The Canadian housing market is going through a period of unforeseen high activity. With the global coronavirus pandemic still driving more people than ever to work from home, thus demanding more space, real estate prices have skyrocketed. There has never been a better time to sell your home for its maximum value.

However, if you want to get the best value for your home, you need to ensure your home is properly staged. What is home staging? How can it help your home sell faster than any others on the market? Here's what you need to know about this critical part of the home sale preparation process.

What Is Home Staging?

Let's dive right into the heart of the matter: What is home staging? In essence, staging your home means making it look the best it can for potential buyers.

It's the process of making your home look showroom-ready so that buyers can project themselves into it. This makes it a crucial piece of the home selling process.

Why Staging Your Home Is Important

Now that you know what home staging is, you might wonder, "Why is this so important?" As mentioned above, staging your home gives buyers a neutral canvas on which they can project themselves and their life needs. 

Over the years, your home adapts to the needs of you and your family. However, those needs may not match the needs of the next family to use the house. You don't want to show buyers how you live. Rather, you want to let them imagine how they could live.

Additionally, staging your home means maximizing its benefits while minimizing its weaknesses. You want to put the best properties of your property forward while covering and accounting for any weaknesses it may have.

How to Stage Your Kitchen

Your kitchen will need the most work of any room in your house as far as staging goes. The reason why? The kitchen is the most important room in your house. Kitchens sell homes or make people pass on them more than any other room.

In order to put your best culinary space forward, you should make use of the following kitchen home staging ideas:

Clean, Declutter, and Organize

The first step of staging any room in your home is to clean it, organize it, and bust clutter. Alphabetise your spices and keep their labels facing forward. Make sure you have no dirty dishes in the sink or dishwasher, since buyers often open and examine those spaces. Clean every inch of the kitchen so that it's spic and span. Potential homebuyers will notice anything you try to overlook.

Update Appliances Where Possible

The appliances in your kitchen can make or break your home's value. You can have a beautiful kitchen flow with plenty of light and space. However, if the buyer will need to replace all of the appliances with new ones, they may well pass on the home itself. After all, if they have the choice between a home that's already up to date and one they'll need to invest in, the choice is pretty clear.

How to Stage Your Living Room

After your kitchen, your living room is one of the most important rooms to stage. The living room creates the atmosphere of the overall home. Here are some home staging living room ideas that will help you sell your home fast:

Depersonalise, But Don't Leave Walls Empty

As in the kitchen, you need to ensure that every inch of the living room is cleaned from top to bottom. However, unlike the kitchen, you'll need to put more work into depersonalising the living room.

This means removing pictures of the family and any evidence of pets in the home. If you've gone for dramatic colours in your living room, you may need to repaint or redecorate it to more neutral tones to make it more appropriate for 'everyone'.

However, you shouldn't leave the walls barren. Empty walls can make a space feel hollow and depressing. This is the perfect space for those "Live, Laugh, Love" signs.

Highlight Desirable Features

Does your living room have a fireplace? A sliding door leading out to a patio? A skylight? Each of these is a desirable feature, so you want to make sure your living room gets arranged to highlight them. Don't hesitate to decorate with a pop of colour on the fireplace mantle to draw the eye to it.

Pare Down on Excess Furniture

Staging your home is one case in which the adage "less is more" applies. You want to make sure your living room's walkways are clear and easy to navigate. Bulky furniture should either leave the space entirely or get placed to maximize space. You don't want your living room to look small or cluttered.

Decorate and Accessorise in Threes

If you place any decorations on the shelves or the coffee table, make sure to do so in odd numbers. Threes and fives look the most appealing to the eye, so keep that in mind as you arrange your smaller decorations.

Make the Room Smell Nice

Lastly, while this is not a necessity, filling your living room with a pleasant scent can make it stand out in a buyer's mind. You want to ensure any unpleasant aromas get dealt with at their source, lest you drive the buyer away. However, by making the living room smell nice with flowers, diffusers, or air fresheners, you can make it stand out in a buyer's memory.

Scent memories are the strongest type of sense memory, after all.

Getting Back to Basics

So, what is home staging and why is it important? Staging your home helps it to sell for the maximum value on the market, letting you get the best price you can. It lets buyers visualize themselves in your home and helps it to sell faster.

If you need some more tips on getting your home ready to sell, don't hesitate to reach out to Bermont Realty today! Our helpful agents are on standby and will be happy to assist you!

