Welcome!
About Me
Hi, my name is Lisa and I’ve had my ‘property habit’ for about 55 years now and just can’t quit. It started when I played with doll houses (but not the dolls) as a young girl. That was just the gateway to drawing house plans, taking drafting classes in High school (before CAD) and eventually on to study Architecture w an Interior design minor. After university, I travelled to Europe and gained experience in my profession and also started doing repairs and renovation to properties that I lived in.
The Start of My Property Journey
I returned to the U.S. during the Great Recession and got hooked, like many, on property investment and renovation except I took my time and injected love and care and tried to renovate properties the right way. The reward for me was taking a gem in the rough, making smart decisions about how and what to renovate with limited time and budget while drawing out the character and essence of a property to transform it into something I was truly proud of.
Discovering Home Staging
From there, I started to stage those properties to sell and got the bug. Once I added a real estate license to my armory, I started helping folks while drawing upon my previous experience. That was my niche: I helped Buyers see potential in a property they were considering, and I helped Sellers showcase what they had to ‘get the phone ringing off the hook’.
In between, I gave advice to friends and neighbors about products that I thought did the job best and How-Tos on DIY projects.
Why I Created This Space
After many years, I found myself saying the same things over and over again and decided it was finally time to put all those hard earned ideas, tips, knowledge, experience and resources in one place.
So here you go… hope it helps.
If so, please spread the word so I can keep it going. Thanks.
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Tips. Ideas. Inspiration. Everything you need to make the most of your property.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is the strategy you give to clients, as a Real Estate Agent, always the same?
No, Every property location and condition, every owner, every buyer, every market, every set of financial goals etc are different in each transaction. I tell people who are buying or selling a property that I have a tool kit. I have a lot of resources at my disposal and experience dealing with issues. I am their guid and i help them navigate the process but they make all the decisions. We pull out of the toolkit what we need for each particular situation. We created GPI like that too – you get some tools to help determine what your needs might be and then more tools to plan and carry out those needed actions.
3. What is your favorite part of the Property-Prep -Before-Listing process?
I think I enjoy what most people who watch shows like HGTV also enjoy: that reveal moment. For me it comes in the form of comparing before and after pictures. I often take the ‘before’ photos and show them to clients so they really understand the value of all their hard work when we compare them to the photographer’s images. It’s a reward for them too! But it goes further… when we get overwhelming interest on a property listed for sale, that I knew would have otherwise sat on the market, that’s another win!
2. Why did you decide to create this website?
GPI was created to give ideas and solutions to people I know and work with but now, I hope that others with find it useful also. I am running into the same general situations and hearing the same fundamental questions over and over again so this is an easier way to present the information in a more in-depth way and get people engaged and give them resources – all in one place!
4. What do you enjoy most about what you do?
What I enjoy most about the property business is learning things and helping different people achieve their goals. I thought real estate and architecture were about the physical property and its design but found out they are fundamentally about people and psychology. I’m always learning new things about human psychology!