Now that January is almost over how are you doing?  Share your January successes with us! This is an encouraging note.  Let's have a great 2013 but first let's appreciate January for what it is.  Recovery, holiday bills, back into the routine again, normality has ensued... for most of us.  Let's take the rainy January weather (here in Vancouver anyways) and brush it right off our shoulders and files!  What have you got to lose?  The majority of my team has been hard at work since the 3rd of January and it's been a great January so far.  5 new listings, a few pendings and also small group of serious buyers will make it a good start to the year.  Share your successes from January and keep it viral everyone!  01/23/2013

Many clients often ask me when the right time is for them to seek financing for their home... Because this happens so often I decided to put a deliverable and single piece of literature that we can give to our clients for future use.Timeline For A Vancouver Home Purchase A common question potential homebuyers ask is when the best time is to seek financing when one is considering a Vancouver home purchase. The simple answer is as early as possible. In order to avoid running into credit issues, you should start improving your credit rating and start talking to potential lenders well in advance. This will make it easier and faster for you to secure financing when the right time comes. You stand a better chance to seal a good home purchase deal if your finances are in order when you make an... 01/21/2013

Google+ Pirates, Photos, Foodies and More When I first started out on Google+ to promote my Vancouver Home Staging business a few months ago, I thought, ho hum...  just another social media site to have to navigate.  I've always struggled with Twitter, and I find Facebook pretty mindless.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think Google+ would take me on such a universal, creative and awe inspiring journey! Things started off slowly and quietly at first.  Active Rain offered a webinar about Google+ with A/R's own Eric Proulx.  I had already dabbled a bit on G+, but Eric pretty much solidified and clarified what I already knew.  I started to bump into chats with A/R peeps I recognized but hadn't really socialized with here on A/R.  Those who come to mind are Rich Cederberg, Bill Gassett, D... 01/13/2013

Renting Original Art Is a Great Way to Stand Out From The Competition! If you live in the Lower Mainland of BC then renting original art when you are staging homes just got easier! There are many great rental furnishing stores in the Lower Mainland, Fluff Rentals being one of our favourites since it has one-stop shopping staging home decor rentals for entire homes. However, if you are looking for a one-of-a-kind original art then you might want to check out the Vancouver Art Gallery Rental and Sales group and CityScape Community Art. There is lots to browse through in the art galleries - bring your room photos, paint or fabric samples to help you decide what will work best.     CityScape has an art rental show coming up from January 11 – February 2, 2013 with an Opening Reception on Thu... 01/09/2013

Hello everybody - all the best in 2013 to you all.  I am writing because I need your wisdom & I know you'll love this joint venture. I'm writing because I know you can help & I'm looking to see if you could help me with a title.  I want to tell you that I will show my appreciation to everyone involved. My real estate Team has put together dozens of short and confidential real estate stories we are looking to publish in a book.  These are genuine, inspiring, witty, and most of all enlightening stories about real estate buying, selling from the client's and also realtor's perspective that will make our clients laugh, cry, think and most of all inspire them to the benefits of real estate ownership.  It's intended to be personal and passionate, but also insightful and funny. So, based on th... 01/07/2013

Vancouver's location by the ocean has several benefits for the people that live here. The ocean sends temperate breezes over us that keep the city warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The beaches provide fun activities for all ages, from surfing to sunning and anything else aquatic. And the long, sweeping coastlines mean ample real estate for beautiful waterfront properties. But that doesn't just mean homes – Vancouver is also home to some of Canada's best waterfront restaurants. If you're lucky enough to live here, you owe it to yourself to check out a few of these locations for some of the best in dining with a view.   One of the most popular places to eat in the Vancouver area is the Arms Reach Bistro, just north of Deep Cove on the north side of the city. A popular community f... 01/04/2013

Buying and Selling Homes in Vancouver West   Now that 2013 is in full swing, now is a great time to think about entering the housing market. Whether you're looking to sell your Vancouver West home and find something new or you're interested in joining the burgeoning Westside community, it's important to know how the market is moving and what your options are. And going by the numbers, right now could be an excellent time to find a buyer or to become one yourself.   For prospective buyers, the best news about the Vancouver West home market right now is that the average sale price in the Westside area has gone down significantly since the months previous – at $1,914,000, it's the lowest average home price since June. That means that sellers are letting their homes go for less, and it mean... 01/03/2013

