About Montreal Area, QC

Yes, Home Harmony has achieved a new personal record. In the 16 hours following the "Open House" the owners had 3 interested parties ... two of which were bidding for the home. In 3 days and 98% of asking the papers are signed and the new owners take possession by the middle of the month!

From the start of renovations (removing borders, painting, fixing broken tiles, changes fixtures ...etc) this house was prepared in 5 days. To show how versatile this staging set was, a young couple and a couple in there late 70's were the two interested parties. Amazing what some paint, furniture, accessories and creative Stagers can do.

Special thanks to Louise Garai for an outstanding job of managing the project and keeping it on track. To Michelle King for providing a good sense and vision to the project and getting us over a hump with a exactly what we needed when we needed it (great mirror) To our renovation man, Danny who made our project a priority and completed it in record time and to Lori Gardener for giving us an extra set of hands. THANKS TO ALL.

This is what Home Harmony's team work is all about ...

One crazy night James and I decided to go on a drive to wherever we ended up. We both agreed to drive to Canada and cross the border for fun. I had never been outside the US before. Once we got there we decided we hadn't driven long enough so we went on until we made it to the city of Montreal. We checked into a hotel called Loews Hotel Vogue. It was a very luxurious hotel with beautiful accomodations. We just planned on staying the night and then we would head back home, probably never to return. Well...when we were waiting for vallet to bring our car around after checking out, they informed us that they backed our car into a column in the parking garage and were very sorry. They gave us a certificate for a free stay the next time we were in town so we decided to plan a trip for our wedding anniversary that year.

For our anniversary we spent the weekend in Montreal visiting the Casino de Montreal, took a jet boat ride through the Lachine Rapids and enjoyed some shopping around the city. We also visited the Canadian Six Flags - La Ronde where we ate some good old fashioned McDonalds. Only a few short hours away from Central Mass, Montreal is one more great reason to live in this area.

Hi there,

I apologize for taking longer than I thought to post these pictures ... here they are. Not great but if you look closely you will see pillows wrapped with fabric to work with the existing drab curtains, bed runners made from strips of fabric and whatever else we could dig up after rooting through cupboards and boxes.

This very dated 1940's home was ORIGINAL ... right down to the carpeting! I'm not sure how the wallpaper even hung on for so many years. Despite our suggestions and the agents, to bring in our handyman to lift the carpets (hardwood beneath) , strip the wallpaper and add a fresh coat of paint the owner (in her early 90's) flat out refused " I'm not changing a thing ... I like it like this" Although she was now living in a lovely retirement home, did not want us to touch a thing ... so while the daughter kept her busy for the day we made a few small changes ... we may sure to get the job done so we didn't have to return and possibly face the owner again ;o) .... the daughter and the agent were assuming responsibility for the changes but we didn't want to be anywhere near when she returned.

The house sold 2 days later on the Open House ... "Granny Like" but the buyer saw the potential.

We had removed the sofa covers to find this lovely gem hiding ... you should have seen what was on there!

Would you call this a master bedroom? It's hard to see but the pillows are covered with a piece of dark fabric, the runner on the bed another 2 pieces and the curtain topper, all different material pieces but matched well enough to finish this room. We found a flat white sheet to cover the old spread. Now that's Staging!

The dinning set had been left behind with a few other lovely pieces. We changed the layout of the room and worked with some old china and glassware to set the table ... the picture doesn't do it justice, it was quite elegant when it was set. The art on the left is actually an old fame we found in a closet and by inserting a piece of fabric we created matching decor!

Credit rating is the means of assessing the credit worthiness of individuals, companies, states and countries. It indicates the ability of the debtor (individual, company, state or country) to fulfill his financial commitments. Credit rating can refer to personal, corporate or sovereign credit rating. Personal Credit Rating: In the US, creditors use a scale of 0-9 in order to rank a debtor. The numbers can be preceded by the alphabets R or I. I refers to credit that is repaid in installments (like mortgage on a house), while R refers to a system of revolving credit (credit cards), whereby the debtor is only required to make minimum monthly payments.

R1/I1 means that the debtor repays his debt in one month, while R2/I2 means that he repays within 2 months. R7/I7 indicates a situation wherein debts are paid by consolidation. R8/I8 implies that debts are recovered by repossession. R9/I9 is the worst rating and indicates the inability to repay debts.

Credit Report and Credit Score: Information about credit inquiries, bankruptcies, liens, judgments or collections is sent to the credit bureaus, which prepare an individual's credit report, and assign credit scores. A person has 3 credit scores assigned to him by the following bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. While these scores may differ, the underlying principal is the same.

The credit bureaus calculate scores based on the credit scoring system created by Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) in the year 1958. Credit scores computed by Experian are called 'FICO or FICO II', scores calculated by TransUnion are called 'Empirica', and credit rating computed by Equifax are called 'Beacon'. Fair Isaac Corp. has also developed the next generation FICO scores, which are meant to be user friendly. The FICO advanced risk score is used by Experian, while TransUnion uses Precision, and Equifax uses Pinnacle, to calculate credit scores. Credit bureaus also assigns weightage to the following factors while calculating credit scores: 30% to previous credit performance, 30% to current indebtedness, 15% to the use of time of credit, 15% to the types of credit available, and 5% to new credit.

FICO scores are fast gaining popularity over the R/I multiple rating system. Hence, we can discuss the importance of good personal credit rating from the perspective of maintaining good FICO scores. What is a Good Credit Rating for an Individual? Credit ratings for an individual range between R0/I0 and R9/I9. 9 is the worst rating while 0 would mean that a person has no credit history. Credit scores for an individual are generally in the range of 360 and 850. A score below 620 is considered unhealthy. The worst score, of course, is 360 and the best is 850. Higher the credit score, lower the risk of a person defaulting. A poor credit score/credit rating would result in lenders charging a premium for providing loans. If the credit score/credit rating is very poor, lenders may refuse to provide credit. A credit score between 650 and 690 is considered good, while a score above 700 is considered optimal, by the lenders.

Hi there,

Here we are again, July 1. How does this happen so quickly every year? "Less than 6 months till Christmas" you'll hear folks say.

Stagers, it's time to prepare for an influx of calls (think positive) from home owners that haven't staged or sold their homes. Last year, we witnessed an increase between July and November. Homeowners are trying to insure that their homes will sell before the end of the year (increased chance with staging) The others that won't enlist will I guess, resort to dropping their price by thousands if not 10's of thousands. My biggest pet peeve! Why not spend as little as a few hundred or even a few thousand on Staging before reducing the selling price? ... WHAT HAVE THEY GOT TO LOOSE? … If anything they have kicked started the moving process by having us de-clutter and organize. Our clients always say “it’s so much easier to prepare for an "Open House" because everything has a place and everything is in it's place". Others wonder why they have been living like they have when they could have been living this way all along!

If the average person could only see the benefits of a staged (re-designed) home. I think a lot less would hesitate and actually hire us to do the job. There is a large misconception about what staging really is (we need to get the message out there) . I believe they think they must live in "show room" conditions when staged.... HELLO ... it's your stuff we're staging with! Re-design is an amazing relatively painless and inexpensive process that will make your home welcoming and could quite possibly earn you some extra cash! Why wouldn't you go for it? Accessories can help in some cases maybe a cozy throw, a mirror a picture and some candles ... all of which can be taken with to the next home ... oh yeah... did I mention we can help you out on that end too!

Well, enough said (maybe too much) ... off to enjoy the rest of this patriotic holiday.

HAPPY CANADA DAY !