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Archive for the ‘Home Staging’ Category

Opening the MLS to the public – will it really save you money?

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 by Dan Cooper

There is a significant development in the world of real estate these days which involves the ability for sellers to list their homes on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Canada’s Competition Bureau has been urging the industry to open up its listing service to the public. Recently the Canadian Real Estate Association took a step in that direction by proposing a change in the rules that would allow agents to post listings on the MLS for a flat fee. The agent would then step aside and leave the rest to the seller.

For some people this will be attractive. Like online stock trading or arranging your family vacation through the Internet without the assistance of a professional travel agent, the new regulations would allow homeowners to sell their property without the help of an agent and avoid paying the agent’s commission or fees. Perhaps some home sellers will find the savings worth the work and inconvenience they will endure while trying to sell their home. But is it worth it? Do those people fully understand, or appreciate, what exactly is involved in selling a home? Simply listing your home on the MLS is no guarantee it will sell. A photo and description will sit there with thousands of other listings, and you just hope the right buyer sees it.

A qualified, experienced and knowledgeable Broker, on the other hand, is a master at marketing properties so that your home sells quickly and for top dollar. Knowing the community, what buyers are looking for, how to market your home and how to stage it will help you sell your home quickly and for top dollar – this is what we are good at. When working with the Dan Cooper Team of Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage, you are working with a Broker who has developed innovative and carefully selected methods of showcasing your home for optimum exposure. These methods involve selecting the prime advertising spots in a variety of publications and using the Internet creatively to ensure your home sells quickly and for top dollar. For example, my unique DanCooperTV.com website is bringing properties to life through a video-based platform. I’m proud to be one of the first to tap into this exciting form of marketing to provide you with a competitive edge when selling your home.

This comes at a cost and that’s where some of our commission is invested. People trying to sell their homes themselves are not spending thousands of dollars a week to advertise in the various real estate magazines or to develop a website to showcase their home. But a good Broker is spending that amount to market your property. Besides superior exposure for your home, there are a host of other benefits when dealing with the Dan Cooper Team, such as complimentary home staging consultation; instant access to our team of lawyers, home inspectors, mortgage brokers, appraisers and contractors; ongoing updates and progress reports as part of our in-depth communications; and being served by a team of multi-disciplined professionals with more than 40 years of combined experience. Having a listing on the MLS may only cost a few hundred dollars, but it is a very small part of the whole picture when it comes to effectively selling your home.

Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage – the Number 1 Royal LePage Team for Canada in 2009. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his innovative and interactive website at DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Series on DailyWebTV.com. For his free booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar – Fast! or his Guide to Oakville Real Estate, please call the Dan Cooper Team.

Posted in Dan Cooper TV, Home Staging, Internet, Marketing, Planning, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Video Tours | No Comments »

Sell Your Home For Top Dollar – Fast

Friday, December 11th, 2009 by Dan Cooper

How To Sell Your Home for Top Dollar - Fast

I’ve written quite a bit over the past few weeks about the economic recovery, especially in the housing market. It’s true we are seeing many parts of our economy storming back. The job outlook is more positive, households are getting a firmer grip on their budgets and consumer confidence is returning.

All this has led to a rising demand for new and resale homes. The pressure is forcing home prices back up to where they were more than a year ago. But that is by no means a signal that selling your home will be easy. Certainly it will sell, but in any market you want to sell quickly and for top dollar.

A few years ago I wrote a booklet about how to sell your home for top dollar and fast. Just call my office and we will gladly send you a complimentary copy of this invaluable publication. It’s just one of the small services I provide clients, giving them an advantage in a competitive market place. Choosing a Broker who is knowledgeable about the community and has a proven track record for effective marketing is critical when looking to get the absolute best deal possible.

Here’s a sample of what you will find in How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar – Fast! Make your house sparkle. Thoroughly clean your house. Hire someone if you prefer, but ensure windows shine inside and out, and that blinds, curtains and drapes are clean. A trick to lifting tough grime and grease is using undiluted white vinegar.

