Prior to listing a home for sale, I come in, and advise the Client on things that need to be done before the house is advertised. Some people have a tough time understanding the concept of less is more… Generally, I do not ask them to remove all the traces of their personal lives, I leave the religious artifacts alone, unless I am faced with little shrines in every room, and most of the time I do not ask them to adjust their daily routines. But I always ask them to remove all the pictures of their children from display. If the pictures are on the wall, and the Client is concerned about the leftover holes, I will ask to place something else on that wall, instead. The simple reason for this is the safety of their kids. About 90% of Buyers start their search online those days. I know that ... 07/14/2008

Once Again Barrie Ontario leads the way for Housing starts for all of Canada CMHC has released its CMA (Census Metropolitan Area) report for housing starts, year over year change. Although Alberta has been in the news recently with all its booming real estate growth, Barrie Ontario once again tops the list at a whopping 114% increase. The second place for housing starts was Kelowna BC, at almost half what Barrie is, at a year over year change increase of 61%. As a comparison, and to put things into perspective, Edmonton has seen a -42% change in its housing starts. What this means for real estate investors   In a nutshell, housing starts is construction related. Construction means jobs, and purchasing of materials. Purchases and jobs mean growth for real estate in the long run.  Barrie ... 07/11/2008

We all look for ways to save money and that’s why the concept of selling your home without a Realtor may be so appealing to many. But choosing to purchase a home without the help of the Realtor is simply not a smart move… Let me tell you a story. Picture a secluded, quiet neighbourhood with towering pine trees and well kept homes. The place to be for a retired couple whose daughter already lived right there… One day daughter’s next door neighbour listed his home privately for sale. The daughter decided that this was a great opportunity to get her parents into the area. She suggested to her parents that they should buy this home. And so they did… never asking anyone else for advice. This was to be their second nest, the home away from home, close to nature, and just perfect as an investm... 07/11/2008

The Rotary Club of Barrie-Huronia & The Mariposa School of Skating presents the 19th Annual Mariposa Charity Gala. Proceeds in support of the Royal Victoria Hospital Foundation “Rotary House” 2008 MARIPOSA CHARITY FIGURE SKATING GALA THURSDAY AUGUST 7, 2008 tickets on sale now at the Ticket Master http://www.mariposagala.info The Star Studded cast of this spectacular show includes: Jeffrey Buttle – 3x Canadian Men’s Champion, 2008 World Champion Jamie Sale & David Pelletier – 2002 Olympic Pair Champions Marie France Dubreil & Patrice Lauzon –5x Senior Canadian Dance Champions , 2X World silver medalist Michael Weiss – USA Senior Men’s Champion, Olympic & World competitor Jennifer Robinson – 6X Canadian Champion, World & Olympic competitor Yuko Sato – Senior Women’s Champion of Japan Ste... 07/11/2008

New CMHC changes could spell end of Speculative Real Estate Investments As of October 15th 2008 CMHC announced it will no longer be offering insurance on 100% financed investment property purchases. Gee I wonder why? Do they foresee more of a credit crunch coming? Or was this product under used and therefore there is no need to offer it anymore? I tend to think that they are preparing for an increased slowdown and want to prevent anymore erosion in the credit downfall.  In other words without causing any panic, they think the Canadian foreclosure market will increase and they want to prevent anymore "risky" deals from being written up. As well they do not want to be perceived as supporting speculative real estate investments. Is it a Good thing? Well that depends on which side of the in... 07/10/2008

We all know that clean, neat and tidy home is a pleasure to show, and it opens the doors to the painless selling process. Getting to that stage (clean, neat and tidy) however is a struggle for most of us. If you have kids, cats and dogs, laid back husband or temperamental wife… and a normal, busy life with soccer practices, skating competitions, and due dates coming out of your ears… chances are, you would cringe at the thought of unexpected company dropping by at your doorstep. So now, when you decided to Sell your home, how do you overcome this CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome” *FlyLady.com)? I discovered FlyLady.com years ago. This woman had this “Clean and Tidy Thing” handled and she was sharing her secrets with the World. In simple baby steps she was teaching us to take the c... 07/08/2008

