Will you be selling your Burlington home in the future? Is your home ready for the buyer that is downsizing, wants room to grow, wants their dream home or is being transferred here? When is the last time you made changes to the decor of your home? If it is more than 5 years ago, I'll bet your home now looks dated. Styles and colors change so quickly in the fashion industry and in decor. Your home can become a symbol of an era before you know it. Those oh so chic Euro cabinets now date that renovation. Your favorite color is probably out now. Do you have sponge painted walls? Robin egg blue or harvest gold bathroom fixtures are not the best look. How about those window treatments? Mini blinds and Jabots are out. Take a look at your home before that decade goes by. Keeping up with the c... 07/04/2011

Targeting your market when you sell your Burlington home is an important factor. By knowing what type of buyer will be looking at your home, you can prepare your home to meet their expectations. Whether they are downsizing, looking for room to grow, or for that dream home the house has to 'talk' to them to connect. There is another type of buyer. The buyer that is being transferred from another city. This buyer has a limited time to find a new home for themselves. They may be hoping to move up but at the very least they want a home equal to the home they have to leave behind. How do you target this buyer? Show them: the features of your home clearly. a comfortable home that flows. a home in 'move-in' condition. space for entertaining. a kitchen that works. clean spaces inside and out. o... 07/03/2011

In this series I am discussing targeting your market when you are selling your Burlington home. Your home is a product and it needs to appeal to the buyers just like any other product. I have talked about appealing to the downsizing couple. I have talked about appealing to a young couple who need room to grow. Now let's look at marketing a home to those buyers ready to move up in the market. The couple looking for their dream home. This couple too has expectations. So what do you make sure you show them? Show them: your home has their 'I wants'. the upgrades included in your home. the space in your home. the storage in your home. the master suite of their dreams. that there is no work to be done. where to entertain in style. beautiful bedrooms for their children. a kitchen ready for fam... 07/02/2011

  When you put your Burlington home on the market it is important to know your target market. This allows you to prepare your home properly. In my first post I covered selling to buyers who are downsizing. Today I'd like to talk about selling to a couple looking for their first home, a home where they may start their family. Initially they are looking for a place to make their first home together. The future could hold pets, kids or a job transfer. What should you show them? Show them: they can relax after a long day at work. there is enough room to entertain their friends. there are not going to be any unexpected expenses from repairs. a romantic master retreat. the special features of your home. the bedroom that can be turned into an office or a nursery. the usable space in the basem... 07/01/2011

 this post will be the first in a series about meeting buyers expectations. One consideration when you are preparing your Burlington home for sale is to figure out who your home will appeal to ... what age group. If you are selling a home that may appeal to someone downsizing, there are things that will help your home 'speak' to them. This type of buyer wants a smaller home but they don't want to give up their lifestyle. They may plan to travel part of the year and want to be able to leave their home behind. How do you make your home appeal to this type of buyer? Show them your home will allow them to move in without sacrificing that important lifestyle. Show them: they don't have to give up too many of their furnishings. Show them the space available in your home. your home has their ... 06/30/2011

When preparing your home for sale, do not forget those outdoor rooms. Those exterior spaces will influence the buyer's perception of your home just like the interior spaces. If your home is going on the market early in the growing season, make sure you display photos of your garden to show the buyer what they can look forward to. Leave an album page out on the counter with wonderful shots of the yard. You should also clean up the yard, keep the grass cut and perhaps mulch the beds. Once the growing season begins, be sure to keep the weeding and general garden maintenance up on a regular basis. No one wants to imagine themselves taking over a jungle. Set up outdoor rooms to show the buyers how wonderful it will be to entertain family and friends in their new backyard. Clean the deck or p... 06/17/2011

Come On In: Doors Open caught my eye in our local newspaper. There is a new event in Burlington Ontario. June 2011 will be its second year. Doors Open Burlington provides public access to buildings that are normally not open for viewing or have an admission fee. Nearly 20 sites will welcome the public on Saturday June 11 and Sunday June 12. Sites such as Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Ireland House, St. Luke's Anglican Church, McMaster University Ron Joyce Centre, Halton Mosque,  Royal Canadian Legion #60 Wartime Museum and others will be open. This is a great Opportunity to know the community and its history better. For more information e-mail doorsopen@burlington.ca . In a way, selling your home is like holding a Doors Open event. You are opening your home to the buying public. Pr... 05/26/2011