In the kitchen, clean appliances inside and out. Again, use undiluted vinegar to remove kitchen grease. Scrub the inside of the refrigerator with baking soda; not only does it not scratch, but it also removes odours. Eliminate kitchen sink odours by pouring hot salt water down the drain twice a week. Grind citrus peelings or apple cores in the garbage disposal. Leave a small uncovered container of vinegar in the corner of your kitchen counter.

Scrub bathrooms until they pass the white glove test. If tubs or sinks are rusting, have them re-glazed. Clean tile grouting with Tilex and recaulk the tub and shower. Clean fixtures with white vinegar. While at home, light a candle for atmosphere and a pleasant (but not overpowering) aroma. Hang a set of designer bath towels on the most prominent rack complete with verbal instructions to your family not to use them.

This is just a small sample of my tips and advice for getting top dollar for your home. I include many other suggestions as well as outlining common costly mistakes and how to avoid them – whether you are buying or selling.

Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his innovative and interactive website at DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Series on DailyWebTV.com. For his free booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar – Fast! or his Guide to Oakville Real Estate, please call the Dan Cooper Team.

Posted in Home Staging, Magazine Publications, Real Estate | No Comments »

A small statement can have a big impact on your home

Friday, October 16th, 2009 by Dan Cooper

FusionCast

Even small details can make a significant impact for your home. From unique decorative house numbers to adorable garden signs, interesting little touches can make a statement.

A company and a valued partner that is doing just that is Alchemy of Mississauga, which has a patent pending technology that combines metals with high density urethane to produce striking signage at affordable prices, a process it calls FusionCast. Metal signage makes a strong statement about your home. It is sophisticated and enduring. But, with the increasing price of base metals over the past number of years, the cost of bronze, aluminum and copper signage has risen. So Alchemy’s challenge was to develop a technology which provides metal signage more economically. It successfully did so two years ago with the introduction of FusionCast technology. The result is a product with metal at the dimensional surface or face of the sign with urethane in the body and back of the sign, areas where metal is not necessary. It offers the durability and appearance of bronze, copper, or aluminum signage. The Alchemy process provides greater design flexibility with the ability to combine different metals in the surface of the sign including bronze, copper and aluminum as well as different background textures including satin, brick, river rock, cliff, sand and wood grain.

The company is also proud that it is doing its part to be eco responsible, a commendable accomplishment in today’s environmentally conscious world. The FusionCast casting process eliminates harmful emissions produced by molten casting and 95% of its moulds are recycled. “We are excited about the many benefits and applications for FusionCast technology,” says Alchemy president Tom McLeod. “We can create and produce composite metal signage with designs and features that are either not available from traditional castings or available at a much higher cost. Our innovation capabilities have resulted in some pretty unique products produced more economically. In addition to our technology, we offer complete graphic and design support.”

Be it a sophisticated address sign, signs for your garden and pool, or indoor signs for your kitchen or study, Alchemy can produce a unique and fully customized sign. For more information about the company or to see their products, visit Alchemy’s website www.alchemyfusioncast.com.

Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his recently relaunched website DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Education Series on DailyWebTV.com. For a free copy of his Guide to Oakville Real Estate or his booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar, please call The Dan Cooper Team.

Posted in Home Staging, Marketing, Real Estate | No Comments »

Dress your home for success – by staging it

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 by Dan Cooper

You’ve made the decision to sell your home. Whether you are looking to downsize or you want to take advantage of the current market to finally buy your dream home, the first step in the process is to prepare your current property for sale.

First impressions count and the key is making your home as appealing as possible. It’s something called home staging, and believe me, the right approach can help to sell your home faster and for more.

Home staging is about creating an illusion. This is more than simply giving the place a good clean and perhaps some fresh paint on the walls. A properly staged home can actually look larger, brighter, cleaner and warmer. It entices the buyer to want it.

Friends and relatives may have already advised you about getting your home ready for sale. Perhaps you’ve heard the often repeated advice to concentrate on the kitchen and bathrooms. Paint the walls, perhaps some new cabinet handles, clean, declutter and make minor repairs. But, that really is only the beginning. Those steps need to be taken before you actually dress your house for sale.

