by Vicki Lerch | May 15, 2020 | Uncategorized
Covid 19 has drastically impacted our lives and we are here to help you sell your home. Normally consultations are done at your home by our team in-person, but were are now offering Virtual Consultations to prepare your home to hit the market when the time is right for you. We will provide a virtual consultation with either a Zoom call or a a Skype call. We ask that you have access to a cell phone or tablet in order to show me your home as we walk through each of the rooms. I will prompt you to move the cell phone or tablet around the space so I can see everything as I would if I was there in person. This consultation will be recored and I will send it to you along with the “To Do” list to get you started. Why this works? It works because I will be a fresh pair of eyes and will be able to recommend changes that you can not see. As a Professional I am trained to dress your home for success! If you want to sell fast and for money you need to invest in a consultation. Our consultations start at just $199.00 and will set your home apart from the competition.
by Vicki Lerch | Sep 1, 2016 | Uncategorized
When selling your home you a likely selling your largest asset. It is in your best interest to prepare it for sale in the best way possible to maximize for profit. What comes to mind to most sellers today is to declutter. That is just one component of preparing your home to sell. Most sellers will declutter, paint, and spruce up the front yard. But wait you are missing a very important step. Really, really, look long and hard at your furniture. Is it dated or worn? Sometimes we can’t see what is right before us and this is where an objective person comes in. I mean who really wants to get ride of their favourite chair that you’ve had for 25 years or the foot stool that never did match. Selling your home requires that you detach from it. It is now a product for sale and no longer your home. Think about your buying habits. Most of us don’t furnish our homes room by room. We may pick up a sofa and forget the coffee table because, well we just spent $1500.00 on the sofa. This is how we live but this is NOT how we sell. Staging will set your home apart. Stagers will transform your home so it show like a model home. Guess what? Buyer always want to buy the show suite. Even in a hot market you position your home to get multiple offers by staging it. Dress For Success!
by Vicki Lerch | Aug 1, 2016 | Uncategorized
As soon as you make the decision to list your home get ready to invest some time and efforts into creating an attractive curb appeal. So what is curb appeal? It is making your yard an oasis that potential buyers will respond to emotionally. Curb appeal applies in all the seasons. I will focus on summer for this blog as it is the season at hand here where I live on the West Coast of Canada. I have a list that I recommend to my clients that live in an area where we are fortunate to have little watering restrictions. If you have lawn I strongly recommend keeping it watered. It just looks so much better than burnt out grass. Some recommendations are as follows:
- Hang hanging baskets, but remember to water them every morning and twice a day when hot!
- Keep grass cut
- Deadhead flowers
- Power wash patios, walkways, driveways
- Paint fence
- Create a seating area with an indoor/outdoor rug and bistro set
- If your front door is white consider painting it so that it pops
- Keep bushes, trees, plants trimmed
- Remove garden ornaments( see photo below)
- Replace worn front door mat with new one
- Add a wreath to the front door
- Install uplighting in the yard
- Remove children’s and dog’s toys
- Keep everything neat and tidy
Remember first impressions start at the curb. Potential buyers buy with their emotions!! You don’t need a green thumb to create great curb appeal, but if you aren’t a gardener than I recommend hiring one!! Your investment will pay off!!
Less is More!
by Vicki Lerch | Jul 1, 2016 | Uncategorized
The fundamental reasons for staging are the same, no matter what the market is. Professionally staged homes shows better regardless of the market. They show better in person, they also photograph better and they show better online. You stage a property in order to drive up buyer traffic, possibly resulting in multiple offers. Staging helps potential buyers connect to the home. For instance when a buyer walks into a staged home they will likely feel emotionally connected. A staged home is warm, it feels move-in ready. In some areas clients will place offers on homes before even seeing them in person, so it is vital to have a professionally staged property with professional photos. If a realtor does not think a home shows well , he or she may pass on the listing to one he believes will sell quickly, or she may compare it to a house that has been staged and shows well. Staging is about selling a lifestyle. Staging an outdoor space is as equally important as staging the indoors. Staging is not decorating. It is about appealing to the greatest number of buyers and selling the house quickly, for top dollar, regardless of the housing market.
