Exterior Appeal -Capital Home Staging & Design's Important tips for selling in the spring + summer.

The exterior of a home is the FIRST thing buyers see, thus making it the most important area to address prior to listing.

The front yard must have a "maintenance free" appearance. What buyer wants to see a home and say "wow, I choose this one because it looks like I'll need to spend a lot of time out here mowing, de-weeding, seeding, watering, painting, rebuilding a fence, etc" I would say about 0.01% of buyers will jump at that!
I say this a ton, "TIME IS MONEY" buyers do not want to invest their precious time fixing things.
I drove past a home for sale near the Merivle area and all I saw was the home owner sitting in the front yard smoking up a storm, the grass was as tall as it could get for may with a ton of weeds, the fence was in great shape but the paint was falling off, and the front door looked like it was so rotten it could fall off the hinges. This home looked like it was going to fall down! So I tool a look at the pictures of it inside and to my surprise it was BEAUTIFUL! Who would of known!!! Instant turn off from the curb appeal and all the things that needed to be done were inexpensive: mow the lawn, paint the fence, and front door and remove the smoking chairs out front. VOLA beautiful outside to match the inside!

Take a look at this picture of this beautiful deck. It looks a little disorganized eh!? All it needs is a good cleaning, tidying of the furniture, and some beautiful flowers to add some colour and life to the table.

To all sellers out there, take your time with the exterior. Even the deck in the back yard, it will give you a high ROI when it comes to selling!

Kristy Morrison
Property Stylist
Capital Home Staging & Design
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

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HST WHAT IS TAXABLE???

 What’s Taxable Under the HST and What’s Not?

CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR:

GST-		RST-		Is there a change to the amount of tax payable under the HST?
Adult Clothing	5%		8%		No (remains 13%)
Children’s Clothing	5%		No RST		No (remains 5%)
Shoe Repair Service	5%		8%		No (remains 13%)
Children’s Footwear	5%		No RST if $30 or less		No for footwear up to size 6 (remains 5%)
Tailoring Services	5%		8%		No (remains 13%)
Dry Cleaning Service	5%		No RST		Yes (changes to 13%)

GST-		RST		Is there a change to the amount of tax payable under the HST?
Adult Clothing	5%		8%		No (remains 13%)
Children’s Clothing	5%		No RST		No (remains 5%)
Shoe Repair Service	5%		8%		No (remains 13%)
Children’s Footwear	5%		No RST if $30 or less		No for footwear up to size 6 (remains 5%)
Tailoring Services	5%		8%		No (remains 13%)
Dry Cleaning Service	5%		No RST		Yes (changes to 13%)

HOME SERVICES:

Did You Know?

93 per cent of all homes sold in Ontario, on average, will not be subject to an additional tax amount under HST.

GST-		RST-		Is there a change to the amount of tax payable under the HST?
Cable Television Services	5%		8%		No (remains 13%)
Cell Phone Services	5%		8%		No (remains 13%)
Municipal Water	No GST		No RST		No HST
Home Maintenance Equipment	5%		8%		No (remains 13%)
Home Phone Services	5%		8%		No (remains 13%)
Home Service Calls to Repair Free-Standing Appliances such as Stoves, Refrigerators, Washers, Dryers, and Televisions	5%		8%		No (remains 13%)
Home Insurance	No GST		8%		No (remains 8%)
Electricity and Heating (e.g., Natural Gas/Oil for Home)	5%		No RST		Yes (changes to 13%)
Internet Access Services	5%		No RST		Yes (changes to 13%)
Home Service Calls by Electrician/Plumber/Carpenter to Maintain or Repair Furnace, Leaky Faucets, Bathtub, Toilet, Electrical Wiring, etc.	5%		No RST		Yes (changes to 13%)
Landscaping, Lawn-Care and Private Snow Removal	5%		No RST		Yes (changes to 13%)

HOME Purchases

GST		RST		Is there a change to the amount of tax payable under the HST?
New Homes up to $400,000	5%		No RST		No change3
New Homes over $400,000	5%		No RST		Yes3A
Resale Homes	No GST		No RST		No HST
Real Estate Commissions	5%		No RST		Yes (changes to 13%)

For more information visit the city of ontario’s webpage.

Kristy Morrison

Property Stylist & CEO

613-832-8958

www.CapitalHomeStagingAndDesign.ca

-RESA Rookie of the year finalist (2009 & 2010) for all of North America

-BBB Torch Award Winner for Marketplace Ethics.

We are on: Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Active Rain, Blogger, YouTube.

Posted via email from Kristy's posterous

Thank you for such wonderful TESTIMONIALS

We love hearing from our loyal growing client base, we work very hard here at Capital Home Staging & Design to make sure our clients are ALWAYS happy.

We thought we would post a few of our most recent testimonials and share the beginning of the experience with you.

