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‘Thanks to Leah and her staging, we received excellent multiple offers after the first weekend open house’

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:14:41 +0000

Leah Armstrong was introduced to us by our realtor when we decided to put our house that we had lived in for many years on the market in June 2009. It was a great decision to have Leah stage our house.

We had a very tight deadline of 2 weeks to get the house ready for an open house weekend. Her knowledge and experience resulted in us having total confidence in her. The recommendations she made were based on meeting our needs both from a budgetary and a personal perspective. She juggled and arranged getting trades in to do minor renovations and fix ups with very short notice and timelines and yet good quality.

Leah’s customer service was outstanding and she followed through on her commitments, connected with us to help us through the times where we were wondering what we had done and was always supportive and professional. She made our house look its best and many of our friends and family commented on how she was able to highlight the things that made our house a great place to be in.

Thanks to Leah and her staging, we received excellent multiple offers after the first weekend open house. We were able to sell our house that weekend and find one in our new location. Having had the positive experience, we hired Leah to put together the colors and help with the design of our new home. Already the people who have come into our home have expressed how welcoming and calm the house is.

So a big “THANKS” to Leah as we could not have done it without her.

Lydia and Melay D., Coquitlam. November, 2009.

Sell faster by staging vacant homes

Leah — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:19:57 +0000

I staged a vacant townhouse yesterday. A 2008 study reported that vacant listings displayed as staged rather than empty spend 85% less time on the market, according to information on www.RealEstateStagingAssociation.com!

Here are some photos from the townhouse I staged:

$1.3 million dollar listing staged in Burnaby

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:35:22 +0000

Photos from a $1.3 million listing in Burnaby.

Sold $30,600 over asking; 10 offers after first open house

Leah — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:57:14 +0000

The following is a testimonial from the listing realtor for a semi-vacant staging of a Burnaby townhome that incorporated rental items. You can see more photos of the finished product on the Blum Real Estate Team website.

Hi Leah,

The living room after staging

What a superb job you did at Dave’s place. The transformation was as day and night, it truly looked like a show home. We had a tremendous amount of interest and buyers and agent alike had nothing but compliments.

We had over 40 parties coming through the grand opening on Saturday which resulted in quite a number of second showings for Sunday and on Monday at 2 PM we presented 10 offers and ended up $30,600 over asking price. This never would have happened without your amazing work.

The living room before staging.

Thanks again and I am sure we will work together again soon,

Heiner Blum
Associate Broker, N.P. (Asc.), R.R.S
Blum Real Estate Team
www.BlumRealEstateTeam.com

Staging to sell: what to do about bookshelves

Leah — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:49:03 +0000

Tip for Staging to Sell: Consider enlarging the sense of space by removing bookshelves entirely from the room. If not, aim for a clean and uncluttered look for staging. Pack away paperbacks and display only hardcover books. In order to keep the viewers’ eye moving, leave some shelves totally bare. Remember, you are selling the room, not the books, and do not want them to become a distraction to a buyer.

More advice on arranging bookshelves like a pro from Better Homes & Gardens

‘We received 6 offers and sold the home $15,000 over asking price’

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:54:12 +0000

Leah, thanks for your terrific work. The home looked absolutely georgous. After only 4 days on the market and our first open house we received 6 offers and sold the home $15,000 over asking price. Many thanks. I am looking forward to working with you again

- Monika Biertumpel Royal Le Page Showcase Plus 604.461.2844, Coquitlam, July 2009

‘After staging and relisting, we had an accepted offer in just six days!’

admin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:55:35 +0000

Leah, I wanted to let you know you how pleased I am. Your staging really made a difference! Prior to staging, we had 47 showings, but no offers, and 79 days on the market (March 10 – May 28). After staging and relisting, we had an accepted offer in just six days! You managed, yet once again, to make things look more spacious and attractive, and “feel right”, all by just repositioning the existing furniture and accessories! Implementing your suggestions for improving curb appeal and the patio area truly made it so much more inviting.

- Jean Geiger RE/MAX Sabre Realty 604.612.9168 JeanGeiger.com Coquitlam June 2009

Home Staging Bathroom Photography Tip

Leah — Sun, 17 May 2009 07:15:08 +0000

BEFORE Home Staging: Bathroom photos uninspiring, and frankly boring?

Before home staging

AFTER Home Staging: Jazz them up by shooting into the reflection of the mirror!

After home staging

Ensuite after staging

‘We put our home on the market and received an offer that very evening $10,000 above what the previous unit sold for!’

admin — Sat, 09 May 2009 22:56:55 +0000

AFTER Target Buyer young family. Rental accessory package augmented homeowner's furnishings. TIP: Think of new ways to display familiar things. Couch cushions reversed for greater visual appeal. Chest used for a coffee table.

Leah, I would like to take a moment to let you know what a pleasure it was to work with you. You were able to explain ahead of time the changes you would place in our home for staging purposes and although I could not see your vision at the time, what you did made an obvious impact on our home for the better. We were able to put our home on the market on a Monday and received an offer that very evening!

Living Room BEFORE

We made the decision to use home staging during this process because we owned a town home that looked very much the same as everything else in the complex. We felt we needed an edge in this trying market and you assisted us in achieving exactly that. The offer we received was $10,000 above what the previous unit sold for and that unit was the mirror image of what we had on the market. You made our home look appealing to the largest market and yet we still felt very much like it was ours and comfortable for us to be in. Thank you again for taking such a vested interest in our home. It made a difference and I would certainly use your services in the future.

-Susan and Neil V. Port Coquitlam May 2009

Design Quotes in Action

admin — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 07:15:26 +0000

“If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it. Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

- William Norris,1834-1896

“Space is not something to be filled with beautiful things; space is beauty.”

- author unknown

BEFORE: Living Room before ReDesign, conversation area felt cramped and the room small

Living room before home staging

AFTER: Living Room after ReDesign – “Space is beauty.” Restyling opened up room and created opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the room and the serene view.

Living room after home staging