The White Mountains

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This gorgeous property in NH’s White Mountains had been neglected and it has been an honor/labor of love fixing it up. We made ourselves at home in the barn, which is now an Airbnb, while renovating the barn space and the timber frame main home. We completed all the finish work including the underside of the portico, the interior barn door and made the live-edge buffet table. We hung cabinets, did masonry work, landscaping, etc. The most beautiful brook borders this property and the buildings sit high on the ridge. This property has its own snow code and gets tons of snow and is surrounded by gorgeous birch trees. Peaceful and quiet. Here are some pics of what it looks like now. So honored and humbled that this property chose us!!

THE ANGEL HOUSE

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We named this house Angel after Grammy. It’s not often we get a chance to work on something really special and when we do, we love every minute of our work. This house was once Grammy’s house and where she and her husband raised their three children. We are lucky and humbled to have had the opportunity to renovate and modernize her home. The blue cabinets with the matte-gold hardware and gorgeous quartz just spoke to me and the cow hide rug and Grampy’s chairs completed the rustic, elegant look. The butcher block, the heart of the home, was created specifically for the space and brought nature indoors. We hope we did it justice and are happy to say has now been sold to the next loving family who will adore it as much as we did.

SHORT SALES

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Most real estate companies do not typically obtain short sale listings unless they have been in the short sale game for some time. And, some companies use an outside third party to negotiate their shorts. These third party negotiators typically charge either the buyer or the seller a fee.  This fee along with a lack of personal attention further reduces the likeliness of the short sale being approved. This is because not many agents know the short sale process or even care to complete a short sale. Shorts are a ton of work for agents and sometimes these sales are not very lucrative for the agent because they can take so much time. Thankfully for our short sale clients, we know what we are doing and have an amazing track record.

We have been working with short sales before they were termed ‘short sales’. Our company does specialize in them. However, we also work on conventional sales and foreclosures.

If you feel as though it is necessary to short sale your home, please get in touch with me.

Check out additional reading here on our company page, for further information regarding short sales: http://shortsalesinma.com/

 

 

Our New HGTV Show, Restoring Salem

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Its been quite the adventure filming our HGTV show, Restoring Salem. Mike and I are thrilled and so happy and humbled to be featured! We had many long days, and nights filming and working on the house and are so excited about the results! See HGTV’s clip of the reveal here:

 

Here’s what Boston.com and Wicked Local had to say:

http://realestate.boston.com/buying/2017/10/04/restoring-salem-makes-hgtv-debut/

http://beverly.wickedlocal.com/news/20171006/north-shore-residents-make-hgtv-debut-on-restoring-salem

We will continue work and restore like we normally do. We hope to see everyone around town!

STAGING HOUSES TO SELL

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9 out of every 10 buyers view photos of homes online FIRST, before stepping foot into a home. What does this mean? It means the home better look stellar in photos so you get the foot traffic you need to sell your home!  It is critical for house photos to look gorgeous!

So why don’t all real estate agents professionally stage their listings? Professionally staged homes sell over 50% faster and on average for 6-10% more.  When you think of carrying costs on an un-staged property, that a whole lot of money!

Selling your home fast and for more money, is a no brainer. I offer this service to my clients who are selling their homes with me. Why? Because I want to sell your home fast and for more! You only get one opportunity to go on market.

 

Salem MA- the 1900’s Restored Gem

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From demo day to the final touches, its finally complete! Its been a busy year with this 3-unit condo conversion in Salem MA. The entire building was completely rehabbed. From design/layout to plumbing and electric, and kitchen and bath renovations and custom lighting, its going to be hard to part with this one! I am crushed to sell it as i’ve seen this project develop from an old and worn distressed property to a restored beautiful gem. I knew from the moment I saw this property that it would be a diamond in the rough and today,  it sparkles.

My favorite rooms in this restored conversion are the half baths in units 1 and 2.  I would not allow any of my employees to touch the original kitchen pantries during demo and construction and we protected them. You see, the half baths were originally connected to the kitchens as pantries that were used for storage. Today you can’t find pantries like this – from the detailed finish work and the woods that were used to the amazing 1900’s hardware that still works on all the cabinets and drawers!  We added plumbing to both pantries and created what you see today – half baths with vessel sinks that look amazing! We also painstakingly restored the original pocket doors in units 1 and 2 and restored those gorgeous fir hardwood floors!