Once again Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital is holding it's Crystal Ball. This wonderful fundraiser helps support Burlington's local hospital. You can have a wonderful evening out and support JBMH at the same time. Saturday, May 14, 2011Mercedes-Benz Burlington441 North Service Road, Burlington Reception: 6:00 pmDinner: 7:30 pm Get ready to be dazzled at the 2011 Crystal Ball... Over the last ten years, the Crystal Ball has allowed us to take our guests on amazing adventures. From an evening in Paris to last year's Oz Cauze, the Crystal Ball has always been an event for supporters of JBMH to socialize and enjoy an evening together while helping raise money for our community hospital. This year is the 50th anniversary of the hospital and the 11th anniversary of the Crystal Ball and we have... 05/06/2011

May 2nd is Election Day! Yes it's finally here! We get to go out and vote at our local churches and schools to elect our federal government. So Burlington, get out there and vote! It's the best way to get the right to complain when they do something you don't like ;). I've always felt that if you don't vote you can't  complain LOL. This year with the strife in other countries where they are trying to oust their leaders and dying for it, I especially appreciate the privilege of being able to vote for change.  If you haven't voted already Burlington, get out there and vote for Jack or Michael or Steven. Don't waste the privilege!                                                          Polls open at 9:30AM!   05/02/2011

  Just north of Dundas on Walker's Line in Burlington, a new raw and organic food cafe has opened. The Naked Sprout is Burlington's newest healthy eatery and as part of Chrysalis Yoga Studio, it promises to nourish the body with nutritious, scrumptious, soul-satisfying organic and raw food delicacies. Tonight was the first evening a group of people gathered in the warm atmosphere of the cosy cafe. Owned by Clayton, Shanine and Pete, the cafe opened it's doors for 'staff appreciation night' as they showed their appreciation for the staff of Chrysalis Yoga Studio.Pete, as head chef and manager of the cafe, served up a wonderful menu consisting of healthy raw food meals, delectable desserts and tasty appetizers and salads.         I chose the vegan pizza made with a sweet potato crust and ... 04/26/2011

Unify your home and make it flow. Your home will feel very comfortable. You have found your inspiration, a piece of art you just love. Your Great Room is going to look just super. Now you have to decide if and how this color scheme is going to apply to the rest of the house. If you have an open concept home most areas will be open to one another and extending this scheme will be a must. This doesn't mean you have to make every room exactly the same. You can vary the predominant color from room to room. The thing that will unite the rooms is the neutral wall color and that the same colors flow from room to room. If your home is partitioned you may be tempted to apply a different wall color to every room. This tends to chop up the house. I prefer to stick to varying shades of the same neu... 04/26/2011

Whether you are Staging your home, changing things up for the next season or doing a complete redesign you may be wondering where to start. Finding that jumping off point can be quite scary. If you plan to sell before you redecorate again, then the wall color you use this time should be neutral. Even if you are not planning on moving, neutral walls allow you to change things up without a major overhaul, in the future. One place to pick that jumping off point could be an area carpet you just love. Find the neutral in the carpet and put it on the walls. Then you can add the colors from the carpet as accents of pillows, vases, throws and/or drapery panels. Another jumping off point could come from your favorite piece of art. Again, find that neutral for the walls and pick other colors for ... 04/25/2011

When you put your house on the market, remember you are not just selling 4 walls and a roof. You are selling a home. This should be obvious to most of us out there, but not to those sellers who are not 'house proud'. These sellers main requirements for a home are that it is a place to hang there hat at the end of the day. They often do not bother painting or hanging art. There may be paper blinds on the windows. If a maintenance issue doesn't inconvenience them it goes unrepaired. Small dings in wood trims stay. Unless these sellers only want to sell to buyers that are just like them, they will have a lot of work to do when they are ready to sell their house. To sell as quickly as possible and for the best price possible the house needs to appeal to a wide selection of buyers. Their hou... 04/14/2011

