Janice Ankrett Burlington Ontario Accredited Staging Professional

When preparing your home for sale, do not forget those outdoor rooms. Those exterior spaces will influence the buyer's perception of your home just like the interior spaces.

If your home is going on the market early in the growing season, make sure you display photos of your garden to show the buyer what they can look forward to. Leave an album page out on the counter with wonderful shots of the yard. You should also clean up the yard, keep the grass cut and perhaps mulch the beds.

Once the growing season begins, be sure to keep the weeding and general garden maintenance up on a regular basis. No one wants to imagine themselves taking over a jungle.

Set up outdoor rooms to show the buyers how wonderful it will be to entertain family and friends in their new backyard.

Clean the deck or patio. Remove the weeds growing between the stones.

Set out the table(s) and chairs.

Add planters of flowers as soon as the temperature allows.

Even if you are selling a townhouse, you should show the buyer an outdoor space they can enjoy.

Set out your furniture on the patio or balcony. No matter what the size, buyers want to be able to enjoy the outdoors.

Show them where they can have their morning coffee or a glass of wine before dinner. If you have a play area, that's ok too. Keep it tidy but don't remove it. Buyers will want to see where their children can play safely.

Stage your outdoor spaces and show the buyer how their lifestyle will fit in your yard.

Recently a client said just that to me. I was very pleased because it meant she got it.

She was talking about de-personalizing her home as she prepared it for sale. In her case it was pre-packing her tea cups and cat figurines that were on display.

De-personalizing a home is tricky process. You want to remove the seller from the home without making it cold and unappealing. You have to leave enough there to tell the buyer that the seller is comfortable here and so will they be if they move in.

80% of buyers that view a home cannot visualize or get past what it there. They can't imagine themselves in a home if there is too much of the seller's lifestyle in the home.

Today I did a consult on a home that had many cultural references. It was a beautiful home but you knew their heritage as soon as you stepped in the foyer. These cultural references were in every room. This is great for living but not good for selling.

My clients realized that I was there to change things into selling mode. They were open to my suggestions.

Figures and plaques will be put away while the house is on the market. A prayer room will turn back into a bedroom. I found a cabinet in a walk-in closet that will hold some of these important items to their faith. They will be able to shut the doors for viewings and maintain an area for prayer.

Their home will have less of them in it but the buyers focus will remain on how they will use the space not on the seller.

Come On In: Doors Open caught my eye in our local newspaper. There is a new event in Burlington Ontario. June 2011 will be its second year.

Doors Open Burlington provides public access to buildings that are normally not open for viewing or have an admission fee.

Nearly 20 sites will welcome the public on Saturday June 11 and Sunday June 12. Sites such as Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Ireland House, St. Luke's Anglican Church, McMaster University Ron Joyce Centre, Halton Mosque, Royal Canadian Legion #60 Wartime Museum and others will be open.

This is a great Opportunity to know the community and its history better.

For more information e-mail doorsopen@burlington.ca .

In a way, selling your home is like holding a Doors Open event. You are opening your home to the buying public. Prepare your home for sale and make a great first impression on your public.

If you are selling your home are the Buyers and their Realtors whispering behind your back?

Of course they are!

They are discussing their impressions of your home after viewing it. They are ticking off the 'I wants' on their list that they found in your home. They are discussing the price and if it is appropriate. They are discussing the general condition of your home. They are comparing it to other homes they have seen.

Staging was created to make sure the first and last impressions of your home are positive. By preparing your home for sale you are presenting a clean, uncluttered, spacious, well maintained product. Yes, your home has become a product. Like shopping for a car, the buyers are going from one model to another checking them out and imagining it in their life. They may even be wondering if it will impress their friends.

That's why it is so important for your home to make a great first impression and then not disappoint as they walk throughout. Staging helps the buyer visualize living in your home. Many buyers cannot do this on their own and need to be shown.

Once your home has been viewed by a few Realtors and their clients, word gets around about the house they have just seen. Your home establishes a reputation. Staging helps form a positive reputation for your home. You want your house to be 'worth the asking', 'in move-in condition', 'clean & well maintained' .... you get the idea.

The last thing you want is for your home to get a negative reputation. You don't want them saying 'over priced', 'needs work', 'rooms are just so small', 'I wonder what that smell was', 'felt uncomfortable ....

Once you have a negative reputation it can be hard to get people to view your home. Your home could sit on the market long enough for the listing to go 'stale' making it vulnerable to low ball offers.

Don't set yourself up for a bad 'rep'. Prepare your home for sale before you list. Present a sound and visually pleasing product right from the beginning. Create a great first impression.

The goal of Staging is to get the best possible price in the shortest possible time.

Make sure they are saying great things behind your back. Move on with your life.

Once again Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital is holding it's Crystal Ball. This wonderful fundraiser helps support Burlington's local hospital. You can have a wonderful evening out and support JBMH at the same time.

Saturday, May 14, 2011
Mercedes-Benz Burlington
441 North Service Road, Burlington
Reception: 6:00 pm
Dinner: 7:30 pm

Get ready to be dazzled at the 2011 Crystal Ball...

Over the last ten years, the Crystal Ball has allowed us to take our guests on amazing adventures. From an evening in Paris to last year's Oz Cauze, the Crystal Ball has always been an event for supporters of JBMH to socialize and enjoy an evening together while helping raise money for our community hospital.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the hospital and the 11th anniversary of the Crystal Ball and we have decided to do something entirely different. We are very excited to bedazzle the Crystal Ball at the new flagship Mercedes-Benz dealership here in Burlington.

Guests will experience several different themed areas throughout the venue, with a variety of entertainment and delectable food service. The silent auction items will be comprised of a wine and art auction area, as well as other selected items. There will be ample opportunity for our guests to mingle, see and be seen, all while coming together to raise money for our community hospital. And one lucky guest will even walk away with a new Mercedes.

The 11th annual Crystal Ball will be a night of elegance, style and glamour that will inspire and delight those who attend.