Design Tips, Investment Properties
Shauna Lynn Simon
Expert Advice for Your Vacation Rental Property

If you own a vacation rental property (or are looking to invest in one), you know that designing a short-term rental cottage that stands out from the competition is key to attracting renters and earning repeat business. With the growing popularity of short-term rentals and Airbnb properties, it's important to create a space that not only looks beautiful but is also functional and comfortable for guests.

In this article, we'll provide you with expert tips and insights on how to design a short-term rental cottage that will have guests raving and coming back year after year. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to update an existing space, this guide will provide you with the inspiration you need to create a truly exceptional vacation home.


Start with the Basics

Before you start decorating, make sure you have all the basics in place. This includes…

Expert Advice for Your Vacation Rental Property

Home Selling Tips

What to Expect (While your Home is on the Market)

What to Expect (While your Home is on the Market)

COVID has changed much of how we do things today, including selling our homes. Real Estate Agents have numerous protocols in place to ensure that you and your family are protected throughout the home-selling process, but in-person showings are still an important part of the buying process for homebuyers.

Here's what you can expect while your home is listed:

PRE-SHOWING PREP

To help to minimize the amount of pre-showing preparations required, strive to maintain a “show-ready” home by putting items away where they belong immediately after use, and cleaning as you go.

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Window Treatments and Selling Your Home

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Window Treatments and Selling Your Home

“Are window treatments necessary?”

This question is asked frequently by our clients when they are preparing their houses for sale.

Bright spaces and well-lit rooms provide an inviting atmosphere, appealing to potential buyers for your home. Natural light brightens a room, making it look and feel bigger, and bringing positive energy to the space.

For living in a home, we rely on window coverings to help to filter light and provide privacy. When selling your house, however, window coverings are often removed and/or minimized throughout the home to enhance the lighting and draw the buyer’s focus to the view or outdoor space beyond the window outside.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

If you have outgrown your house, and are considering moving in the Waterloo Region (or surrounding areas), you may be intimidated by the extreme seller’s market. Reports have indicated it will not be shifting any time soon! With the increased demand due to a growing population, homebuyers are finding it challenging to find the perfect home that fits all of their needs within their price-point. Then, if they do find a home that works well, it’s often met with a bidding war. Perhaps you have already put yourself out there, and have lost several bids on ideal homes. You may be frustrated that you'll never be able to find what you need, for the price that you want. If you’ve considered the option of staying in your current home, and taking on some renovations, you are certainly not alone! You might be wondering if it’s better to stay in your home, and what your options are, should you stay.

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Top Designer Picks for Home Decorating "Must-Haves"

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Top Designer Picks for Home Decorating "Must-Haves"

When you’re planning a room, it’s easy to forget the details. In order to complete the look of a room, and make it feel like your own, you need to invest in some of the finishing touch pieces to add that final design layer. This is where we find a lot of our design clients get stumped, unsure of what to get, or how to put it all together, so we’ve put together a list of our best “must-haves” for every home!

Why Your Empty House Won't Sell

Why Your Empty House Won't Sell

While it is possible to sell an empty house, it is rare. If you have ever tried to sell a vacated house absent of its furnishings, you have likely experienced this first hand - numerous buyers passing on the home, and feedback that makes no sense to you. What do you mean the bedrooms look small? The living room isn't an awkward layout! Since you have lived in the house, you know how great it looks when it’s fully furnished and decorated, and you understand how each room should be set up. The trick is in helping your buyers to understand this.

Unfortunately, the ability to visualize a space is a skill that not everyone has. In fact, only about 10% of your prospective buyers have this ability to properly visualize a space beyond what they see in front of them. This means when you are selling a vacant home, you’re missing out on 90% of potential market! Vacant homes will often take much longer to sell than a properly staged home (72% longer in fact, according to RESA®’s 2014 survey). Not only does furnishing a home properly help buyers to understand the optimal placement for their furniture, but it will allow them to connect on an emotional level as well. It’s not just about having furniture in a house in order to help buyers to visualize it, but it’s about merchandising the home, and selling the experience of living there.