Small details can make your home stand out. Cut flowers in the living room, a bowl of fruit in the kitchen and perhaps lipstick, mascara and an attractive necklace on the bathroom counter. Simple but elegant.

Move extra furniture out of the house – perhaps storing it in the garage. That leaves you with an economy of furnishings that can be artfully arranged in appealing groupings known as vignettes. Display unusual knickknacks in groupings of 1, 3 or 5 and add unique elements to shelving, bookcases and fireplace mantels – drawing attention to specific areas of the room.

The proof that staging works is evident in the number of professional stagers that this industry has spawned. And their bag of tricks can be utterly amazing. They may bring an array of their own items to spruce up your home – mirrors, plants, silk flowers, lamps, area rugs, pillows, baskets and even inflatable queen-size beds.

Now it is true the kitchen and bathroom are key areas. To easily spruce up these rooms some tips of the trade include applying orange oil to cabinets to renew their lustre, place bowls of fruit on tables and arrange colourful cookbooks on the counter. Give your bathroom the spa treatment with baskets filled with towels tied with ribbons, scented soaps, lotions and moisturizing jars.

If your potential buyer is on the verge of signing the sale agreement, seal the deal with a lively touch in the back yard. Dress up your patio or deck with plants and potted flowers, and decorate your patio furniture with place settings of colourful plastic dinner plates and glassware.

Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his website. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Education Series on DailyWebTV.com. For a free copy of his Guide to Oakville Real Estate or his booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar, please call The Dan Cooper Team.

Posted in Home Staging, Real Estate | No Comments »

When you choose a top real estate broker, you are number one

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 by Dan Cooper

The economy appears to be improving as we continue to get some encouraging news each week. Whether it is an improvement in the U.S. job outlook or increased new home starts across Canada, the news indicates we are seeing signs of recovery.

All this means there will be renewed enthusiasm in the real estate market. Buyers, however, are still going to be cautious, so selecting a Broker who knows the local market is critical for selling or buying a home.

team

How do you know you are choosing the best Broker to sell your property or to help you find your dream home?

A little research will provide a lot of answers. Who has a high profile and is providing the most exposure for their properties? How well do they know the community – the best features and amenities the community has to offer? Do they know the most desirable locations and the true value of your investment? How innovative and creative are they at marketing homes or seeking out good value?

The Dan Cooper  is proud to be among the top Brokers in Oakville, In fact, they have been the #1 Team in Canada for Royal LePage in 2007, 2005, 2002, 2001, 2000 and 1999. These accomplishments do not happen by accident but rather through a dedicated and committed team of professionals.

As a home seller you will be working with a Broker who has developed innovative and carefully selected methods of showcasing your home for optimum exposure. These methods involve selecting the prime advertising spots in a variety of publications and using the internet more creatively than any other Broker. For example, my unique DanCooperTV.com website is bringing properties to life through a video-based platform. I’m proud to be one of the first to tap into this exciting form of marketing to provide you with a competitive edge when selling your home.

Besides superior exposure for your home, there are a host of other benefits when dealing with The Dan Cooper Team, such as a complimentary home staging consultation; instant access to our team of lawyers, home inspectors, mortgage brokers, appraisers and contractors; ongoing updates and progress reports as part of our in-depth communications; and being served by a team of multi-disciplined professionals with more than 40 years of combined experience.

Combined with my own 20 plus years in the Oakville market, the choice is clear – Dan Cooper, Broker of Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. Whether buying or selling, The Dan Cooper Team is ready to serve you.

Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. He can be reached at 905.338.3737 or direct line at 905.849.3303.  For more information about Dan and his team please see his innovative website DanCooperTV.com, or be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Education Series on DailyWebTV.com. For a free copy of his Guide to Oakville Real Estate or his booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar, please call The Dan Cooper Team.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this article; however, the information is general in nature. Please seek professional advice relevant to your specific situation.

Posted in Home Staging, Real Estate | No Comments »