enjoy them more. We work in Montreal, Laval, West island, South shore and the Laurentians, just ask us.
Home Staging Montréal est une société spécilaisée en Home Staging (Valorisation résidentielle) dans la région de Montréal, Laval, West Island et la Rive Sud. Valorisez, relookez et vendez!
Depuis 2005, nous travaillons avec des vendeurs et des agents immobiliers afin de vous aider à vendre votre maison rapidement et au mielleur prix possible!
Sveta and her associates have been helping home sellers and realtors since 2005 to enhance their properties in order to sell them faster and for more money!. Sveta is always looking for creative and budget consious solutions for her clients to increase the value of their property. Stage your house - sell your house!à
Sveta is also a popular speaker and intrenational trainer on Home Staging. She teaches in Europe regulary and have has students from as far as Tahiti and ïle de le Reunion attending her courses.
Using some simple and effective techniques, Home staging (house fluffing, real estate staging) can make a huge difference when selling a house. It will sell quicker and for more money than otherwise, as it will stand out from the crowd! Or, if yo would like to change a few things in your house without spending a lot, we'll be happy to help - sometimes, it just a matter of a NEW look and a bit of creativity!
We work with home sellers, property flippers, realtors and home builders. We stage lived-in homes as well as empty properties. Our main goal is to listen to the client's needs and budget and provide the best solution for each client. Our team of reliable and competent resources will take care of everything for you. All our services are available in English, French and Russian.
Home Staging Montreal specializes in helping home sellers prepare their property for sale, make it look its best by reusing what they already own as much as possible, allowing them to sell it faster and for more money. I work directly with home owners, sometimes before they even select a real estate broker, or with agents who want to add an extra service for their clients. Staging a house will allow an agent to sell it faster (faster turnaround), for more money and reflect better on agent's reputation.
We also stage tons of empty houses for home sellers, property flippers and new home builders.
What Staging Services are available?
A trained Home Staging Consultant will provide as few or as many services as you want.
From a simple consultation to analyze the problems and provide the solutions to a complete project management, our team of reliable and competent resources will take care of all your needs.
Step 1: Analysis, recommendations, project planning and budget
Step 2: Executing the prep work - paint, repair, clean, declutter, etc
Step 3: Staging = optimizing the space, enhancing the property, creating ambiance and giving it the WOW factor!
Interior Redesign
I also provide one-day redecorating services for clients who want to make their homes look better without spending a lot. Simple and creative solutions can transform a home in a few hours and everyone (including yourself) will be surprised!
WHY choose Home Staging Montreal?
Our guarantees
"We were thrilled with Sveta's services. Her expert opinion helped us to accent, de-clutter and present our condominium in a manner which resulted in the sale - 48 hours later and at 97% of the asking price! Thank you!" Paul and Megan Quigley, Montreal, QC
''I contacted Sveta to stage a vacant property that I needed to sell quickly for close to the asking price. Sveta coordinated the delivery of the furniture and her staging helped the property show extremely well. The property sold in 6 weeks for 94% of the asking price. I wouldn't hesitate to use Sveta's services on another project.'' Jason Molluso, Montreal, Quebec
"I was absolutely charmed by the home staging experience! All we had to do was to listen and to execute your precious advice and the result was evident. Thanx to you and your team." The house sold the same day! Mme Gervais, Lachine, May 2009
'My client hired Sveta to stage his vacant property in NDG. Her team transformed the living spaces into a visual delight, maximizing each room's potential.Visitors were clearly impressed, and able to picture themselves living there.
Sveta's provided an excellent, professional and efficient service to both the client and myself. As a result, the property showed well and sold. I refer Sveta to clients and agents alike, and plan to use her valuable services again.
Donna Harris, Affiliated Real Estate Agent,
Groupe Sutton Centre Ouest
Westmount,QC
'We found that Sveta played a key role in the sale of our home. She managed our project extremely well and within very tight time constraints. She improved the utilization of our space and suggested small renovations, furnishing, and accessories to improve the image and comfort of our property. The bottom line is that we were able to sell our home faster, for more money, and with less hassle than we thought possible. We sold in 9 days for 98% of the asking price and enjoyed to process. Thank you Sveta!'
John Alton, NDG - July 2008
«You are the best, I will recommend you to all. It is the best investment I made in this duplex!» A.Benchaya, NDG - July 2007
«Thank you very much for your time and tips. My wife and I thought you did an amazing job of dissecting our house.» Eric Levy, DDO - April 2007
"I moved into my new home about 6 months ago and, since then, I limited myself to basics as I was not certain how to decorate and what to buy. One visit from Sveta gave me the boost I needed: she showed me how to maximize and re-use what I already had, reposition my furniture, brighten the rooms up and pull it all together by re-hanging the artwork. I took lots of notes and went shopping with confidence the next day. Thank you, Sveta, for all the positive energy your visit gave me!"
Josée Ducharme, Mirabel, Canada
"While recognizing the need to stage the house to appeal to the widest possible range of buyers, Sveta was able to understand my tastes and set up a plan that addressed both needs. I am very happy with the result of our work - the house sold in under 3 weeks and for > $100,000 above what brokers had estimated six months earlier."
Testimonial from J. Hass - July 2007
My client hired Sveta to stage his vacant property in NDG. Her team transformed the living spaces into a visual delight, maximizing each room's potential.Visitors were clearly impressed, and able to picture themselves living there.
Sveta's provided an excellent, professional and efficient service to both the client and myself. As a result, the property showed well and sold. I refer Sveta to clients and agents alike, and plan to use her valuable services again.
Donna Harris
Affiliated Real Estate Agent
Groupe Sutton Centre Ouest
Westmount,QC
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