Starting out in the business, I found providing clients with great services ensures great success. When I listed my first property, I knew right away who to call to stage my first home. Kristy’s reputation and accomplishments stand out from the rest. With her bubbly personality and soothing approach to her craft makes her perfect for the field. She has the ability not only to provide great insight and product knowledge, but also understands how to approach each client to their individual needs. I continue to use Capital Home Staging as a vital tool for my business and I contribute a big part of my success in real estate to them.
Ryan Benjamin

Royal LePage on Carling

We just wanted to thank you for your patience and kindness in helping us with choosing the colors of our house.  You are very professional, knowledgeable and nice to deal with, I would not hesitate to recommend your company to my friends.  Thank you for making this experience a very pleasant one." 

Serge

Colour Consultation –Ottawa Home Owner

Kristy Morrison was found to be a valuable asset in our selling experience. She has a very pleasant personality, setting the client at ease. She does a short presentation to teach the customer the importance of staging. Later she accesses staging needs by touring the house, and then sits down with you to explain her findings. She is unintrusive and sensitive to the sentimental value attached to the client’s items. Her advice was excellent and I implemented most of the changes. It was very evident in the photos what a difference Staging makes. I tested this myself by flipping through photos of listings on the internet as I searched for a new home. Kristy also recommended an excellent painter, who was able to get the job done quickly. Our house sold in only two days, that speaks volumes about the importance of staging! Thanks so much Kristy you are the Best!

Sincerely Mona and Terry Richardson

Home Staging -Ottawa Home Owners

I have known Kristy Morrison the owner of Capital Home staging and Design  for about two years both professionally and personally and think highly of Kristy's business ability and ethics.

I hired Kristy to do some staging for my Real Estate business and have had the pleasure of  using her company ever since. She is energetic , enthusiastic and always looking for ways to build her business. As a fairly new entrepreneur Kristy asks and actually wants her business critiqued , if she sees a potential problem she takes on the challenge.. She utilizes her strengths and hires talent where she is weaker.  Kristy is a creative thinker and is always striving to help you grow your business by improving her own. She is also an excellent communicator and has a thirst for learning - looking to innovate and improve.  Kristy is likable ambitious and capable I fully expect to see  continued success and growth in Capital Home Staging and Design.

Karen Cayer

Keller Williams VIP Realty

THANKS everyone for supporting Capital Home Staging & Design.

Your business is very appreaciated and we look forward to continuing to develop strong relationships with you in the coming years.

Kristy Morrison

Property Stylist & CEO

613-832-8958

www.CapitalHomeStagingAndDesign.ca

-RESA Rookie of the year finalist (2009 & 2010) for all of North America

-BBB Torch Award Winner for Marketplace Ethics.

We are on: Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Active Rain, Blogger, YouTube.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Kristy's posterous

Why you will not get the same results on a DIY staging job over a professional staging job.

I often come across this question from FSBO (For Sale By Owner) and Realtors.

“Why do I need to work with a professional stager I feel I can do it on my own, I know what I have to do”

Well I ask you this, you may know how to fix some things in your car but if your not a mechanic do you know it all?

You may know how to notice a medical issue but with out being a doctor do you know it all?

You may know how to pack up items through out the home but with out being a professional stager do you know all that is involved?

The more than often answer to the question is NO.

As a professional home stager I have attended schooling, received a diploma, studied, practiced, implemented and performed hundreds of consultations. How many have you done as the typical home owner? 1,2,5,10?

Home Staging is much more than what you see on tv, we create focal points, feelings, moods, address traffic flow, odours, cleanliness because EVERYONES level of cleanliness is different we help level the playing field so its all the same. We stage homes professionally on a daily basis so we are able to help home owners determine where to invest their time. More often than not many home owners focus on the wrong areas of the home first resulting in a longer preperation time. Timing is crucial and we help develop a game plan even implement it should our home owners request it.

Now, can your realtor suggest items to you they have seen thousands of homes through out their career!?

Well yes your realtor “can” make suggestions but because they have not obtained the education they are more than likely missing a few key points in the process. OR they may leave some things out so they can avoid potentially offending the client keeping the relationship professional. Of all of our agents that do the most business and have the greatest rate of success as far as sales and over asking price they are the realtors that use a professional stager on about 80% of their properties.

Staging does NOT cost a lot of money!..................i repeat………DOES NOT COST A LOT OF MONEY!

The typical home in ottawa can get away with a full staging package for about $300.00 THIS investment will be recouped at the time of sale because of the fast sale not holding on to the property longer or even through multiple offers etc there are many different ways that STAGING PAYS FOR ITSELF!  If you would like more information on how it pays for itself please let me know and I’ll be happy to meet with you to discuss.

It is a proven FACT that staged homes sell better than non staged homes.

So why leave your equity behind…take it with you!

Kristy Morrison

Property Stylist & CEO

613-832-8958

www.CapitalHomeStagingAndDesign.ca

-RESA Rookie of the year finalist (2009 & 2010) for all of North America

-BBB Torch Award Winner for Marketplace Ethics.

We are on: Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Active Rain, Blogger, YouTube.

Posted via email from Kristy's posterous