Does selling your home feel like a real headache? Well, not when you know the art of Home Staging, the best way to make a potential buyer fall in love at first sight!
Surfacex met with Brigitte Poitras, host of the show Bye Bye Maison, to get an inside scoop for you. She was the first to bring Home Staging to Quebec. She sits down with us to explain the concept and tell us the best ways to prepare one’s apartment, condo, or house that’s for sale.
In a few words, how would you define your profession in Home Staging?
To me, Home Staging is an additional service, as I am actually an interior designer. After bringing this method to Quebec, it took a while before people purchased the service or before it became profitable. Today, since the real estate market is sluggish, I am receiving more and more requests. Sometimes I have to refuse clients because I don’t have the time! I only take on a project when clients are truly convinced of the benefits of home staging.
What are the three pillars of Home Staging?
- Depersonalize (to allow visitors to visualize personalizing the space)
- Clean, tidy, de-clutter and repair what’s broken (no one wants to visit a chaotic house)
- Harmonize and update the decor
What is generally the greatest challenge in this profession?
Convincing clients to invest in their real estate, even if they can’t get their minds off of decorating their future house!
On a more personal note, what was your best home staging transformation and why?
It was the first major home staging transformation I did, 10 years ago when it was still very difficult to persuade clients to invest in the property they were selling. The client agreed to invest $10,000 in a property that hadn’t found a buyer in 18 months. After the transformations, the house quickly received three offers! That’s when I really understood that home staging is a necessity!
Why has Home Staging been expanding so much over these last years? Is it a passing trend or a real need?
It’s a real need! The market is increasingly competitive and new constructions are trending. Older houses are becoming more difficult to sell. People understand this and are aware of the effort it takes to sell their house. They know that without investing, they will have to accept a substantially smaller offer! It’s that simple!
Do you believe there is one perfect house for each person or that a well-organized home can become the perfect fit for anyone?
Besides the personal needs of an individual (geographic location, number of rooms, property size, etc.), a house purchase is an emotional choice. We visit a house with a personal perspective; we want to feel good in it and be able to see ourselves there with our family. When you visit a house that isn’t clean, tidy, welcoming and nicely decorated, you won’t feel good there and you’ll want to shorten the visit. It’s very difficult to visualize a house’s potential if it isn’t well presented. So, sprucing up your home will definitely make a potential buyer fall in love with it!
How important is it to have well maintained floors? Can a well-maintained/good quality floor tip the balance?
Just like with the rest of the house, if it isn’t in good shape, it will lower the sale price! Consider redoing your floor if you have the necessary funds. In general, it all depends on the market of similar houses in the area. A house’s value depends not only on its surface area, the shape it’s in, or its special features, but also on the value of similar neighbouring houses.
What is your advice on presenting a garage that would be the most attractive to people?
To clear the space as much as possible so that buyers can see the surface area. The cleaner it is, the more the house will appear beautiful and well-maintained everywhere!
You are the main host of the show Bye Bye Maison on Canal Vie. What stage of your transformation projects are you most thrilled about?
What I like best is when the renovations are finished because then we can decorate. I love bringing a room to life with accessories! It’s the final touch that makes a room pop!
Thank you so much for your good mood and for filling us in on the concept of Home Staging!
Watch Brigitte Poitras on Bye Bye Maison every Friday on Canal Vie!