Ottawa Real Estate : Staging Your Home

Ottawa Real Estate : Staging Your Home

When it comes to staging one’s Ottawa real estate home for potential buyers it is key to take some things into consideration. Selling one’s house requires a few things to be put into perspective as the house by itself needs to be able to market itself with no problem at all. This helps increase the value of the house as well as the appeal.  Hence, knowing how best to stage one’s house is important in the putting of the house on the market and having it sold within a lesser time frame.

Listed below are some tips that one needs to consider if they are planning to attract the largest pool of buyers by downplaying the house’s weaknesses and highlighting its strengths.

Grab Them from the Curb

First impression tends to matter a lot. With regard to this, while one is considering staging the home they need to understand that what people see is what attracts them to the house. Hence, one needs to maintain the garden, put flower pot as well as just take care of the environment round the home as first impression always matters.

Make It Sparkle

One needs to pretend as if they are having their mother-in-law visiting hence, everything needs to just be perfect. The cleaning, the vacuuming, mopping even the cat in the house needs to be clean. Buyers tend to look at the places one may think that they will not look at all and that’s where they end up looking. In addition, one also needs to pay attention to specific orders which may affect their first impression on their potential buyers. One may ask a third party to come and inspect the smell of the house.

Pay Attention to Color and Light

One needs to put into consideration the fact that they are trying to stage their home for whatever reason hence, their color scheme needs to be very neutral and accommodating for their potential buyers. In addition, a neutral home tends to look larger and may have a lesser chance of offending an individual.

In addition, one is advised to open up the draperies in order for sufficient light to come into the house as lighting tends to set a specific mood.

Depersonalize

One needs to de-clutter the house of them as this may offset the price of the house if there are too many personal items. The potential buyers need to be able to picture themselves in the house without one’s photos affecting the ambiance or imagination.

Make Repairs

Making of repairs is very essential as one may need to make sure that the small things don’t end up embarrassing them at all. Such include smudged paints, squeaking doors or chipped paint as the home needs to be a high-maintenance zone.

Apply a Fresh Coat of Paint

Paint tends to change the house and make it look new and attractive at the same time. Having a neutral colour such as beige or taupe in the living spaces as well as a neutral green or blue for the bathroom will definitely increase the appeal of the house by far.

Contact Ottawa real estate agent Joanne Martin of House Curious with assistance in buying and selling your Ottawa home!

Transforming Your Home For Resale – Real Estate Agent Ottawa

Transforming Your Home For Resale- Real Estate Agent Ottawa

One of my favourite parts of my work as a real estate agent Ottawa is seeing the transformation that buyers make in their new home. It’s so easy for buyers to make improvements without spending a lot of money. The best time to act is right at possession time when excitement and pride of ownership is at its peak. I love to make suggestions as I show homes on how easily rooms can be improved. Structural repairs and big renovation projects are more costly and need to be budgeted for but here my 4 top improvements that are affordable and make a big impact.

• Paint – need I say more? Choosing the right colours and giving the space a fresh look goes a long way. If you don’t know where to start I definitely recommend a consultation with an interior designer to help you choose a paint palette. The cost of the consultation will outweigh the cost of the wasted cans of paint for colours that don’t turn out right.

• Backsplash Backsplash Backsplash – This is often overlooked. I am amazed at how many properties I sell that do not have a tiled backsplash. If there is not a current backsplash in the kitchen, it is quite simple to add one and can become a DYI project with so many tutorials available on the internet and in store demos. Even if you have to hire a tiler, it is quite affordable for small projects. Removing and replacing an existing backsplash is a bit more complex and might require hiring a contractor but can make a huge difference in giving the kitchen an updated look. There is a large variety of affordable tiles at home improvement stores and they don’t need to be expensive to create the desired effect.

• Cabinet update – Giving your kitchen or baths cabinets a fresh new look by painting, spraying or staining them goes a long way. Even though you might be planning on replacing them in the future this could buy you time. There is a great product called Renuit that can transform your kitchen. It goes a long way and is quite inexpensive but time consuming and must be applied properly. I’ve seen some great youtube tutorials that would be worth watching before starting. If your budget permits it, Home Depot offers a great resurfacing product for cabinet door replacement. You can order doors to match the exact sizes of the existing ones. If you are changing colours it is a bit tricky because the side panels will also need to match. They offer a full installation option also.

• Finishing touches – Your furniture and décor can make a great impact. Choosing the right style and sizes of pieces is important. It is important to forget the final touches. Drapes and area rugs finish a room perfectly. I LOVE area rugs. Don’t be afraid to go big. Most rooms that I see have area rugs that are too small for the space. A nice pattern or colour on the rugs make the biggest impact. Drapes should be the right length. If you can’t find them long enough in your budget, consider adding a border. I often buy several inexpensive pairs and cut and sew them and add a strip through the middle. This creates a custom look at box store prices. Ideally you should have two full panels to each side of the window and curtain rods should extend past the window. This way you are not covering up the window when you want light in and it also makes the windows appear wider than they really are.

Contact House Curious for a Real Estate Agent Ottawa today to assist you in selling your house today!