It’s finally summertime and we all long to some time at the beach or on the lake. But if you are like me, you continue to find yourself running around without a brake and just not being able to get off the “Marry-Go-Round”. With demanding Clients and Open House requests every weekend, kids on different schedules and all those Summer get-togethers that the family and friends expect, with family coming over from Europe for entire MONTH, I must say… I’m quite overwhelmed at times. Knowing myself, I will do-it-all and come out smiling but at what cost? A lot of us have a tendency to spread ourselves thin and bite their teeth in the process to satisfy everyone else’s demands, and what’s worst, our own too. In my case it’s the perfect back yard and beautiful spot to relax on the weekends that... 07/07/2008

Real Estate Investing Fundamental #3  Local vs. National Real estate investment analysis needs to take into consideration many factors. The study of various  property statistics is required. Research into economic factors and then crunching those numbers are all necessary to make an informed investment decision. Before we analyze these numbers however, it is vital that we look at the RIGHT STATISTICS AND NUMBERS.  I would encourage you to not waste your time crunching numbers that really do not affect your purchasing decision. Simply put, when the news media spouts out National real estate statistics, they are only broad references that have the little impact on the final outcome on your investment decisions.  Local statistical averages is what we need to study. The adage "location, loc... 07/03/2008

What does this mean for Barrie real estate Values? Barrie city council approved 2 more major highway development projects at Essa Rd, and Harvie Rd both at the 400 interchanges. A third interchange development is slated for Duckworth street exit and 400. as well. The interesting news is that the large tract of land at the corner of Duckworh and Cundles is slated for another Home Depot to be built once the interchange is approved. What does this mean for real estate? Well lets look at Mapleview and 400 interchange. We can certainly argue both points ( development is good for  real estate and the opposite, development is bad for real estate....for those that do not like the added traffic). Since we discuss the investment component of real estate, I would say that improving of a transporta... 07/03/2008

For 20 years now, I have celebrated Canada Day.  Coming to this beautiful Country from Communist Poland, I was still a kid, just hoping that life can be different.  At 16, everyone is a dreamer.  But now, looking back, I know that those teenage dreams realy came true.  After living through Martial Law and seeing tanks on the streets of my city in Poland at 11 years old, after living through the 7 months of hell in Greece and sleeping on the balcony of one room studio, because the floor space was taken up by 7 other people... after finally arriving in Toronto on cold January day in '88, I knew that I came home.  I was coming home again and again, each time I went back to Poland to visit the family.  Each time I looked out the plane windows and saw the tiny lights on the 401, each time I ... 06/30/2008

A couple was getting ready to sell their home; it was a nice, spacious home in the quiet, family neighbourhood.  They enjoyed it for many years and raised their family there.  Now it was time to move on.  Like many others, they didn't pay a lot of attention to the condition of their home over the years.  The house was well loved by everyone, adults, kids, their dogs and numerous cats. The original carpets were quite tired after 20 years, the sheet vinyl flooring worn out and torn.  Kitchen cabinet doors were falling off their hinges, the finish on counters was worn out. Popped nails in the ceilings were visible in gaping holes. It was obvious that in order to sell this home a lot of work needed to be done.  So, out they went to the local BIG BOX store, to get paint for the walls, tiles ... 06/30/2008

We have all been confronted with mounted animal heads in our work as Home Stagers. Do you leave them up or take them down?  I have encounterd a horse's head mounted on a bedroom door. A little disconcerting when you are not expecting it. Shades of the Godfather if you know what I mean. This property in Barrie had a very small one mounted in the living room but it did come down in the final decluttering during the Staging. Although the homeowner was not very happy about it, I let him know that it would look lovely in his new home. Advantage Staging will market the features of your property every time to stand out from the competition. This property is now SOLD! Investment, minimal. Impact, priceless. 06/28/2008

Today on the way to the office, I was listening to the radio and yet again I heard the dreaded news: TD Bank says that the Canadian Housing Boom is over… I know that many people are very concerned about the future of our Housing Markets in Canada, but what does news such as this truly mean to the average you and me? Let's take a closer look at my adopted Home Town. Beautiful Barrie in Central Ontario. For about 5-6 years now we have been enjoying the steady growth and an upward trend in our local Real Estate Market. Today we see a slow decline from that upward trend. That does not mean that things will go crashing down in a cloud of dust! Yes, at the moment we are coming into the Buyer's market, and that maybe bad news for the Sellers... But aren't those Sellers also Buyers at some poin... 06/27/2008

