Posts Tagged ‘staging’

WATERCOOLER THOUGHTS

Posted on: September 14th, 2021 by Chris Scott

 

If anyone is interested. Here are some random thoughts on a few things real estate and otherwise.

Capital Gains on Primary Residences?

This is not going to happen. I have been asked this a few times this past month. Governments want to get elected again and having 100% of homeowners against them will not help their chances. Could they increase the capital gains on investment properties or flipping. I believe that could be the case. But they will never come after our gains on our primary residence.

Changing Market

Sellers really need to start having better expectations of what they are going to get in this market. I recently priced out a house that may have gotten $1 million as a sale price in April. Right now, I’m seeing that it may be more like 925 to 950k. The seller seemed very disappointed at this number. This is a house that would’ve been worth 775 last year. I would still say it was a very good investment we are just not selling at the all-time high right now.

The Power of Staging

One of the hardest things to do as a real estate consultant is showing people the value of staging. It is hard because there is no clear return on investment. What I mean by that is when you do the staging there’s no set amount that you’re going to get back by doing it. It is all based on my experience as a realtor and seeing firsthand that home preparation is the number one way to increase what a client will get for their house. I spent $3000 staging my own house and Colin from our team spent over $2000 staging his home for sale. There is a reason we invested in this process.

Pandemic Fatigue

Anyone else feel that they need the world to go back to normal ASAP? In many ways, this Fall is hopefully going to bring some normalcy with kids back in school. For me as a business owner, team leader, realtor, friend, and most importantly father and husband it has been so difficult to feel like I am succeeding at any one of these important tasks. I feel like I’m doing OK but just not flourishing if you know what I mean. In many ways, I need to relearn the good habits that I had in place before covid started. Also, anyone else dressing a lot more casually? Lulu dress pants are now my go-to!

Current Favourites

The best snack mix going right now is the Cajun mix at Farm Boy, another favorite is Farm Boy’s chocolate-covered pretzels. A close second are Miss Vickie’s Spicy Dill Pickle chips. Anyone one else developing a snacking habit? We have snack-a-palooza’s at least twice a week.

Recent Reads

Right now, I am reading Greenlights by Mathew McConaughey. Good life story. It is funny and interesting. Alright, Alright, Alright!

Also, reading The Song of Achilles. So far so good.

Best of TV

Right now the best thing on TV are the Blue Jays! Loving the streak and playoff push.

 

WHY IT MATTERS WHO YOU WORK WITH!

Posted on: April 28th, 2020 by Chris Scott

The subject homes in this case study were almost identical.  They are the exact same Red Oak model by Tartan. They are right across the street from each other. Upgrades were similar. The houses were essentially the same value.

Difference: $14,157

Why it matters who you work with!

It is tempting to save money on commissions, I get it. My sellers paid more to work with our team in this scenario. They also netted thousands of dollars more than their neighbor across the street. Our seller also received a more personalized service experience.

People always get caught up in how much they are paying and not necessarily the value they are receiving.

Top 3 Reasons We Got More

1) Staging: The house was professionally staged and ready for viewings. This service included multiple visits and staging rentals.
2) 3D Tour: We had a 3D tour available online that attracted our eventual buyer.  They were able to walk through the property virtually before stepping foot inside. When they came for their first visit it was pretty much a 2nd showing.
3) Negotiating: We were able to get over $14,000 more than the house across the street. Both homes were almost identical. They were the exact same model and had similar upgrades. We had the disadvantage of them selling first at a lower price. We stayed very strong and got more than our asking price with no other offers on the table. How you might ask?  I have been negotiating deals for over 15 years. I have seen it all. I am ready to be strong to protect your hard-earned home equity. The other home had their house negotiated from a call center in Toronto.  Often times in life you get what you pay for. I have learned that time and time again with so many products and services. I now make my decisions on value.

Happy Client

My clients met with me pre-covid and we set up a listing plan for them. That plan, of course, changed quite a bit leading up to the listing date as covid restrictions were put in place. My clients could not wait to sell because they purchased a new home already. We pivoted and put a new plan in place that included the 3d tour, staging, and online marketing. The results were great! Our team was thrilled we were able to get such a favorable price for our longtime clients.

HOME STAGING 101 – JUST THE FACTS

Posted on: April 1st, 2020 by Chris Scott

Your home is one of the biggest investments in your lifetime. Home staging will help you get a better return on your money. Most buyers are looking for a move-in ready home and home staging helps them visualize this instantly. Besides, it makes your home look like a model home without you having to lift a finger.