Loved this project for its character and charm and love it now for how beautiful it has become! It will forever be one of my faves.

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Renovations and Flips!

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It has been an incredibly busy 6 months! My business partner and I renovated a single-family home in Salem MA and sold it to a wonderful couple. This summer we also renovated and sold a 3-unit multi family as condos and the place turned out spectacular! Amongst all this, I have renovated a 3000 square foot home that needed extensive work in the Beverly Cove area. This truly distressed property has become a gorgeous jewel! Here are some pics of the properties we have renovated in the past 6 months!

 

De-bunking Short Sale Myths

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I called a gentleman yesterday as I heard his house was vacant. Turns out he is going through a short sale process on his home in Danvers but did not want to speak with me; he was already working with an attorney. I also mentioned I had a buyer for his property. But still, he couldn’t get off the phone fast enough. I’m not sure if he was embarrassed, caught off-guard  or his attorney told him not to speak to anyone regarding the matter. Here’s the thing, if you think you need to short sale your home, please keep an open mind. Here are a couple things you may want to know:

  • If you are working with a reputable short sale company there should be NO COST to you for services. That’s right, not even attorney’s fees. Some people pay an attorney a retainer! Its maddening-don’t do it and don’t waste your money.
  • Your real estate agent should only get paid if they successfully short sale your home. If your agent does not succeed they will not get paid or receive a commission.
  • The bank pays your real estate agent- not you!
  • The short sale process can be daunting at times and the process often fails when attorneys and realtors who don’t specialize in short sales attempt it. Each passing day the home owner becomes closer to foreclosure.
  • Foreclosure kills your credit, if you short sale your home you can purchase again in 2 years. With a foreclosure you need to wait years.
  • With owner occupied properties, we obtain relocation money for you (our sellers/clients) – funds PAID TO YOU at closing.
  • Last but not least, if you need to short sale, don’t leave your home. Stay in it!

Let us know how we can help.

Selling Your Home

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Realtor.com has pulled together a 7-step process to selling your home.

However, the most important steps in selling your home are marketing, staging and asking price.

Let’s talk about marketing. If your agent does not market your property correctly, buyers won’t know what unique benefits your home has to offer. Social media is a MUST these days- make sure they are up-to-date on social media strategies and marketing. Oh, and one more thing, MAKE SURE YOUR AGENT TAKES PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY! It drives me nuts when agents make a huge commission off a property and they can’t spend $300 bucks for professional photography. Their listings sit for days because they don’t drive buyers into your door.  9 out of every 10 buyers view photos of homes online FIRST, before stepping foot into a home. What does this mean? It means your home MUST look amazing through photography so you get the foot traffic you need to sell!  Make sure you give a good first impression as you only have ONE chance to go on market! Make it count.

Another crucial step in the selling process is staging. Staging also goes beyond placing  furniture in a certain way- its about painting, lighting and overall impression. If you are lucky enough to have an agent who is also a stager, put them to work. They want to sell your home as much as you do and they should give you pointers on what will sell.

Last but not least is asking price. Make sure your agent does their due diligence and pulls comps. An asking price that is too high can be detrimental to you selling your home. The biggest problem with an asking price that  is too high is that your property will sit on market and buyers will think something ‘is wrong’ with the home. On the flip side, if your asking price is too low – well, you’ve sold out and you’ve missed out on some money. The price has to be just right. Make sure it is. This is where you must have confidence in your agent.

In a nutshell, you must have a perfect trifecta of marketing, staging and asking price if you want to sell your home and sell it quickly. If you don’t have all 3 you are dead in the water. If your price is too high, forget it. Your house will stay on the market with no action. If your marketing isn’t effective, no one will know about you. And, if your home doesn’t look as good as it could, buyers will most likely offer less money.

Check out this guide to selling your home:

http://www.realtor.com/advice/7-step-guide-selling-house/