A Vancouver Stager’s Top 10 Staging Tips for a Great Staged Bathroom As a Vancouver, B.C. Home Stager, I like to follow these simple guidelines when staging a bathroom for sale: 1.      Edit Personal Items In this Powder Room/very small bathroom, the bathroom counters were full of personal items.  Home buyers don’t want to see messy toothpaste tubes and used toothbrushes.  These items are too personal.  Purchase plastic baskets from the dollar store, fill them with all your personal toiletries and store them away in the bathroom cupboards. Before Home Staging After Home Staging 2.      Create a hotel boutique chic atmosphere I love staying in European hotels and enjoying the lovely, white, fresh linens, soaps and amenities.   Nothing says hotel boutique bathroom like a white waffle curt... 12/27/2012

This is from a client of mine who coaches women to develop a stronger relationship with money:This post reminds me of an interesting conversation I had with Jark, the founder of the TeamYVR Real Estate Team in Vancouver and also The Bridgemakers, I asked this inspiring entrepreneur who had many success with a number of business projects: what's your key to success? What he replied i s profoundly simple: I have always underestimated the obstacles and problems. This helped me have started many business ventures otherwise couldn't have happened due to the fear of failure for starting something new. I hope this insight help every startup and people amidst challenges and frustrations to find strengths within. Please SHARE with anyone who needs a boost of inspiration! Life is what we make it... 12/11/2012

Decorating Tips for the Holidays|Vancouver, B.C. As a Vancouver Home Stager, I advise Home Sellers to tone down the Christmas and holiday decorations.  However, I'm also a Decorator, and when I wear my Decorator hat, I say let's decorate for the winter festive season.  I think the key to a really successful Christmas display is to keep things tasteful.  To do this, I like to use a lot of organic materials that you'd find in nature, such as tree boughs, pine cones, leaves and berries.  Here are a few decorating tips and ideas you may like to try. Christmas Decorating Tip #1 - Add a simple flower arrangement to the living or dining room.  This simple flower arrangment was created by first adding fresh cranberries to a clear glass vase and adding water.  I then inserted a bunch of white fl... 12/09/2012

How will this Affect Property Values?  Another reason to buy on the "west side".  Vancouver pushes for subway line along Broadway!   The City of Vancouver is determined to lay a subway line along the busy Broadway Corridor, extending the SkyTrain system from Commercial Drive to UBC. While some are calling for a cheaper light-rail system for Broadway, Vancouver transportation director Jerry Dobrovolny says that an underground SkyTrain is the only viable option. “The SkyTrain recommendation from the city engineering department, made to council Tuesday, firmly shuts the door to the light-rail option that one group of transit experts believe would be cheaper and more practical than a SkyTrain line,” reads an article in the Globe and Mail. “But Mr. Dobrovolny was insistent that a light-rail ... 11/28/2012

I am happy to present a new Presale Project I am promoting just a few blocks from my Office, it's called Arbutus Ridge.  I am one of the few Buyer Agents for this development and have all the floorplans and other documents for those who are interested.  Also, if you are looking to buy from the US or from China or abroad, I'm very happy to help with other arrangements such as local Lawyers, Accountants, Bank contacts, Local Financing, Inspections, and so on.   If you would like to know more about this (Realtor or Public questions) don't hesitate to leave me a message at jark@teamyvr.com or leave a comment below!   Arbutus Ridge   By Cressey Developments 3113 Arbutus St Vancouver    Overview   Photos    Arbutus Ridge is a new condo project by Cressey Developmentscurrently in preconstructi... 11/27/2012

I found a really great posted by RateHub citing some super useful statistics about Canadian property ownership.  I bet that you didn't know the following top 5 things about property owners. 1. Did you know that "the average Canadian home is 70% paid off!"2. Did you know that "between 2008 and 2012 we paid off our mortgages 5 year faster..."3. New Mortgage rules only affect about 9% of buyers4. Most property owners reduce their debt interest rates by 5% because of Equity takeouts.5. 14% more property owners have fixed rate mortgages than variable rates.Have a look at the original report, I think you'll enjoy it!  11/27/2012

Home Stagers Love to Work with Amazing Professional Organizers! All home stagers benefit from having reliable, professional strategic alliances that they can refer to their clients when they cannot provide a required service, or do not want to do. One of my favourite alliances is with professional organizers. In Canada you can find them in the Professional Organizers of Canada (POC) Directory and in the United States you can find them in the National Association of Organizers (NAPO) Directory. Personally I really dislike doing professional organizing so I always refer my clients to people who love to do this. You can also meet them first-hand at many networking events or where they attend tradeshows. At a recent Meetup City Stagers in Vancouver BC Heather Knittel and Susan Borax of Good... 11/27/2012