Buying commercial real estate is one of the most excellent investments. It’s one of the most lucrative investment opportunities of all time.

However, when buying commercial real estate, it’s crucial to understand that the higher the reward, the higher the responsibility. Thus, it’s advisable to mind due diligence and ensure you take the proper steps during the purchasing process.

If you are looking into purchasing commercial properties as an investment, it’s essential to know that it’s quite different from buying a residential property. The commercial property will require more out of you. However, with the proper dedication, you can always learn how to navigate the complexities of the investment.

Below are five essential tips you should consider when purchasing a commercial property.

1. Establish Your Reason for Investing in Commercial Real Estate

Ask yourself why you want to invest in real estate. While buying commercial real estate is similar to purchasing traditional properties, it’s on a much larger scale than residential real estate. As an investor, you must know why you want to invest in commercial property.

What are you looking to accomplish? Do you want to add more properties to your portfolio? Are you looking to increase your assets?  

Purchasing a real estate property without proper planning can lead to immeasurable loss. Planning starts from establishing your bottom line and what you hope to accomplish.

Instead of buying the property first then later figuring what to do with it, experts recommend that you plan every detail. This will help you maximise on the property and find the right real estate to help you achieve your goals.

2. Look at Your Current Investment Options

Commercial real estate is a broad term that has over four different categories. These categories include industrial, office, hospitality, multifamily and retail properties. The commercial properties are further categorised into classes A, B, and C.

Class A offices are often high-end offices with recent updates, high-quality finishing and are usually priced competitively. Class B offices are renovated after buying and are less competitive when it comes to pricing. On the other hand, Class C offices are older buildings often over 20 years old and may need urgent maintenance and sometimes minor repairs.

Industrial properties constitute plants, factories and warehouses that are used for manufacturing and distributing products. Retailers use retail spaces to sell products and offer clients their services. Examples of retail properties are shopping malls and retail stores.

Hospitality properties include motels, hotels and other buildings used for short-term holiday renting. The last category of commercial properties is multifamily buildings. These are residential buildings that include over five residential units, such as complexes and apartments.

Ensure you know the options available for investment. Once you determine your goals, it will be easier to choose the right commercial property for investing in.

3. Surround Yourself With Right-Minded Individuals

Real estate is a social and people industry. Purchasing commercial real estate property is no exception. Ensure you align yourself with the right individuals and professionals to get the best services.

Ensure you hire a real estate agent that focuses on the type of property you’re looking to purchase. You should also consult a real estate lawyer who is well-versed in commercial real estate laws. You can even consider hiring the services of a certified personal accountant (CPA) to ensure all your financial transactions fall into place.

Knowing who to align yourself with in the real estate industry will help make your work easier and get the deal to go smoothly. Different professionals can help. Don’t be scared to ask for help when you need it.

4. Secure Financing

Before looking for the right realty listings to buy, it’s essential to have different financing options. The first step to securing your finances is looking at your credit to determine your borrowing power. Depending on the type of loan you are looking for, and the lenders you approach, your credit reports and business credit scores may play an essential role in determining how much you can borrow.

Most lenders consider your personal credit score as well. Review all your credit reports to ensure that the information is up-to-date and accurate. If you find any errors in your credit report, consult the credit bureau and your lenders to dispute the errors.

Depending on the type of property and your credit score, you can choose from the following:

• Business loans
• Hard money loans
• Bank loans
• Apartment loans
• Seller financing

Ensure you consider all lenders’ interest rates, repayment terms, and other loan fees and settle for the best option. Securing financing before looking for a property will help you know which property you can afford.

5. Mind Due Diligence

Purchasing commercial real estate property is not similar to buying a residential property. Before proceeding, remember to do some research and due diligence on the property. Analyse the whole property and run your numbers before making any final decisions.

Are the risks worth the final results? Is there another property that better suits your goals and financial capabilities? You may find a better property out there that is better suited for your bottom line.

Analyse every detail of the transaction and only proceed once you are 100% sure about the property and its inherent benefits to your portfolio as an investor.

Find the Right Property When Buying Commercial Real Estate

Are you interested in buying commercial real estate? Purchasing a commercial property is a wise investment for individuals who know what to expect. Most investors are drawn to real estate due to the ROI potential.

However, you must be smart when investing in commercial real estate. You may be too overwhelmed with numerous opportunities to earn, such as commercial property leasing and office space renting. However, once you narrow down your choices, contact us today at Bermont Realty Ltd to help you find the right property for you.