Adding Value Without Breaking the Bank

You may be planning to list your house in the Spring or you just want a few ideas on how to “spruce” up your home.   Below is a list of 5 ways you can give your home a fresh start to the new year without it costing too much.

1. Clean and Declutter: Spending a little extra time in each room will go a long way to adding value to your home.  While you’re scrubbing, dusting and vacuuming go through your possessions and donate anything you haven’t used in the last year (clothes, books, old toys).  If your selling your home, after you have cleaned and decluttered, make sure you also put away your favorite knick-nacks, or family heirlooms.  Buyers want to be able to envision their own belongings in their future home.  Plus it gives the illusion of more space.

2. Patch and Paint: The kitchen, living room and master bedroom are 3 of the most important rooms in your home.  Why not consider giving these rooms a little “face-lift”.    Painting your walls, is the quickest and easiest way to freshen up your home.  If your planning on selling, make sure you stick with neutral colors like taupe, light browns or off-white.

3. Make Over the Kitchen Cabinets: You don’t have to replace your cabinets or reface them to make a difference.  If they are outdated or scratched, you could simply re-paint them.  Most importantly, add new hardware, something simple and modern, brushed nickel, or a pewter finish is nice.

4. Maximize Storage Space: Most Real Estate professionals agree that storage space is on the top of most buyers wish lists.  If your home lacks in this area, consider installing organizers.  Closet organizers are made up of strategically placed shelving, drawers and bars to maximize your closet space.  Most organizers can be fitted to any size closet and they are usually something you can install yourself.

5. Refresh Fixtures in your Bathroom: Like your kitchen, little changes can go a long way to sprucing up the bathroom.  Simply replacing the shower curtain and making sure the toothbrush and soap accessories match can go a long way.  If you want to take it one step further, changing the lighting  fixture,  cabinet hardware and vanity mirror will make a huge difference in updating your bathroom.

Additional “Carrie’s Corner” Articles…

Additional “AGENT 101” Articles…

Additional “Edmonton Realtor: KENNEDY Real Estate” Articles… 

Carrie Wood
Business Development & REALTOR®
Edmonton’s Buyer Agent 

KENNEDY Real Estate
Your Edmonton Realtor® | Edmonton Home Stager

Call us today…780-485-3010 and GET SOLD!
Area Specialists | Lifestyle Marketing

REALTORS® : Looking for a great Team environment to grow your business…see our Brokerage Model for info on how to make that happen!

Now that winter has hit with a vengence where do we want to go.  On Vacation.  As we prepare for that sun seeking holiday, we must remember to look after our home and pets prior to boarding that plane.  In your excitement it is easy to forget or miss something that is important and needs to be attended to so you can relax and enjoy your holiday.  Ask a neighbor or friend to keep an eye on things, make daily trips to your home, open and close the curtans, pick up mail, newspaper, and just make the home look like it is being lived in.  If you have a pet arrange for pet care or boarding.   It is a good idea to leave a radio on, this might make the would be home invader to rethink that the home is occupied. Have the snow shovelled while you are away. As you are leaving close and lock all the windows.  Unplug small kitchen appliances, larger electronics, like computer, TV, and remember to turn water off, especially in this cold weather. Nothing worse than coming home to a broken pipe.  For insurance you want your home checked every 24 to 48 hours at least.   Taking some of these small measures will mean a great relaxing vacation.

www.liveinstalbert.com

Additional “Anna’s Advice” Articles…

The KENNEDY Real Estate Advantage

The RIGHT Professional

When the right professional is advising you – you get the BEST possible advice when it comes to buying or selling. And at KENNEDY Real Estate – that is exactly what we do – first and foremost. Giving YOU the information YOU need to make the best decisions possible whether you are buying or selling.

There is nothing that can replace experience and the human touch. Though there are a plethora of websites that can offer information that  you can use to ‘price your property’, the software programs utilized do not and cannot take into account the following:

• account for supply and demand

• account for location and comparable neighborhoods

• account for differences in condition of properties (like the purple shag on Main St vs. the neutral cut pile on Side St)

• market trends

• cannot assess, analyze or adjust for raw numbers: interpretation takes skill and human experience – something the computer knows nothing of 🙁

If you get only PART of the information needed – you miss the boat completely – you are sailing into the winds of adversity and toward the land of the Expireds.

