Some real estate agents have encouraged their clients to bake cookies prior to home showings and Open Houses. Somehow the fragrance of freshly baked cookies causes home buyers to linger longer.  A good broker will always bring up the subject of lingering odors in their client’s home as delicately as possible. Eliminating odors should rank among the top on the To Do List.

Nothing drives away buyers faster than a smelly home and unfortunately some buyers are so accustomed to those offending odors that they don’t seem to realize it. It is often left to an honest broker to advice clients on the importance of eliminating or atleast masking odors. Here are some easy ways to get rid of it: Carpets and rugs should be professionally cleaned prior to putting the home or condo for sale.

Cooking should be kept at the minimum and frying of odiferous foods like fish and pork should definitely be avoided. Invest in good quality fragrant candles or fragrant natural oils that can be burnt during and after cooking. Often odors get trapped in drapery so dry cleaning might be something to consider.

For strong odors, try leaving out a small bowl of white vinegar which naturally absorbs the offending smell. Leave it on your kitchen counter overnight and by morning it will all smell fresh and clean.

Plug in scents could also work to mask offensive odors and but avoid using too many plug ins at the same time. The sickeningly sweet fragrance  could turn some buyers nauseous.

Keep a bottle of Febreeze handy just incase you are in the middle of a meal and you agree to a last minute showing. If you have household pets like dogs, cats or birds, even more care needs to be taken in order to take away odor. Kitty litter boxes should be cleaned and deodorized.

Nothing smells worse than kitty litter. And lastly do not use overpowering or strong perfumes, stick to something neutral like Vanilla or cinnamon which is familiar and generally agreeable with most people. It should not be strong enough to trigger allergies or cause buyers to turn allergic to your home.

If you are looking for top Mississauga real estate agents, RE/MAX is one company that you should look into. Many RE/MAX agents offer free home staging tips and some may even include cost of home staging in their commission.

Home Staging is the way to go!

Many home sellers in Mississauga are still resistant to the very idea of staging their home- especially if it costs money. Perhaps it is a bit of an ego issue as the woman of the house may pride herself on her artistic and creative talents and might be offended to have a professional home stager tell her to change things around and then charge a hefty fee for the recommendations.

Very often sellers who are about to put their home on the market do the correct things like clear out the house, fix leaky faucets and ensure all appliances are in working condition, the closest many come to home staging is slapping on a fresh coat of paint, but often that fails to impress the more discerning buyer who might be willing to get into a bidding war over the house if it came down to it had the house been presented differently.

Because of the resistance to paying for professional home stagers, some of the more reputed Mississuaga real estate brokers are throwing in free home staging as a service they offer their clients paid for out of their own commission.

Home staging is estimated to bring anywhere from 6 to 20 percent than the same house without home staging. So in effect home staging can be best viewed as an investment rather than an expense. If you have reservations about spending your own money on staging your home, you might consider finding a real estate agent who offers the service as his part of the deal. The new trend employed by some home stagers is to de-personalise the home. That is basically getting rid of any clues as to who the occupants of the home are, example photographs and other tell tale signs that could clue in the potential home buyer.

A new trick to creating the illusion of space is to take out excess furniture leaving behind just the bare minimum. The makes a small room look larger and a large room look even larger. It gives the buyer the space to imagine his or her own vision for the room.  A good home stager will insist on a fresh coat of paint for rooms that look tired and bleak and it is not unheard of for home stagers to suggest new carpeting to replace worn out or stinky carpets. In short most homes could use the services of a professional home stager and whether or not your real estate broker offers the service, this is one investment that more than pays for itself.