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        <title>The Real Estate Blog</title>
        <link>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/2016-02/</link>
        <description>Greg Dewar is a realtor in Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, and Guelph. His real estate blog shares everything you need to know about buying and selling a house successfully.</description>
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    <guid>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/why-you-should-hire-a-home-stager.html</guid>
    <link>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/why-you-should-hire-a-home-stager.html</link>
        <author>greg@dewarrealty.com (Greg Dewar)</author>
        <title>Why You Should Hire A Home Stager</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 
If you've decided to sell your home, you might be wondering whether it's worth it to hire a home stager. As a seller, your ultimate goal is to sell your home and this can happen much more quickly when the house appeals to the buyer as much as possible. A home stager will make sure each room in your home is reworked to best market it to the potential buyer by showing it in its best light.


The reality is that staging your home benefits the seller a great deal because a well-dressed, nice-looking home will sell much faster than one that is not. When a potential buyer comes through your home, they want to purchase a home that looks great and is move-in ready, which is why hiring a professional stager can save you a lot of time and money. A home stager might rearrange your furniture, ask you to place your existing furniture in storage, make sure clutter is cleared and might even bring in some of their own pieces to help spruce up a room.


Below, I’m sharing some of the things I’ve learned over the years from working with home stagers.


Tips for Hiring A Home Stager




Hiring a home stager can be good in the sense that they will be able to give you an objective perspective on what should and shouldn’t be in each room to make it most appealing.


Stagers understand what will appeal to the majority of people and are trained in specific design principles, like how best to light a room, how to position items so the room will photograph well and how traffic flow is affected by arrangement of furniture and possessions.


Get referrals from friends so you know exactly what to expect. I can also give you referrals if you contact me and let me know.


Be sure to ask your home stager if they use your existing furniture or décor or if they will bring in new things. You will also want to ask them if they charge by room or level of detail. You should also find out what will be required of you if you are living in the home while you are selling it.


Make sure your home stager also markets your home’s exterior. They should be concerned with making sure your home has as much curb appeal as possible, which could include updating your yard, gardens or walkways.


If you’re on the fence about hiring a home stager, one thing that you should consider is that while the stager generally starts in the thousand-dollar range, it will save you time, money and energy getting your house ready for showings, not to mention reducing your stress levels




Have you hired a professional home stager before? Did you wish you had done it sooner or thought you could get by without one? Let us know or head over to Facebook to drop us a line
 ]]> </description>
    <pubDate>Fri, 26 Feb 2016 08:51:00 -0500</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/5-things-you-need-to-do-before-buying-a-home.html</guid>
    <link>https://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/5-things-you-need-to-do-before-buying-a-home.html</link>
        <author>greg@dewarrealty.com (Greg Dewar)</author>
        <title>5 Things You Need to Do Before Buying a Home</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 
You’ve decided to buy a home but now what? I’ve put together a list of five important things you need to do before buying a home. For even more advice, check out our blog post on where to start when you’ve decided to buy a home.




Choose experienced professionals to work with. This includes finding a realtor who is familiar and experienced in the city or area you want to move to. Prepare a list of questions to ask your realtor before you meet him or her. Find out what kind of experience they have, how many buyers they’re currently working with and ask if they can share any references with you. Finding a trusted house inspector who will inspect the home you want to buy and finding a lawyer who can help you when you close on the house is equally important. If you can find the professionals you can trust to make your home purchase go smoothly, it likely will.


Get your finances in order and settle on a budget that you’re comfortable with. This means visiting the bank and seeing what kind of mortgage you will be preapproved for. Although the bank will give you a mortgage that you can afford, you need to be comfortable with the actual dollar amount. If you travel a lot or want to make some home improvements it might be a good idea to opt for a smaller mortgage so that you have leftover income each month and can avoid being “house poor”


Create a checklist that includes the area you want to live in, along with other important details like wants, needs and absolute must-haves. If you need to be near a certain school district or can’t imagine living across the city from your favourite farmer’s market, add it to your house hunting checklist (http://www.dewarrealty.com/blog/house-hunting-checklist.html). Your list should also include home features that you’d like to have and this can be anything, including how many levels you want the home to be, whether you want a condo or a house or even if you really want a pool in the backyard. Just remember to keep your expectations in line with your budget


Declutter your current home. The less stuff you have means you’ll have more space in your new home and it will make your actual move much easier. This will save you time, money and the hassle of moving a thousand boxes to your new home. If you aren’t using certain items, chances are that you don’t actually need them. Consider selling what you can on eBay or Kijiji and use the money to redecorate your new house If you can’t sell the items, donate them to an organization who can use them.


Take your time. If you’re saving money while you search for the perfect house, this is okay Searching for a home can take longer than you think and it’s important not to rush or settle for a home that isn’t quite what you want. If you’re renting, stay on a month-to-month agreement so that you have the freedom and flexibility to move when you do find the house you want to buy




Want more tips for buying and selling a home? Visit my blog for an excellent list of resources that are sure to help you out
 ]]> </description>
    <pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2016 09:44:00 -0500</pubDate>
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