Staging a Home Takes it From Ho-Hum to Home Sweet Home for Buyers!

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Have you been thinking about selling your home? Are you seeing other sellers waiting and watching as buyers come and go but no one makes the all-important offer on their home? Chances are they are not showing their homes to their maximum potential.

Let’s face it. There is a lot of competition out there and the last thing you, as a seller, can afford to do is to allow your competition an edge over you. One way to give your home the extra pizazz it needs to pull buyers in and keep them interested is to stage the home.

By contacting your premier agent Eden Mesganaw from the moment you know you want to move, you will be directed to how to best handle all the important aspects of selling and buying a home. This includes things like pre-home inspections, mortgage and financing offerings, seasonal photography, competition and also the importance of staging.

For sellers, talking about staging, Interior Designer of Advantage Staging Michelle Finnamore will tell you, there are several really good reasons to stage a home – and spend a few dollars on it.

Vacant Homes Sell for Less and Take Longer to Sell

It’s no secret that buyers are wowed by gorgeous décor and the imagination of seeing themselves living in that space. In fact, vacant homes sell for 16% less than staged homes and they take about 17% longer to sell! At the end of the day, any investment toward staging makes sense because each day your home does not sell is costing you money, not to mention the ability to make more when you do sell your staged home.

Staged Homes Photograph Beautifully

Imagine your home being photographed for a magazine. Would it jump off the pages as it is now or if it were vacant? Or would buyers find a rich array of thoughtfully placed furniture and accessories designed to warm up the space and demonstrate maximum use of the space more attractive? Buyers’ perception of value will be multiplied many times over when they see proper use of the space, allowing them to imagine living there and visualize it as a functioning home.

And as those gorgeous photos appear on all syndicated websites, they will be pivotal in most home searches since 91% of buyers find their dream home online and they base a lot of their initial decisions on the pictures they see.

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Keep in mind, if you wait too long to stage your home the listing could go stale and end up lacking that fresh original feel a newly listed home has. Your best buyers will usually be the serious ones that will look at your home soon after it becomes available on the market. So the last thing you want is to be ill prepared with a home that is not staged properly.

As part of Eden’s continued goal of helping her clients get only the best of best service, she welcomes the opportunity to connect you with all the resources she has spent years building. Together with you she will make your real estate experience second to none! Keep in mind that the best time to contact her is when you decide that moving is right for you. Through her you will have the professional foresight with which to make informed decisions to help you make true all of your real estate goals. For more information, tips and guidelines on this or other real estate related matters, please contact Eden today at 416 918 5979.

Eden's Recommended Mortgage Advisor Provides Quality Service and Great Mortgage Deals

 
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When you are buying a home, there is usually an important thing on your mind; saving money! And in my constant quest to provide my clients with only the best deals and fantastic service, I’m sharing my pick this month of my recommended mortgage advisor of choice.

Jennifer Bartrum is a terrific advisor that takes the time and makes the effort to ensure all her clients are taking care of entirely. Her seven years of experience with the firm, combined with her impressive track record of handling over 75 mortgages in a typical year amounting to over $20M in mortgages, speaks for itself. When you work with Jennifer you will instantly feel valued. She takes the time to stay in touch with her clientele and remains accessible; something that is all but obsolete in today’s mortgage environment.

Right now, my valued clients are able to get a free home inspection (valued at up to $500) with AmeriSpec. New clients can also receive a home warranty for the first five months of their homeownership at no extra charge. This is a great resource to have when buying a new home because the coverage allows for heating, cooling, hot water tank, electrical and plumbing problems to be either repaired or replaced if necessary.

Whether you are an investor, first time homebuyer, seeking opportunities to downsize or a self-employed person looking to purchase a home, I invite you to contact me so that together, we can work to make your real estate goals become a reality. And in the future – look for more of my favorite picks in the real estate industry to make sure you get the most out of your real estate experience!

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If you would like more information on how to get into the home of your dreams, and to begin the exciting process of buying your dream home, contact me today at 416-918-5979. I look forward to serving all your real estate needs!

How to Calculate All Your Real Estate Expenses

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In today’s world, who doesn’t seek the easiest, fastest and simplest way to access information? And with the Internet that is entirely possible. But with the host of real estate websites out there, I wanted to create one for you that would encompass everything you need all in one place and serviced by your very own real estate expert advisor.

There is information about buying a home, selling a home and much, much more. You can easily contact me with the touch of a button and if you prefer to leave an email there is a contact form for your convenience so I will receive it almost instantly.

Among the many resources on this fantastic website, there is a section to the left hand that has a host of mortgage calculators and other financial tools that I am sure you will find beneficial in your real estate endeavors. To calculate your mortgage payment, how much you can afford, CMHC insurance fee, Land transfer tax, mortgage refinancing, mortgage penality, debt consolidation, also determine how much equity you can access through mortgage financing. It is all in my website under 'all your real estate expenses'.

As always, I welcome the opportunity to assist you with your real estate needs and look forward to meeting with you! In the interim, please visit my website!

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Eden Mesganaw

416 918 5979

eden4realestate@gmail.com

Market Watch November 2012

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Here we are with just one more month left in 2012 and much is on the horizon of our real estate market. With a sizable decline in sales of 7.1% as compared to the same time last year plus almost 17% more homes on the market, things are changing. The number of days on market is fairly level at just 28 days versus 26 days last year but all in all our marketplace is reasonably stable. Here are some observations that will help you in making sound real estate decisions, considering what is happening in our marketplace today:

Canadian Lending Standards Provide Strong Foundation

Canada has avoided repeating many of the mistakes made in the US housing market largely because of our banking regulations. With our regulations and lending standards much higher than in the US, we have been able to consistently prevent prices from plummeting and spiraling completely out of control.

Despite this positive spin in our country, some top economists though are aware of some alarms going off in the Canadian market. Home prices in Toronto have been higher than the long-term average and Canada is seeing a sharp decline in home sales across the board, as evident in the year over year numbers for November.

Exceptionally low interest rates have been the key reason for keeping affordability from reaching dangerous levels in Canada but now it seems that may not be enough to keep our housing market from skyrocketing.

Household Debt-to-Disposable Income Ratio Reaching High Levels

Canada’s subprime mortgage industry is growing with $500 billion in high-risk mortgages in the Canadian housing market. That translates to nearly 15% of the entire market where household debt is becoming a problem for families. In fact the debt to disposable income ratio for Canadian households is nearly 155 to 160 percent. A good way to understand this figure is to consider that just before the US recession hit, most American households had a debt to disposable income ratio of 160 percent.

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Despite all of this, the government and lending institutions are being proactive, regulators have been changing policies and Canadian housing authorities are doing everything they can to keep things under control. In fact, earlier this year the Canadian Finance Ministry made important changes to the mortgage industry that have positively impacted our marketplace. The changes include a reduction in the maximum amortization schedule, a higher minimum equity requirement, a higher required Gross Debt Service ratio and more.

What this means to you today is that regardless of whether you decide to sell your home, sell and buy or purchase your first home – it is critical that you work with a competent, experienced professional real estate agent that understands today’s market and can help you leverage the concerns of today.

Call me today at 416-918-5979 or email eden4realestate@gmail.com.