How To Prepare Your Home For The Market…

“Move-in Ready”… “Turn-Key Condition”… This is what a home Seller and their REALTOR® want to “hear” from potential Buyers when they first list their home for sale.  A home in which no project needs to be completed.

You want to begin to impress the potential Buyer from the “Outside – In”… in other words it starts with curb-appeal.  Having your home attractive from the outside will not only entice the home Buyer, searching on the internet, to want to see more, you are also captivating those who are walking or driving by your property.

The outside of your home is what draws the Buyer in…, once they are inside, its time to really impress…

Below is a list of 10 projects that can and WILL serve to impress any potential home Buyer and their REALTOR®…

1. The Exterior Shell:  A new coat of paint, or replacing the vinyl siding may be needed.  Make sure you choose a neutral color that will appeal to the majority of home buyers.  For a little  jazz,  you could add  a splash of color by re-painting the front door.

2. Energy Efficient:  In order to receive top dollar for your home and to avoid a failed inspection report, now is the time to get these areas of your home in order.  Replace the old furnace and hot water tank, install new energy efficient windows, and have the roof and foundation inspected.

3. Landscape:  Get out there and trim your hedges, maybe you need to hire an arborist for your trees.  ”Greenify” your lawn,  If you have a perennial garden, replace the old mulch with new.  Draw attention to your home at night by adding outdoor lighting.  If a new home, have the fence finished and deck completed with privacy panels.

4. Flooring:  Your home’s floors need to sparkle…  Now’s the time to install hardwood or laminate.  If your unsure of what type of flooring to choose visit a few Show homes for ideas.

5. The Kitchen:  Always an important room in the home…you can give your kitchen a “face lift” by re-finishing or replacing the cupbards, replace the counter tops and plumbing fixtures and last but certainly not the least…replace your appliances.

6. The Bathroom:  Start with the smaller projects like re-caulking, replacing tile grout, repainting the walls and add new plumbing & lighting fixtures all this can make your bathroom look brand new.  For a little more, installing a new vanity with a vessel sink (above counter sink) always adds inspiring designer “vibes”.

7. Lighting & Interior Paint:  A well lit home can accent the best features of each room, however, if there are swag lamps still hanging it’s time for an update.  Play with a little color, paint a couple accent walls in your home.   Canned lighting can be used to highlight any décor and design element (such as your new accent walls).

8. Basement Development:  Having your basement professionally finished adds to the home’s useable square footage.  Finished basement homes sell faster, and will continue to do so.

9. Deep Clean:  Nothing you have done to improve your home will matter if your home is not clean.  This means a THOROUGH clean, this includes the areas in the home that are not normally cleaned on a regular basis…yes, you will have to pull out your appliances.

10. HOME STAGING:  Lastly, its time to allow the Buyer to envision their new life in your home.  Home Staging is about “enhancing what’s already there”.  Using this tool is a great cost-effective way to prepare your home for the market.  For more information on Home Staging visit this link:  www.edmontonhomestager.ca

Additional “Carrie’s Corner” 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!

Jumping into the Market?

I was asked this question the other day via Twitter = thanks to Mike!

“what’s some good advice for a 25 yr old looking for his starter home!”

Here we go…

What to Buy: Duplex with rentable basement suite

Cost: $200,000 – $300,000

Plan to stay: 5yrs

Why: no condo fees, tenant pays your mortgage. It’s a flexible investment – because they are easy to buy and easy to sell. Tenants of duplexes tend to rent for longer periods – hence less turnover – less headache – or landlord ache

Build up enough capital in your home and when you are ready to buy your next place- simply rent out the top floor – use the income from the rental towards qualifying for your next place. This way you are building your investment portfolio along the way!

*Any investment is most beneficial if kept  for the long term. By starting off with an easy rentable, affordable property you stand the best chance of hanging on to it for the long haul.

Here’s the numbers for financing:

Purchase price: $250,000

5% down – mtg at 237,500

25 yr term, 3% rate = monthly mtg pmt = $889.15/month*

taxes = $150/month

Heat/Power = $150/month

Total = $1199.15

Rent: $1200**

* this does not take into account the CMHC fees – which could up your monthly payments by $50-$60

** this is the average rent for a decent condition and location 2bdrm unit. You may want to consider furnishing your unit – it will always garner a better rent.