I am happy to present a new Presale Project I am promoting just a few blocks from my Office, it's called 2nd and Commercial.  I am one of the few Buyer Agents for this development and have all the floorplans and other documents for those who are interested.  Also, if you are looking to buy from the US or from China or abroad, I'm very happy to help with other arrangements such as local Lawyers, Accountants, Bank contacts, Local Financing, Inspections, and so on.   If you would like to know more about this (Realtor or Public questions) don't hesitate to leave me a message at jark@teamyvr.com or leave a comment below!   2nd and Commercial   By NOW Developments 1661 E 2nd Ave Vancouver   From $269,900    Overview   Plans & Units   Photos      2nd and Commercial is a new condo project by NO... 11/21/2012

Make sure you highlight the best architectural features when selling… ‘The way you live in your home, is not the way you sell your house’ has been a PRES staging mantra for over 10 years now. We were staging this gorgeous heritage home in Vancouver and wanted to highlight the best architectural features. Currently many of the best features of this room are hidden.  The home seller was using this room as their family room. The furniture is not well placed and quite frankly it just doesn’t work as a family room. After trying a few different furniture configurations we decided that this room was not going to be a family room after all As home stagers we often ‘think outside the box’ and see what we can do to enhance the look of each room making each room’s beauty stand on its own. So… The ... 11/20/2012

How To Provide a Recommnedation Report to Your Sellers As part of the PRES staging training course we provide students with over 25 templates that they can use to get started in their business. The Recommendation Report is one of them. I recently heard of a stager going in to provide recommendations for the seller to prepare for selling BUT she didn't even give them  any kind of written information so they could refer back to it once she was gone. I don't believe this is right. Sellers have enough to worry about without trying to remember what the stager told them to do. PRES stagers use a two-step process. 1) we take in a clipboard and a blank Recommendation Form and go from room to room recording the changes/challenges that need to be addressed. If the client wants to take their own n... 11/19/2012

I am happy to present a new Presale Project I am promoting just a few blocks from my Office, it's called 6&Fir.  I am one of the few Buyer Agents for this development and have all the floorplans and other documents for those who are interested.  Also, if you are looking to buy from the US or from China or abroad, I'm very happy to help with other arrangements such as local Lawyers, Accountants, Bank contacts, Local Financing, Inspections, and so on.   If you would like to know more about this (Realtor or Public questions) don't hesitate to leave me a message at jark@teamyvr.com or leave a comment below! 6&Fir   By Westbank 1569 W 6th Ave Vancouver From the low $400,000's To $1,899,900    Overview   Plans & Units   Photos    6&Fir is a new condo project by Westbank currently in preconstr... 11/18/2012

You'll love Kits360!  I am happy to present a new Presale Project I am promoting in Vancouver.  I am one of the few Buyer Agents for this development and have all the floorplans and other documents for those who are interested.  Also, if you are looking to buy from the US or from Chine or abroad, I'm very happy to help with other arrangements such as local Lawyers, Bank contacts and so on.   If you would like to know don't hesitate to leave me a message at jark@teamyvr.com or leave a comment below!  Kits360   www.kits360.com By Intergulf Development Group 1777 West 7th Avenue Vancouver From $299,900    Overview   Plans & Units   Photos    Kits360 is a new condo and townhouse project by Intergulf Development Group currently in preconstruction at 1777 West 7th Avenue in Vancouver. The pro... 11/13/2012

  I am happy to present a new Presale Project I am promoting just a few blocks from my Office.  I am one of the few Buyer Agents for this development and have all the floorplans and other documents for those who are interested.  Also, if you are looking to buy from the US or from Chine or abroad, I'm very happy to help with other arrangements such as local Lawyers, Bank contacts and so on.   If you would like to know don't hesitate to leave me a message at jark@teamyvr.com or leave a comment below!   EVAN   By Greci Develoments 1908 Scotia St Vancouver From $264,900    Overview   Photos    EVAN is a new condo project by Greci Develoments currently in preconstruction at 1908 Scotia St in Vancouver. The project is scheduled for completion in 2014. Available condos start at $264,900. The p... 11/13/2012