Let’s look at some of the facts from the experts regarding why home staging is so big right now and why so many sellers are opting for this.

  • the National Association of Realtors says for every $100 invested in staging your home, the potential return is $400. That is four times the return for your investment.
  • homes that are professionally staged spend 73% less time on the market (Real Estate Staging Association)
  • 85% of staged homes sold 6-25% more than un-staged homes (homestagingresource.com)
  • 68% of staged homes sold for at least 9% more than un-staged homes (homestagingresource.com)

Let’s look at the following scenario:

Imagine you have an unstaged home priced at $500,000 that has been sitting on the market for a few months. You start getting worried and decrease the selling price by 5% — or by $25K. Your home now sells for less and your house is a stale listing. Buyers think there maybe be a problem with the house as it has been sitting for a while. You get frustrated and then decide to go with a separate home staging company at more cost to you again.

When a house first goes on the market, this is the time when there is a lot of interest from buyers. Once that first wave of interest passes, time can be your enemy. We are experienced in what a home needs to sell.

Our Chris Scott Real Estate Team believes that:

  • Timing is extremely important
  • Most activity is when it is first listed
  • A listing has the greatest opportunity to sell when it is staged properly

We want you to have your home staged so that you are competitive with other staged homes on the market. Staging works and it has proven itself time and again. We want every client to have the best version of their home and we feel everyone deserves this service. We offer a professional home stager service to all our clients. If you have any questions on how home staging will sell your home, do not hesitate to contact our Chris Scott Real Estate Team. We will provide a free evaluation of your home and make suggestions on how we can stage your home and get it quickly on the market.

Click here to check out our Staging Transformations!

 

BEFORE AND AFTER

 

RENTING FURNITURE FOR A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION

Posted on: May 3rd, 2019 by Chris Scott

One of the best marketing campaigns I can remember growing up was Head and Shoulders shampoo. Their slogan was “because you never get a second chance to make a first impression”. It is so true in not having dandruff on your shirt and it can also be applied to real estate. Stay with me here. When home buyers walk into your house you want to be feeling good about what they see and excited about what is to come! First impressions are crucial!!

Side note: I looked up that campaign and it was from the ’80s (ageing myself a bit). I still use H&S today because I am petrified of dandruff and making the wrong first impression.

If you are a home buyer what room would make a good impression to you:

Well, I agree with your choice. We suggested the homeowner bring in some rental furniture to outfit this room properly. We then made the room come to life and accessorized it.

Of course, once you commit to the staging you can’t just stop at one room. It all has to come together. In this case, we had a pretty solid plan that the homeowners bought into. We ended up bringing some of our own furniture we use for lots of stagings, to bring it all together.

You will notice the kids room. We felt the demographic buying would be younger families so we showcased as such. That is Aiden’s (my son) old bed and some of his toys/books. ? Don’t tell him! We also brought a desk and chair in for the loft among many other changes.

 

 

 

 

Why go through all this work?

This is really the big question, isn’t it? Is it really worth it to stage? My answer is, absolutely. Having a fresh, modern, clean look is the key. We want people to feel excited about the house and the possibility of owning it. I bet there are people who would not even offer on the house as it sat before. They might not even realize why. Hard to prove this theory but we have taken over many non-staged homes that could not sell. We keep the prices the same and then like magic! they sell for top dollar. That is why I also invested over $2500 to stage my own place when I sold. Anyways, I am ranting a bit here but it is what I believe with conviction.

MULTIPLE OFFERS ACROSS THE CITY

Posted on: March 15th, 2018 by Chris Scott

 

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Multiple offers are always a possibility in some of Ottawa’s most desirable neighbourhoods. With inventory levels at record lows and demand, sky-high multiples are happening across the city and right into suburbia. The hottest segment in the city right now is a suburban townhouse. This was never the case in previous years! Amazing to see this phenomenon develop over the past few months. Now what is happening is that new prices are being established as buyers bid homes up. This will make 2018 a year were we might see some buyers priced right out of our market.

With so much money at stake on every sale it is so important to have the right representation. A listing that is well priced, presented & staged, and marketed should receive multiple offers. From there it will be the Realtor’s role to make sure you maximize your return and help navigate through all the offers. We helped a client recently sell their house for 6k more than the exact same model of townhouse right next door. We had 13 offers, they had 6. It matters who you work with.

If you are thinking of buying or selling please feel free to get in touch.