Examples of such properties:

Duplexes in Edmonton

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!

Living In St. Albert

Owning a home in St. Albert or Edmonton allows you to put down roots, and become a part of a great community. When you rent, your neighbors come and go as quickly as leases change or the weather.  When you own a home you can develop many lifelong relationships with your neighbors, and  your family has room to expand and grow.

Living in St. Albert  you are part of a community that has many opportunities for countless memories for your family, including great school system, 70KM of walking trails, Mark Messier Arena in the state of the art Recreation Center, Lois Hole Enjoy Centre ,farmers market, Arden Theatre only to mention a few.

There is a certain pride that comes with owning your own home.  This piece of property is yours, the land is yours, you can plant your family roots, plant trees or even a garden.  This is your gem, and you can cultivate it to meet your character, your needs  and your wants.  Your GEM, Your HOME will be a lifetime of memories, friendships, good times and important milestones. Owning your own home not only allows you to take pride in ownership, but helps grow home value and  assets.

I would be pleased to help you find your next HOME!

www.liveinstalbert.com

Additional “Anna’s Advice” Articles…

It’s All in the Packaging…

At KENNEDY Real Estate we pride ourselves in the quality of work that we do – from professional photography, staging, blog articles, videos and our PRINT WORK!

I think it’s fair to say that most people like nice things, that look good, polished and present well. Our print work is no exception.

If you are asking a certain amount for your home – well gosh golly darn it better be packaged right! In addition to proper HOME STAGING (from your www.EdmontonHomestager.ca of course) and professional photography, you need to have print work that will exude confidence and a professionalism.

Additional “Agent 101″ Articles…

Additional “Edmonton Realtor: KENNEDY Real Estate” Articles…

Here are some examples of our fine work…

It was a great weekend here in Edmonton and I was fortunate enough to take the time on Sunday and head on down to the Edmonton Pet Expo. Held at the Expo Center this fun filled 2 day event featured many different animal shelters and rescue groups from across Alberta as well as a petting zoo, jungle gym, slide and pony ride for the little ones. There was everything from exotic birds, to bunnies and the Skateboarding bull dog “Butter Cup”. One of the team members at Duke and Duchess was interviewed and you can see the article written in today’s Edmonton Journal by clicking the link provided.

Edmontn Journal Arcticle on the Pet Expo and Interview with DDARS

I spent my time helping at the Duke and Duchess Animal Rescue Societie’s booth with its wonderful girls. They had their doggies up for adoption looking their finest dressed in their black and white “Adopt me” harnesses so that everyone knew who they were and what they’re all about. There was a lot of interest in adopting the dogs that attended, but nothing is final until it is final……so for anyone who had an interest please get in contact with Justine at (780) 222-3969 to inquire about your possible new fur child:) The adoption fee is $280 which includes — deworming, vaccinations up to date and spaying/neutering.

Additional articles on our “furry” friends… 

Robyn Fisher
Associate | REALTOR®
Your Ellerslie/Summerside Area Specialist
Search Homes for Sale in Summerside

KENNEDY Real Estate
Your Edmonton REALTOR® | Edmonton Home Stager
Call us today…780-485-3010 and GET SOLD!
Area Specialists | Lifestyle Marketing

Edmonton SE Fire January 19th 2012

As a resident of Edmonton SE – Our hearts and prayers go out to all those who lost their home is SE Edmonton last night. Keep watch on the news for ways to help those who were displaced.

See link here for details:

http://goo.gl/qNkLI

Additional “Christy’s Confidentials” Articles…

Christy Van Dyke
Associate | REALTOR®
Your Greenview | Hillview Area Specialist
Search Homes For Sale in Greenview | Hillview 

KENNEDY Real Estate
Your Edmonton REALTOR® | Edmonton Home Stager
Call us today…780-485-3010 and GET SOLD!
Area Specialists | Lifestyle Marketing

Here are just a few of our ‘fun and fabulous’ listing videos…we like what we do and have FUN doing to!!