The Price MUST be Right

It all starts and stops with Pricing Right…

• proper pricing creates interest

• interest that gets funneled into our marketing plan

• webiste/realtor.ca /kijiji/You Tube/Zoocasa/Facebook

• REALTORS® are made aware of the NEW LISTING (s) to the system and their BUYER clients are updated accordingly

• the exposure from the above generates showings

• if your property is not priced properly – there is NO amount of marketing that can be done to generate showings/interest

The properties with the RIGHT price always generates interest and a SOLD sticker on the sign!

Our TEAM members at KENNEDY Real Estate are all trained to give you the information you need to sell in this market,

Our Seller Counseling Sessions include:

• Home Staging Options: decluttering, home staging with home owners furnishings, accessories option, virtual staging, staging for vacant properties etc. , exclusive ‘style designer’ ‘space designer’ options – great for vacant properties or brand new builds

** For any home staging options we will analyze your property WITH you to best determine the properties best feature(s) and make any adjustments to neutralize any factor(s) that might prevent you from selling.

• Marketing Objectives based on the subject property: 24hr/7 marketing plan that does not stop until you are SOLD•SELL and BUY options: if you are selling then buying – we discuss with you the options involved to make it a risk free endeavor – so you can sleep at night 🙂

• Time lines for which you can expect a sale and the details involved from the For Sale to Sold sticker

Contact us for a professional assessment that will ensure your ‘boat’ will sail off into the RIGHT direction – to the land of the “ahhhh we did it = SOLD success – no more showings!!” Set sail today and call  780-485-3010

Set sail with KENNEDY Real Estate

Additional “AGENT 101” Articles…

Additional “Edmonton Realtor: KENNEDY Real Estate” Articles…

Jennifer Kennedy
Broker | Owner

KENNEDY Real Estate
Your Edmonton REALTOR® | Edmonton Home Stager

Call us today…780-485-3010 and GET SOLD!
Area Specialists | Lifestyle Marketing

REALTORS® : Looking for a great Team environment to grow your business…see our Brokerage Model for info on how to make that happen!

Are You my Mommy?

These pups are currently looking for a furever home…as of January 14th 2012. Please contact Rescue4life.org if you have room in your hearts and home for any one of these lovable pups…

Rescue for Life (a registered Alberta non-profit) is a small animal no-kill rescue group operated out of Spruce Grove, Alberta. Cats and dogs are fostered by volunteers until there forever homes are found. While in foster care the animals receive full vet care. All animals adopted out by Rescue for Life are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and dewormed.

Additional articles on our “furry” friends… 

At KENNEDY Real Estate a portion of all sales goes toward helping Alberta Animal Rescue Organizations. Our furry friends are deserving of safe lovable homes too!!

Residents living in St. Albert often refer to St. Albert as a friendly, family oriented community.  This is supported by the many programs, services, and annual attractions  available to the residents of St. Albert.  Many of these include St. Albert Children’s Theatre, neighbourhood block parties, Outdoor Farmers Market, International Children’s Festival, numerous community and sports-related clubs  just to mention a few.  St. Albert is the sixth safest city in Canada and the safest city in the west.  St. Albert Placewhich is a  wonderful architecturally  designed building that houses many facilities for the residents and visitors of St. Albert is a wonder to explore.  Built along the south side of the Sturgeon River, with access to the Red Willow Trail and park area on both sides of the river,  you  get to explore the world of books at the Public Library  where you will find over 160,000 books, the  Arden Theatre where there are numerous year round performances, and the St. Albert Museum where so much of St. Albert’s history is recorded.   Visit the City’s website and find all you need to help make your decision to choose St. Albert as your new home.

www.liveinstalbert.com

Additional “Anna’s Advice” Articles…

Utilizing the Clients’ Furnishings 

Type of Home: townhome

Owner Occupied

Staging: in house client furnishings, decluttering

What we accomplished: this was for all intense purposes a standard stock townhome. Our client used to work in the furniture business – hence all the nice items we had to work with. We had GREAT natural light to work with – which is always a bonus 🙂

We wanted to feature the items in a way that brought out the character of the home: warm and very very charming. Arrangements in three’s and taking simple shots of the accessories – enabled us to showcase this homes DESIGNER potential.