Many Buyers cannot see past what is there. If you present a room in less than 'show' condition, your buyer may have trouble seeing past your lifestyle and possessions to how they would use the space. If you have a Great Room that is supposed to provide space for living and dining make sure that you show both functions. If you show only the sitting area, buyers will wonder if you can really fit a dining set into the space as well. Your home will have lost a feature and offer less than other comparables. Whether you are in a condo or a semi or a detached home the same rule applies. Buyers have trouble sizing a space and need to see how it works. Show the buyer a clear purpose for each area of your house. Catch all rooms confuse buyers. If the room is basically storage space the buyer may ... 04/05/2011

Your house is on the market with a good Realtor. You feel it is priced right and you have had lots of viewings ..... but nobody comes back for a second look or an offer. Why? What is turning them off? Maybe it's your presentation. Either they or their agent sees enough potential to make the first visit but when they step into your home something is falling flat. Ask yourself: Can the buyers see the house when they pull up outside? If they can see it, are they seeing too much? Your home's curb appeal should reassure the buyer and draw them inside. Does each room open up right away when you stand in the doorway? If there is furniture crowding the entry and every inch of wall your rooms probably feel small. Are many of the surfaces covered with 'stuff'? This may be convenient for you but m... 03/29/2011

  I'm not just talking about the MLS photos of your home. I'm referring to the Buyer's focus. The focus of their attention should be your home and its features. Nothing should distract them from comparing their 'I want' list with your home. Staging your home will keep the Buyer's focus where it belongs. By de-personalizing we remove these distractions. Family photos should be one of the first things to be put away. If the buyer is concentrating on how cute your family is they may be missing the feature in that room. Will they remember the size of the bedroom or the pictures? Diplomas, awards and trophies will tell them how accomplished you are but not how they could use this space. Collections have a lot of meaning to you but to the Buyer they mean nothing except that you collect 'X'. ... 03/22/2011

  When you are selling your home you are not just selling your house, you are selling someone their dream home. Buyers have a wish list full of 'I wants' and they are trying to match your house to their list. It is your job as the seller to show the buyers out there that your home will be their dream home. That is why Staging highlights the features of a home. If done correctly Staging shows the buyers the architectural features that will WOW the buyers. If your home has a less than WOW  feature, Staging will show them how to live with it. For example,  if your side window looks into your neighbor's side window, staging will show the buyer how to have light and privacy. Remember dream homes: don't need repairs, so make sure you do all those things on the 'honey do' list. have kitchens ... 03/20/2011

The time is fast approaching for us to do the closet shuffle. You know the routine .... winter wear comes out and spring and summer wear goes in. If you are about to sell your home, keep in mind that storage space is important to buyers. What messages are your closets and cupboards sending out? It's time to sort, toss and donate clothing, shoes, boots etc. Why pay to move it. Free yourself from those 'I might use it some day' items. If you like to have only the current season's clothing in your closet, think about where last season's clothing is going. Do you usually take it down to the basement? Will the buyers find it hanging on your rack? Boots sitting neatly underneath? Remember you are moving. That rack full of off season clothing is shouting out that you do not have enough closet ... 03/10/2011

Staging or preparing your home for sale is all about meeting expectations. The buyer's expectations. Just like any other commodity, the higher the price the more the buyer expects. This product, because your home is now a product, should offer more options and better quality than the cheaper version. That's why Realtors do comparables to other homes. They compare your home and its features to similar homes on the market before setting the price. As a seller you want the best price possible for your home. You have built up equity and now you want it out of the home so you can move on. To get that equity, you need to highlight the features of your home for the buyer. You need to help the buyer see why your home is worth the price. If the buyer is paying top dollar for a home, it needs to ... 03/08/2011

Yes there is a difference between Living in a home and Selling a home. Living in a home is all about your lifestyle. It is about convenience and comfort. Your concern is about being able to see the TV from all the chairs in the family room or fitting in that perfect cabinet for your treasured collection. Living in a home means the booster seat stays on the chair in the kitchen all the time. It could mean the dining room becomes a playroom. The guest room could also be your sewing room or computer room. If you want to keep something in case you need it again some time it goes in the closet or into the basement. It's your space and it fits your lifestyle.   Living                                                                                                                               ... 03/03/2011