by Vicki Lerch | Jun 21, 2016 | Home Staging
Confused about what material suits your needs? You’ll find outdoor furniture in a wide variety of materials. Plastics are affordable, but lasts only a few seasons as colours tend to fade and the materials become brittle and break. You might consider metal furniture. There are two types of metal outdoor furniture available. Lightweight, rustproof, and low-cost aluminum is easy to transport. I just purchased this 3 piece bistro set in this material but because it is light I placed it in an area that is sheltered. Check it out, it even has a wine bucket! Some of the cast aluminum pieces feature powder-coated and long-lasting finishes. Wrought-iron is a better choice over the aluminum if the furniture is exposed to high winds. It will likely need to be repainted to deter rust.
Another option to consider is wood furniture. There are numerous weather-resistant woods you can choose, including teak and cedar. Leave wood furniture untreated to weather to a grey finish or plan to lightly sand the surface and seal the wood now and then to retain its colour. Wood furnishings tend to be heavy so they’re not pieces that you will want to reposition.
You will find that weather-resistant patio furniture is all the rage these days. They are popular because they are lightweight and can stand up to the elements. For those that want to bring the indoors out, yes I said indoors out. You can use your real wicker chairs on the patio, but only in a protected area as they do not like rain.
Cushions and decorative pillows will complete the look. I prefer Sunbrella cushions and pillows as they come in weather-hardy fabrics treated to resist fading and moisture. (www.sunbrella.com) I recommend storing cushions and pillows whenever they’re not in use so they last longer.
June is the best time to buy outdoor furniture. You can find sales of up to 40% off in some stores. There is still enough stock on the floor in June, but after July 1st the stock has been picked over. Happy shopping!
by Vicki Lerch | May 4, 2016 | Uncategorized
The market is hot and regardless of the market “Professionally Staged Homes Sell 
Faster and for More Money!” You need to stage a home in order to drive buyer traffic. They show better in person, and they also photograph better. Buyers start their search online so staging will draw a potential buyer in. Staged homes connect a buyer on an emotional level. Not all staging companies are created equal be sure to select one that has quality photos on their website. Like in any business you get what you pay for. Professional staging companies know how to WOW a potential buyer. If it doesn’t WOW it just isn’t good staging. Staging will not slow the process of getting the home to the market because staging companies usually can have it staged within one week. If you invest in staging , it could add more value to the asking price, resulting in multiple offers. Staging is marketing and without a good marketing plan you could be leaving money on the table.
by Vicki Lerch | Dec 31, 2015 | Uncategorized
10 Reasons Why Empty Homes Don’t Sell Easily
Reason 1: Empty homes don’t sell easily because they lack that emotional connection
An empty house doesn’t have any imagination nor feeling, which normally turns a house into a home! With only 10% of the buyers able to actually visualize the house’s potential, an empty house is likely setting itself up for disappointment for 90% of buyers.
Without any existing furniture to initiate the buyer’s imagination and feelings, it gets quite tough to get emotional about the empty home. After all, an empty property is nothing more than a series of rooms, consisting of four walls and a ceiling, put together under one roof, while a furnished property immediately becomes somebody’s home.
Reason 2: Empty homes don’t sell easily as buyers have no point of reference
Buyers struggle to picture how their furniture would be set up when walking into an empty room. Contrary to popular belief, empty rooms don’t look bigger but actually smaller. A furnished room will give the buyer a measurement scale to compare things to.
Reason 3: Empty homes don’t sell easily as buyers tend to focus on the negatives
If there’s nothing in the room, one tends to focus on the negative elements. Why would any buyer in his right mind get excited about the negative aspects of a home? Unless of course they’re looking for a bargain, in which case the level of their offer will reflect that thinking.
Reason 4: Empty homes don’t sell easily as curb appeal will most likely be lacking
Going up someone’s driveway or pathway, one cannot but notice the colorful mail box, welcoming door mat, warm porch lights or the nicely tucked away window curtains with a faint reading light behind them. There are so many elements one can add to a house to turn it into a home.
