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A lot of us have caught the cleaning bug thanks to Netflix’s docuseries Tidying Up. The series follows tidying expert Marie Kondo as she travels around the US helping families and couples with tidying their homes. Following the show’s airing, Australia went into a cleaning …

The act of moving, whether it’s to an auction house, storage, or your new home, can end up being a huge cost and really eat into any returns you make from sales. If you’re doing it yourself, you can cut down on the distance, time, …

Whether going through a downsize or declutter, we all feel a tinge of guilt about throwing things away. We may have things with tags still on, still in unopened packages, or never used. Some times we are reminded of the huge sums of money we …

Often in life we approach a task that we think is going to be very simple. However, when we actually star doing the job at hand we realise it is not so easy after all! This is exactly what happened in a recent project we undertook. …

Anyone who is selling their goods always asks the big question: what is it worth? The simple answer is: what the market is prepared to pay. Seems obvious, right? But there are two key factors which qualify this answer: the market and the cost of …

  The decision to sell a family home is always a big one to make, both emotionally and financially. However, once that decision has been, it is best to act fast! Implementing the sale process quickly can achieve significant financial benefits for the seller. Two examples of …

Canard Solutions undertook a project in Melbourne’s South Eastern suburbs. The client’s Power of Attorney contacted us after the client moved to a retirement home. The client wished to sell her home, however, she did not have the time nor agility to arrange it herself. The …

As the baby-boomers see their children (finally) leave the nest, minds inevitably turn to the next step in life’s progression. You need to consider many triggers when the topic of downsizing arises. These include the following:   1.)        Dislike / Fear of moving One partner …

For a lucky few, moving house is an emotion-free experience. This select group usually moves often and therefore moving house is almost a habit if anything. However, the for the vast majority, moving one’s home is almost an insurmountable project. For many of us, moving is not something …

Here is an interesting article by Jenny Brown from Domain.com. She speaks about some of the issues you can run into when trying to sell antiques. We often hear similar stories from clients having to empty out their parents’ homes and are having a rough …

Dealers vs. Auctions: What is the best way to sell? This is a question we often hear. There are pros and cons with both.   Dealer A dealer is unlikely to pay more than the lower-end of what something is likely to achieve at auction. …

The owner of a large home in Armadale was facing a real challenge. She had just lost her husband, and her children lived interstate. She decided to sell the family home, but with a house full of memories, furniture, goods, and effects, she did not …

A family that had lived in the same home for 55-years contacted Canard Solutions for help. They had sold the family home and settlement was due in two weeks. They had planned to achieve an orderly downsizing but the task was overwhelming. Alas, time had run out. …

The owner of a gracious four-bedroom home in Armadale engaged Canard Solutions for a downsizing project. The owner wished to sell their family home and downsize to a townhouse. We created a two-part work programme to fulfill these wishes. In phase one, Canard Solutions created …

Nearly all of us over 55 have experienced it, either first hand or through a close friend. Whether expected or not, it is difficult to cope with the loss of a parent.  Reflecting on the life lost to us, the characteristics, the values, and the …

Ever think the world is so vast, and feel like we’re all hundreds of kilometres from each other? Sometimes I feel like that, and then something like this happens. We were engaged to manage a deceased estate in a small rural town. The old house …

We get it – packing is a pain! Sometimes just thinking about the overwhelming task of packing up every single possession you own can drive you crazy. With a little bit of planning, you can make your move a whole lot easier. It will also …

Specialist items can cause quite a conundrum when trying to value and sell. Selling online has become a great way to get a good result all from the comfort of your own home. It connects you directly to specialist collectors, ensuring you get the best price. …

Preparing to sell a home can be one of the most stressful times in someone’s life. The family home contains so many treasured memories, and it can be emotional saying goodbye. It is also an extremely daunting task, sorting through a lifetime of belongings. Having …

A cornerstone of the Canard Solutions process is our CanSolver family choice service. This is a bespoke system used to let project owners tailor a set of rules for dispersal. To put it plainly, we provides the tools for items to be chosen and fairly …

It is always worth considering how much it costs you to hold on to clutter. When you consider that real estate costs are at an all-time high, and the physical space that unused items take up, you realise that all of that extra furniture and …

You need to remember that when downsizing or dealing with a deceased estate, furniture size matters! And not in the way you would think. Instinctively, it is safe to assume that a 30-year old antique would be worth more today. Wine values with age, so …

There are a lot of costs involved with downsizing, or when dealing with a deceased estate. However, people often overlook the cost of the actual move itself. These costs can rack up very quickly! And it is not just boxes, tape, and bubble wrap, either! …

Downsizing or clearing a deceased estate presents a number of challenges. One of the biggest is where and how to sell all the goods. One of the most important but often most overlooked is choosing which auction house to use.   While it is easiest to take the …