KYM TARR

• Get rid of the dirt on the outside of the house. Hose down the house, remove cobwebs and anything else that might be lurking under the eaves. It is amazing how much street grime builds up on your exterior walls

• Make the entrance to your home inviting. Surround it with good looking well cared for plants. Remove anything dead and give the entry a good sweep and hose down. Paint or stain the steps.

• Clean windows inside and out. Replace any damaged or broken panes.

• There are simple things that we as a homeowner forget! Prospective buyers look everywhere! So make sure that you have washed the dishes and no nasty smells are left behind.

• Run around the house with a duster and remove any cobwebs, check for mould on the walls. Make sure that all the door and window hardware is in good working order. You want to make sure the house looks well cared for and not neglected.

• Let as much of the natural light in as possible. So open the blinds!

• Make all the beds, put all the dirty laundry in the hamper or better still in the wash. Put fresh dry matching towels in the bathroom. Make sure all mirrors are crystal clear.

• Have a stereo playing soft subtle background music, just enough to disguise the hum of the traffic outside.

• To give the air of space, remove most of your knick knacks from horizontal surfaces. Remove any clutter and any furniture that is not immediately required. This will make the room feel bigger.

• One important area is the kitchen. Make sure to keep it clean and dry. Decorate by adding a bowl of fresh fruit or a vase of fragrant flowers to create a pleasant aroma.

Real Estate marketing has a new weapon it its arsenal! It is called Home Staging. The old adage that you only get one chance to make a first impression is especially true when it comes to real estate.

In today’s competitive market, many homeowners are wondering what they can do to ensure that their home stands from among the growing number of houses for sale. The answer is “Home Staging”.

People imagine they can look past ugly decor or empty rooms and see 'potential', but usually they can't! That's why successful builders use Show Homes to sell their projects. People start house hunting with a logical list of “requirements”, but the home they actually buy is chosen largely for emotional reasons.

The principal aim in a home staging project is to allow potential buyers to walk into the house and have that "This is it! This is home!" feeling.

That's why it is critical to pay attention to even the smallest detail when staging a home to sell. When it comes to listing a house, Real Estate agents know there are so many factors which affect the sale of a house, beyond location and price.

The primary one is condition–and condition is most often managed by the seller – and therein lies the problem. It is sometimes very difficult for agents to discuss condition during the listing process. This very conundrum often results in a less than pristine property being listed.

So Savvy realtors turn to a Home Stager to stage their listings to ensure they sell quickly and for top dollar. Some Agents believe that staging should be a crucial and effective step in the sale of property.

One satisfied Home staging client commented ” I did not really know what home staging was, so I was shocked and surprised to see the drastic change it made in my home. “We had a very time sensitive offer on our dream home so selling the house was a priority. Home Staging was definitely a positive solution for us!”

Staging Works!

Use a stager, SELL a HOUSE

ShoeString Home Staging & Interior Redesign is a local premier full service Home Staging company.For more information contact Kym Tarr at ktarr@stagingbchomes.com or 250-212-0057

I recently came across a company with a service that impressed me. This service is very beneficial for people like us with our hectic lives. The company is called Send Out Cards and has already made my life noticeably easier.

People receive very few real notes or cards in the mail anymore. Email greeting cards are common and widely available free of charge but no longer have much of an impact ... in fact they ' r e sometimes perceived as a nuisance. A real life, personalized card or postcard that' s actually delivered is very different. It stands out from the ‘ b ills ' and ‘ j u nk mail ' , which are all most people get by snail mail these days, and is warmly received.

VERY BRIEFLY here ' s how this works. As a customer you can log into your website account, choose a post card or greeting card from a huge selection of thousands of cards in many different categories (or custom create one yourself with the Picture Plus feature), personalize your message, and click send. That ' s it. Send Out Cards does the rest!

They print the card, stuff it in an envelope, address it, put on a real stamp (not postage meter), and mail it ... all for less than half the price of just a card alone in a typical card shop. The recipient typically will receive your card in the mail in about 4 -8 days . This of course is subject to normal mail delivery times plus about 24 hours for production.

One of many things I respect about this company is that as good as the product already is, they are constantly improving by regularly adding new cards and features!

CLICK THE LINK TO SEND YOUR OWN FREE CARD!