Testimonials
I would highly recommend Lori from Hope Designs for your staging needs. At first when we decided to sell our house we did the obvious things: neutral paint, de-clutter and repairs. We had a few real estate agents come by during this time to provide us with some appraisals on what we should look at listing our house for. We heard that staging helps to sell a house more quickly, so we reluctantly set out to find one. Lori was prompt in getting back to me (next morning) with answers to all of my questions. We decided to have her come by to provide us with a consultation. She went through every room with us and provided suggestions for improvement. She also helped us with the outside colour for our house to add curb appeal. We followed through on her suggestions and after she staged the house it was absolutely stunning. Our listing price went up by $50,000 from the original appraisals and we sold in 7 days receiving 98.6% of our asking price. Lori has the ability to accentuate the best features in your home. She is calm under pressure, works hard to ensure that you are pleased, and has a fantastic personality. Thanks for all of your help we couldn't have achieved this without you. We're looking forward to working with you on our new house!!!
Kirk and Dagmar Heaslip
It is with great pleasure that I submit this testimonial! Hope Designs, namely Lori Howard, is without a doubt the Premier Home Stager in Caledon!
I am never left disappointed and my clients are always blown away by her amazing talent! Lori doesn't require any direction; She sees the palette and pulls it altogether! I can't imagine having another interior decorator/stager on my team. She is always professional and courteous. She exudes excitement and my client's are always enthusiastic about what her recommendations are. Lori, I am always enticed to see what you will do next when you enter my client's homes! You are truly amazing!
Melanie Cozzi
RE/MAX West Realty Inc.
www.melaniecozzi.com
Although I have just begun to work with Lori, she has staged the last 2 homes I have listed and I will gladly attest to her professionalism, her eye for detail, and her helpful and co-operative manner with my clients. Lori and her team of stagers arrive on time and well-prepared and then stay until the job is done (one was quite late in the evening!) looking perfect.
I would heartily recommend Lori and her team to anyone looking for staging or decorating assistance!
Nan Levitt,
Sales Representative RE/MAX Professionals Inc.
www.nanlevitt.com
Hi Lori: The house sold conditionally in less than one day with two offers! Thanks so much for all you help. Having it staged definitely made a huge difference to the appeal of the house and helped sell it quickly and for more than the asking price!
Thanks again for all your help! This will be a good one for your staging stats!
Evelyn Barsby,
Sales Representative,
Royal LePage Estate Realty
Dear Lori,
Thank you so much for providing home staging consultations to my listing clients. With the common goal of preparing my client's homes for re-sale, you consistently demonstrate professionalism while delivering sensible, and constructive staging advice.
My clients have found your direction easy to understand and execute. You communicate a clear vision of the desired end result, and my clients appreciate the value of this process. Ultimately, the end results of your staging efforts speak of themselves: consistently profitable and faster sales! You have set the "Stage" for great things to come; I look forward to our continued working relationship!
Regards,
Claire Franceschetti
Re/Max Premier Inc., Brokerage
www.call-claire.com
"The results of the staging done by Hope Designs and Lori Howard completely exceeded my expectations. Our house sold in 5 days for $77,000 over asking. There is no doubt in my mind that the staging done to my house contributed in a large part to that."
Lori B., Etobicoke
My wife and I were listing our home in March 2009. As you all know, these are trying economic times to say the least. We felt it prudent to think outside the box and try to maximize our ROI and sell our home in this challenging market. We sought advice from Lori, who after our two hour consultation walked away with so much useful information that we were confident of our future success.
Lori took her time walking from room to room providing great feedback from a buyers perspective. She made us see things that only new fresh eyes can. Every detail was discussed, from de-cluttering spaces, placement of art and proper scale and style of furniture. My wife and I worked hard on Lori's vision and no sooner had our house been on the market, only hours in fact, had we received our first potential buyer. The buyer's agent commented on how beautifully our home showed on MLS and it was exactly what she was looking for.
Less than 24 hours from listing our home SOLD for 98.6 percent of asking price! My wife and I were ecstatic to say the least and large in part to Lori's expertise. Words cannot express our gratitude and happiness. We would highly recommend her professional service. She will definitely exceed your expectations.