The other type of flooring that I mentioned in my previous post is unfinished hardwood flooring. When getting ready to Sell your home and considering hardwood flooring installation, this type is suitable in the situation when you already moved out and your property is vacant. Because Unfinished Hardwood Flooring is simply bare wood with no stain or varnish on it, it's installation and finishing process comes with not only noise but also funky smells and a lot of dust. There is one company in our area that offers dustless floor refinishing along with environmentally friendly and light-on-your-nose finishing products. The sanding system that they use reduces the amount of dust generated in the sanding process by about 85-95%. With unfinished hardwood flooring you have an array of species,... 06/26/2008

Staging the outside is as important as Staging the inside. How many potential buyers pull up in front of the property and will never see your beautiful Staging job inside due to the less than stellar appearance outside? I have a garden person that edges the lawn, sidewalk and driveway plus pulls out all those weeds. For $150 the place looks like a park when she is done. A true star on my team.  Clients always comment  that if they had known that they could have lived in a park like setting in Barrie for only $ 150 they would never let their property fall into such disrepair.  Stage the outside?  Absolutely!!!! Advantage Staging will market the features of your property to stand out from the competition every time. Investment, minimal. Impact, priceless. 06/26/2008

We all heard that Wood Flooring adds value to your home, especially at the time of sale. TRUE! But let's take a closer look at doing it the smart way. If for some reason, you chose not to install hardwood in your home for your own enjoyment, but now you are getting ready to sell your home and feel that such upgrade will benefit you in the long run. Listen up: Before you go out and choose the wood that YOU like, PLEASE talk to your Realtor, the Stager that she recommends, or even your interior decor savvy friends. LISTEN to what they have to say. They may save you a big chunk of money. When it comes to hardwood flooring, you have several choices. Real hardwood floors come in pre-finished (factory finished) varieties and un-finished (on-site finished) varieties. Then you have engineered ... 06/26/2008

Ardagh Bluffs is one of Barrie's premier subdivisions.  Here you will enjoy the spectacular views stretching out for miles.  Located on the outskirts of this booming city, Ardagh is close enough to everything that Barrie has to offer and yet removed from the hustle and noise of the City life.  Just steps away you will find forest walking trails, golf course overlooking the hills and valleys of this region and for the kids, well designed play areas.  If convenience of proximity to the shopping centers is one of your concerns, this is a perfect place to be.  Minutes away there is a new plaza with a grocery store, just a bit further there is a Mapleview Shopping Centre.  Here you will find giants like Walmart and Winners.  Ardagh Bluffs was designed with the growing family in mind.  Younge... 06/24/2008

Teenage boys are wont to leave piles of dirty, smelly clothes on the floor (marking their territory?) LOL!! Just kidding.  How do you get them to cooperate with the Staging process?  I suggest to the parents that they offer some sort of reward to keep the room neat and tidy that the teenager can look forward to. Either getting to pick new bedroom furniture, paint colours etc. in the new home. It can be as simple as concert tickets or sports tickets. What ever it takes to get them to buy in to the idea of keeping their room looking as great as the day you finished Staging it until it is sold! Advantage Staging will market your property to stand out from the crowd every time. This home in Barrie is now SOLD! Investment, minimal. Impact, priceless.   06/23/2008

What are we to do with black walls, dark purple walls, more posters than you can shake a stick at? I have found that if you Stage the room with a neutral colour, and that doesn't have to be beige, and use just a bit of a grown up pattern on the bedding or accents, it lets the teenager involved feel grown up and see what the next stage of their life could look like in the new house. Or in many cases going off to university or college. You really have to sell the ides to the teenager to get them to buy into the idea of change as their room is their only space to call their own. Advantage Staging will market your property to stand out from the competition every time. This home in Barrie is now SOLD! Investment, minimal. Impact, priceless. 06/23/2008

Yes, I am one of those Stagers that Stages the medicine cabinet. You just don't realize how many people look in your personal spaces. They want to see if their stuff will fit in so they feel they have every right to check out your cabinet.  I purchase inexpensive baskets with clean, flat fronts with tall sides to hide everything away in. The client is always happy that I mentioned it and the results speak for themselves. Advantage Staging will market your property to stand out from the competition every time. This home in Barrie is now SOLD! Investment, minimal. Impact, priceless. 06/23/2008