gretchen wheeler

We just finished our 4th "flip" house, and we agree it's our favorite one yet! I started a blog with this one that ended up being in our local paper. (www.creativespaceserie.blogspot.com) I had no idea what was in store for us, each house is so different. This one was almost perfect! We were able to finish in 30 days, and just had over 20 people at our open house. We're keeping our fingers crossed for a quick sell because we'd like to get another one finished by the end of summer.

This is the first time I had professional pictures taken, and I will never go back! The house isn't very big (1100 sq. feet) so I kept staging to a minimum and let the house speak for itself.

Thanks to everyone that's checked out my blog- I will update as soon as we get a buyer!

Home staging expert Gretchen Wheeler , and her husband Randy, are presently "flipping" their 4th home in Erie PA. In a recent article in the Erie Times News, Gretchen was quoted as saying "I think one of the hardest things when rehabbing a house is not overdoing it. It is so easy to just keep adding extras. There is such a fine line between creating "selling points" in a house and adding something because you know it would look good ( or be really fun to do). The decorator in me wants to add glass tile backsplashes, and built-in window seats, but the flipper in me is counting every penny we are spending, keeping an eye on the profits."

You can follow along as the Wheelers transform an eyesore into a beautiful investment at their new blog: www.creativespaceserie.blogspot.com

When my realtor called me and said "can you come right over?" I knew it was serious. She had received a call from two brothers who had been trying to sell the home they grew up in for the past 18 months , listed with another realtor. They had repeatedly asked the other realtor what they could do to get the house sold and she would only say "there's nothing you can do, bad market, bad economy". My realtor knew better and called me! My name is Gretchen Wheeler and I own Creative Spaces in Erie, Pa. When I entered the home, the first thing that hit me was the smell. Not a foul odor, more just musty and "old". And rightly so, everything in the home was old. Carpets, vinyl, kitchen, no cosmetic changes had been made in at least 25 years. Luckily, the "bones" of the house were good- newer roof, furnace, and windows. We agreed to take the house off the market, spend about a month doing the updates, and then re-list with the new realtor. We replaced all carpet, added ceramic tile, painted every room with today's color's, replaced all light fixtures and kitchen cabinet hardware, and staged the home before putting it back on the market. The asking price had gotten down to $128,000 with no offers when it was taken off the market, but because of the updates, it is now listed at $163,900. On Monday, I will host a realtor openhouse along with my realtor. Her comment was " I don't ever want to sell a house again unless you stage it!"

I have recently signed up to be a rep for www.signaturehomestyles.com It is a great Home Decor company that I feel will really complement my home staging and design business. They have some beautiful pieces. What I will do is have some of my clients host a "decorating show" in their homes . I'll go ahead of time and do a little decorating with some of their own pieces and some of the SHS pieces. Then the hostess will have her friends in to see how nicely her home is decorated, and introduce them to the SHS line. The picture I posted is a system called Wall Wizard. It is a series of frames and inserts that are all interchangeable. www.wallwizardideas.com They will be great for staging.

If anyone would like me to send them a catalog or offer more info, please email me.

www.creativespaceserie.com

Erie Pa couple breathes new life into a house that was formerly foreclosed on. Randy and Gretchen Wheeler purchased this home from a bank, completely remodeled it, staged it and had a contract on it after only 7 weeks on the market! Gretchen, owner of Creative Spaces Home Staging and Interior Design in Erie realizes the importance of home staging, especially in today's market. "Staging a home, especially a vacant home, helps to create a warm and inviting feeling for a buyer when they look at the home", she says. "I always stage the homes we renovate, from choosing paint colors to furnishing and accessorizing the home". Home owners and realtors in the Erie area are also realizing the importance of having a home staged, and have called on Gretchen to get the job done for them. "The best thing about selling this home", Gretchen says, "is now we get to find another one and start creating all over again!" For more information on Home Staging please go to www.creativespaceserie.com