Reason 5: Empty homes don’t sell easily as people first try to sell the home vacant
Doesn’t the old adage say, “You only have one chance to make a first impression?” It takes a person on average 5-10 seconds to have made up their minds and walking into an empty home isn’t that inducive to getting them excited about the property!
Reason 6: Empty homes don’t sell easily as price seems to be the only marketing strategy
We know that location is a given factor, which cannot be changed. That kind of leaves us with the price as the only marketing strategy. With no clear emotional elements available to influence the buyer’s decision, any adjustment in price seems unlikely to happen to the upside, if anything it’ll be to the downside.
Reason 7: Empty homes don’t sell easily when staging is considered a cost
How many homeowners are aware of the upside potential of staging? How many agents are convinced that staging adds dollars to the net bottom line for the seller? The complaints about layout and use of space are very well known. Yet, most agents are more likely to suggest a price reduction a couple of weeks into the marketing of the property than initially going for the staging option (with the former costing a multiple of the latter)?Is one erring on the side of caution by referring to staging as a cost or has it become an investment?
Reason 8: Empty homes don’t sell easily as they’re hard to differentiate from the competition
Let’s start the home buying process: you’ve decided to look what a particular housing market has to offer. Just like the other 94% of home buyers, you open up the laptop and go online to one of the popular property listing portals. Within minutes, you’ve found a few interesting listings, displaying a series of pictures and attractive descriptions.
One little problem for those selling empty homes: your interested buyer has now 3 other listings open with exactly the same-looking empty living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms et? Unless your empty home has a particular feature, why ought any interested buyer prefer your empty home over the other 3?
First impressions come back into play with a vengeance. The abovementioned process might literally take seconds and guess how quickly a decision has been made not to click further on your property pictures and expansive description? How many interested home buyers might do exactly the same and skip your empty home listing for something else that drew their attention?
Reason 9: Empty homes don’t sell easily due to less buyer traffic
Having an open house at an empty home isn’t ideal either. As mentioned above, there are a number of reasons why there would be less buyer traffic coming to listings of empty homes. Open houses would definitely not be attracting too much buyer traffic.
Reason 10: Empty homes don’t sell easily as there’s perception of desperation
As they enter an empty home, interested buyers must be wondering why that particular house is empty. At some point, the thought of there being more room for negotiation enters their minds.
Unfortunately, many such homeowners are genuine sellers, looking for a fair-market price for their property and didn’t think much about the fact that selling their empty home might actually affect their final sales price negatively. Whenever possible, make the extra effort in keeping as much of the home furnished as possible, or at least involve a stager in helping out getting the property marketing ready! At this point, it ought to be clear to both estate agent and homeowner that home staging does have a positive effect on the entire home selling experience. A staged home won’t leave the buyers doubtful about the use of space, but will allow them to visualize the rooms with their own furniture and envisioning spending family time there.
Bottom line: empty homes don’t sell as easily as occupied homes.
by Vicki Lerch | Dec 28, 2015 | Uncategorized
Vicki has just received an award from the Real Estate Staging Association. She was chosen as one of the Top Ten Stagers in Canada to receive this award. Vicki will be attending the annual conference in Las Vegas which is hosted by the Real Estate Staging Association in January 2016. This is exciting news for the team at Sold On Staging. Vicki strives for excellence and it is evident that staging is her passion. Vicki is honoured to have received this award.
by Vicki Lerch | Mar 12, 2014 | Uncategorized
SELLING YOUR HOME? Are you a DIY person?
You won’t want to miss this limited time introductory offer!
Introducing our new Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Staging package.
$499.00 limited time offer purchase by March 31 and must be redeemed by Sept. 30, 2014
Vicki will view your home and provide a detailed recommendation report that you can easily follow step by step. This report also includes a computer generated floor plan showing you where to place the furniture to have the greatest impact on a potential buyer.
Contact us before contacting a Realtor as this will allow the necessary time to prepare the home so it is Open House Ready. 90% of potential home buyers now start their serach for a new home on the internet. Better looking photographs attract more buyers. Your home is probably your biggest investment. SELL FAST SELL HIGH
