Delays...

Nobody likes them, but they happen... Delays are a normal part of most projects - the trick is to anticipate these delays and work it into the time frame of expected due dates. For example, if a project should take a week if all goes well, plan for 3 weeks as the completion date. That way, there rarely are "delays" as far as clients are concerned. You can almost always complete on the expected date, if not before! This is primarily advice for re-design projects, especially ones requiring any renovations. It almost always happens that something ordered will come wrong, they will only have 3 items in stock when 4 are needed so you have to wait on the last to be shipped, someone gets a flu bug and is unable to work, an item gets broken en route to the property and needs to be re-sourced and delivered. You name it, it can happen. I've even had tradespeople that are in the property to do an installation or construction work of some sort, try to convince my clients that the furniture is in the wrong place (not all rooms need to be centred around a 60" TV), the overall design is not worth the money ("I could've found a similar item at Walmart for you.") or complain about colours schemes (not every room needs a red feature wall)! Decorator or drywaller??? (Will be the topic of another blog soon, I am sure!) Anyhow, delays are normal due to the human element in this type of work. I have been caught once in a while where the tradespeople are not those I've worked with before, I don't know how they work or the number of extra tasks they may been asked to attend to while the original work is being completed (i.e. while this furniture was being moved out, the freshly painted banisters got smudged and need to be touched up, as well as the furniture needing to be cleaned up). Therefore my time frame of when I expect to be completed is based on their estimate of when the renovation work is done. Sometimes they are not one in the same... I am very hands-on with my projects, especially with the absence of much needed staff at the moment, so I like to be apprised of the goings-on as they happen, so I can adjust the completion date accordingly if needed, help with whatever I can in the meantime, and mitigate any negative situation to keep the project running smoothly and the client happy with the end results. Thinking "outside the box" has become more the norm than not...and personally, I have a bit more fun that way - it is healthy to keep the creative flowing... At the end of the day, though, rational thought needs to prevail over these little things if they occur. And thankfully most clients are very reasonable people. After all, we are decorating a room, not curing a rapid moving epidemic of plague...

Social Media Virgin

So far I have kept my blogs pretty neutral...staging based or decor based or about the weather (weather is always the topic that comes out when you have hit a wall) - I tried to tie those ones to decor somehow, comparing colour schemes to seasons, etc. but really...it is still the weather... It may have occurred to anyone reading my blog that I didn't really have a direction for it - this is true. I am a social media virgin. It's been a while since I was a virgin ;)...a little exhilarating, a little scary... So here I am, 35 years old and on the cusp of something new, yet again. I have a Twitter account, am on Facebook and LinkedIn. And since I have started these accounts I have blundered my way through it. After all, how much do you say? What type of stuff about you and your business is interesting and which is just stuff to have a presence on these forums because you're told you should? What is too personal? What topics will strike up responses and followers? ("Followers"...sounds like we're recruiting for a new religion...) Well, after much thought on this and debate about this, I have decided to go for broke... I have always kept my professional self and personal self separate. Yes, I said "self", not "career" and "personal life", because really when you are in real estate, and now staging, they tend to intertwine. Friends, former co-workers, family, guys I dated, co-workers of family, friends of friends - you end up working with the people that are part of or connected to your personal life. I say "self" because it was rare that I ever showed people that were clients when I was actually frustrated with a deal, tired from having worked 20 hour days, or in pain because my health was declining rapidly from not looking after myself. I smiled through it, stayed confident and calm as I dealt with any issues that may have arisen during the process, so my clients didn't have to. It became very easy for me to switch my voice to a calmer, sweeter version or hide tears when my phone rang, so as not to worry others. I didn't regale my clients with bad dating stories, or the fact that I was cramping so bad from IBS while I was showing them houses that I had to stop at some gas station nearby... So when I started on social media - I used my "game face", if you will... My blogs going forward are going to be more about me - after all the business is me, really - my ambition, my talents, my plans, my design. My life, my path, my experiences and education, my desires and dreams have all led me to this moment, this business, and anywhere I head in the future will be due to my current state of mind and life situation. So, I welcome you (if you dare) to travel my road with me. I'd like to introduce you to (as my new web designers put it ) "the mastermind behind RSDR"...mastermind - I love that...(BTW stay tuned for the unveiling of the new RSDR website)!!!

Welcome Sunshine!

The sun is out; the grass is green and lush; the air is starting to sweeten with blossoms...the real estate market is busy and staging is taking off once again! Listings in the $200,000 - $300,000 range are going crazy! Above $350,000 seems a little tougher to move. The time frames for selling them are a bit longer and the prices are not reflective of the space offered when compared to the lower price ranges... This means for just a few thousand more - you can get a lot more house!!! A lot of my clients lately are in these higher price ranges - have tried selling without staging, unsuccessfully. They have called for the services of RSDR to assist in attracting their target market and are seeing great results! The realtors I have worked with suggest it may be due to competition with the new home building market - people are opting to build brand new vs. purchasing something that may need a bit of updating. The option of new is definitely appealing - fresh carpet, fresh paint, new appliances, picking your own materials and colour palette, energy efficient options, warranties... I have a couple of friends that will only buy new - they hate the idea that other people lived on their carpet, put knicks in their walls, painted colours they would never have picked, etc. There is something to be said for an older home though! Living in an established neighbourhood with trees and larger yards; decks that have already been built; landscaping that has been completed and has matured; a settled home, with no new cracks and nail holes popping up during the first year you're in it; larger rooms in some cases; no extensive delays with move-in dates; pools and hot tubs already installed; not getting damaged tires from driving through a construction site each day... It may be worth it to look at what it would cost to update an older home to what you would want and compare that with the cost of buying a new lot, building a new home, storing your things while you wait for it to be completed (in some cases), finishing the landscaping, building the deck or patio, and so on. I have always opted for an older home, personally. I love already having the yard, deck, fence, fruit trees, established gardens... I always start the move-in process off much like I would if I was building - I choose a new colour palette, I decide if new appliances are warranted, I typically change the flooring, do a little tiling in the bathrooms to update the look, maybe pick some new lighting fixtures, window coverings, install some dimmers and PRESTO...the house is now my home!