Sometimes its the simplest of pictures that says so much about charm and elegance…

And yet others can just put a smile on your face….

all the while making THIS property that much more memorable in the mind and eyes of the buyer…this one is now SOLD.

At Kennedy Real Estate we spend more time producing your home for sale. Staging with  props and accessories combined with professional stylized photos creates a winning SOLD combination. Helping YOUR home to stay ahead of the pack and on track to a SOLD success.

Give Us a call today and get your home into production for a SOLD!

Additional “Edmonton Home Stager” Articles…

Additional “Edmonton Realtor: KENNEDY Real Estate” Articles…

Jennifer Kennedy
Broker | Owner

KENNEDY Real Estate
Your Edmonton REALTOR® | Edmonton Home Stager

Call us today…780-485-3010 and GET SOLD!
Area Specialists | Lifestyle Marketing

REALTORS® : Looking for a great Team environment to grow your business…see our Brokerage Model for info on how to make that happen!

At Kennedy Real Estate we spend more time producing your home for sale. Staging with  props and accessories combined with professional stylized photos creates a winning SOLD combination. Helping YOUR home to stay ahead of the pack and on track to a SOLD success.

Give Us a call today and get your home into production for a SOLD!

Additional “Edmonton Home Stager” Articles…

Additional “Edmonton Realtor: KENNEDY Real Estate” Articles…

Jennifer Kennedy
Broker | Owner

KENNEDY Real Estate
Your Edmonton REALTOR® | Edmonton Home Stager

Call us today…780-485-3010 and GET SOLD!
Area Specialists | Lifestyle Marketing

REALTORS® : Looking for a great Team environment to grow your business…see our Brokerage Model for info on how to make that happen!

I just couldn’t resist posting…one for your smile file

Here is alittle video we put together of a few of our projects…enjoy!

Staging Case Studies 101

Sherwood Townhomes:

We were asked to come into take over from another expired listing. This was a block of five brand new townhomes (attached housing) that had only one sale in previous 4months.

After staging the showsuite – the rest of the units – all four sold within 6weeks! The builder chose the option of buying the furniture we supplied so as to use it for other projects.

Why staging worked: it gave life to the rooms, gave purpose to the space and allowed the buyer to really envision how they could use/live within the space. Before – when all the rooms were empty – it just takes buyers that much longer to ‘warm up’ to the idea of ‘owning’ the space. It also shows what kind of furniture (and size) can fit into the space. This is important – especially when space is tight or odd shaped rooms.

At Kennedy Real Estate we make all of our listings memorable with Staging and FABULOUS photography! For your next move – call Kennedy Real Estate and put our ‘production’ to work for you!

See more Staging Case Studies 101 or scroll down for more Staging Success Stories…

Additional “Edmonton Home Stager” Articles…

Additional “Edmonton Realtor: KENNEDY Real Estate” Articles…

Jennifer Kennedy
Broker | Owner

KENNEDY Real Estate
Your Edmonton REALTOR® | Edmonton Home Stager

Call us today…780-485-3010 and GET SOLD!
Area Specialists | Lifestyle Marketing

REALTORS® : Looking for a great Team environment to grow your business…see our Brokerage Model for info on how to make that happen!

Setting the Price Right the First Time

Timing is everything when you want to sell your home.  A property attracts the most excitement and interest when it is new on the market, that is why pricing your home realistically from the start is so important.

It’s no surprise to hear that more buyers purchase at market value than above market value.  The percentage of buyers increase even more when the price is just below market value.

If you set your asking price above market value, you are only reaching 30% of the potential buyers and therefore limiting your chance for a sale.

Additional “Carrie’s Corner” Articles…

Additional “AGENT 101” Articles…

Additional “Edmonton Realtor: KENNEDY Real Estate” Articles…
Carrie Wood
Business Development & REALTOR®
Edmonton’s Buyer Agent 

KENNEDY Real Estate
Your Edmonton Realtor® | Edmonton Home Stager

Call us today…780-485-3010 and GET SOLD!
Area Specialists | Lifestyle Marketing

REALTORS® : Looking for a great Team environment to grow your business…see our Brokerage Model for info on how to make that happen!