Sincerely,
Peter and Kym Keogh
Staging Manager, Easy Decor
Hope Designs did a fabulous job staging a home for me in Bolton, Ontario. In my opinion the seller realized a significantly higher price than they would have had they not invested in staging and preparation work.
The house was staged on Wednesday, The Realtor Open House was on Thursday and THE HOUSE SOLD SATURDAY FOR FULL ASKING PRICE! AFTER ONLY TWO DAYS ON THE MARKET.
I will definitely use Hope Designs again for future listings!
Yvonne Devins, MBA,
Sales Representative,
Royal LePage, RCR Realty, Brokerage
www.yvonnedevins.com
Lori at Hope Designs was very professional and showed her great taste from the moment she entered my home. She provided many creative and stylish ideas, using what I had along with her gorgeous accessories, to give me a vision of what could be done in order to ready my house to be placed on the real estate market.
The finished product was amazing, and friends and family all commented how talented and what great taste in art work and accessories she had. After only being on the market for 12 hours, we received our first offer, and sold our home for 100% of the asking price!
Thanks Lori for a great job! Your services are well worth it.
Katherine
Bolton
Hope Designs was able to participate in Hospice Caledon's "Afternoon of Indulgence" February 2008. They strategically placed decor items in various locations and thereby enhanced the overall look and feel of our event. It can be a challenge to create a luxurious look in a community centre, but Hope Designs was able to create just that effect.
Candace Raymond - Event Co-ordinator
Chair - Board of Directors,
Hospice Caledon
www.hospicecaledon.ca
Lori came in part way through our de-cluttering and updating, and gave us recommendations on everything from paint colours to furniture and window coverings. We took her advice, and brought her back to stage the house just before listing. Using some of our stuff, and some of hers, she went through the house meticulously, in preparation for a realtor open house. It made a huge difference. The first two showings resulted in offers, and the house sold the next day for over asking. We were thrilled. I couldn't recommend her more.
Tyler & Katie, Bolton
We bought a house and wanted a quick sale of our current home. With a very cluttered house we had a lot of work to do before it was ready for market and with an extremely active 2 1/2 year old I knew it was going to be a challenge and stressful. However, with the recommendation of our real-estate agent, Lori Howard (Hope Designs), came in and gave us helpful hints on de-cluttering.
Once we had uncluttered, we hired Lori (Hope Designs) to stage our home; working with our existing furniture she placed it differently to expand the space and added beautiful accessories that helped to really showcased our home. Within 3 days our house went to market; it began listing on Thursday and by Sunday of the same week it had SOLD!
Thank you, Lori, for taking the pressure off myself and my family and with such fast and great results! Thanks again Lori, for everything!
MaryAnne, Bolton, Ont.
Lori came to our home and did a consultation she was very thorough, she went through the entire house room by room and told us exactly what we needed to do to sell our house. She gave us ideas about furniture placement, necessary repairs and de-cluttering. Lori told us which colours to paint specific rooms and left paint chips for us to take to the paint store.
Lori was very nice and made us feel very comfortable, she was very easy to work with. Rather than hiring Hope Designs to stage the house before we listed it we decided to do as much as we could ourselves. Unfortunately after one month on the market the house still hadn’t sold. We were afraid that we would have to pay the mortgage on two homes (as we had already purchased a new home). We called Lori back and she came and staged the master bedroom and main floor bathroom and gave us suggestions about the rest of the house. At that time we did a lot to increase the curb appeal of the house. We were so relieved when the house SOLD 9 days after Hope Designs staged it.
Kim and Jim Jackson
Bolton, Ont.
"I really enjoyed working with Lori. She made the process of transforming my home very easy. I would recommend you turn her lose and let her work her magic. The results speak for themselves."
Jill Fairbrother, Etobicoke
Oh boy, what can I say....
As a homeowner who has lived in the same house for 19 years my exposure to staging was a new experience. Initially I was not receptive to this new service (staging was not done in 1990). I didn't really see value for my dollar.
The suggestions Lori gave us during her first consultation were very helpful. They improved the appearance of our home immediately (once we finished her to do list). I thought this is good, great improvement. The second visit from Lori was the actual staging with her accessories and some of ours. The result was amazing. Our house sold the first day on the market at full list price! I know the staging helped that happen.
I recommend Lori's staging services and I am reluctant to let her take all the lovely things away that she placed in our home.