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 understand the importance of having an online presence – to direct traffic and leads to our site. To that end we have over 30 domain names that all lead to various spots on our main website www.kennedyrealestate.ca

This drives both buyer and seller leads to our site – great for our REALTORS® and Sellers alike.

In addition to our single website addresses for all of our listings we have multiple domain names working on your behalf 24/7.

These are a few of our domain names:

www.EdmontonWestendRealestate.ca

www.EdmontonSouthsideRealestate.ca

www.EdmontonNorthsideRealestate.ca

www.SherwoodPark-Homes.ca

www.StAlbert-Homes.ca

as well as:

www.EdmontonBungalows.ca

www.EdmontonWalkouts.ca

www.EdmontonLuxuryEstates.ca

www.EdmontonNewListings.ca

and Our NEW one – soon to be a blog of its own:

www.EdmontonHomestager.ca

www.DesignerRealEstate.ca

as well as these fine options to locate a FAB agent:

www.TopEdmontonRealtor.com

www.YourAreaSpecialists.ca

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!

Home Marketing: The Kennedy Advantage

• Lifestyle Marketing

• Setting the Price

• Getting the Word Out

• The Kennedy Advantage

Lifestyle Marketing: what does it mean?

Staging

• Checklist: we provide and review our checklist how to prepare your home for sale

• Before & After’s : Staging Case Studies… or our Work in action – video presentation

• **NEW FEATURE ** Virtual Staging / Design Center/ Home Style Designer : allows potential buyers to actually change the way your listing looks online to meet their personal taste with the click of a mouse. Our new Style Designer will captivate interested buyers and allow them to dream the potential of your property – all from the comfort of their computer. There’s something magical about clicking a button and instantly painting an entire room. While painting walls and laying down carpet have traditionally been a laborious event, potential buyers can now bring your property to life and explore what’s possible in a matter of seconds. It’s simply brilliant!!

Professional Photography & Video

We use professional grade photography for all of our listings – a picture not only can say a thousand words – it also has the power to engage and hold the interest of the viewer – “the hook”. At KENNEDY Real Estate we like to ‘hook’ the buyer with our photos… Here are some of our memorable “hook’s” and some awesome custom print work!!

Lifestyle Searches

At KENNEDY Real Estate we are also concerned with driving buyer traffic to our sight – to that end we have created custom LIFESTYLE SEARCHES … Search By Lifestyle

Promo’s for Our Clients

We take good care of our clients! See here for a list of client closing gifts. Whether you buy or sell with KENNEDY Real Estate, you are entitled to a list of ‘thank you’s’. These promotions can also be used to help sell your property. At KENNEDY Real Estate we are able to advertise any of these promotions with the sale of your property. A first of its kind in Edmonton and exclusive to KENENDY Real Estate …our move in or move our cleaning is our #1 choice of our buyers and sellers!

Setting the Price

Why you need to sell your house twice : it’s not what you think!

Selling vs. Timing: setting the price right the first time

Current Market Value: how market value is determined

Who Controls price? Pricing to meet your goals

What happens when your home is not priced right: a chain reaction begins

Getting the Word Out

We are connected and SO is your property! At KENNEDY Real Estate we work the SOCIAL circuit:

• Zoocasa, You Tube, Linked In, FACEBOOK FAN PAGE , Twitter, Kijiji, Google+

• 33 domain names that direct traffic to our site

• QR codes for all of our Listings

• mobile friendly website and property viewer

• Single Property websites: your home will have its own website – how cool is that!! Driving traffic directly to YOU!

• In House Lead and Listing Coordinator: no leads left unturned for follow up to all listing inquiries

• FABULOUS print work – best in the bidnazz…dare to compare

• Our latest Ad campaign

Other Helpful Resources for Sellers:

• FAQ for sellers

• Moving Checklist

• Moving Tips

• Feng Shui and Real Estate

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!

Check out these Unique house’s from around the world

Additional “Christy’s Confidentials” Articles…

Christy Van Dyke
Associate | REALTOR®
Your Greenview | Hillview Area Specialist
Search Homes For Sale in Greenview | Hillview 

KENNEDY Real Estate
Your Edmonton REALTOR® | Edmonton Home Stager
Call us today…780-485-3010 and GET SOLD!
Area Specialists | Lifestyle Marketing