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Home Matters Home Staging Receives Best Of Houzz 2015 Award

Over 25 Million Monthly Unique Users Rated Top-Rated Home Building, Remodeling and Design Professionals in the United States and Around the World

 Indianapolis, Indiana, January 20th, 2015 – Home Matters Home Staging of Indianapolis, Indiana has been awarded “Best Of Houzz” for Customer Satisfaction by Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. Home Matters Home Staging was chosen by the more than 25 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 500,000 active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

The Best of Houzz award is given in two categories: Design and Customer Satisfaction. Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2014. Winners will receive a “Best of Houzz 2015” badge on their profiles, helping Houzz users around the world who discover and love a professional’s work to learn even more about that business’ popularity and satisfaction rating among their peers in the Houzz community.

Linda Barnett- A Home Staging professional, interior decorator and former realtor founded The Home Matters Property Stylist Group in early 2004 and today operates one of the most prolific and fastest growing Home Staging companies in the Mid-West having serviced over 4,000 clients throughout Central Indiana. Barnett has been certified in 2004 as an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) and extended her education in 2008 by becoming Staging and Redesign (SAR) Certified and in 2009 by becoming CSP certified and then again in 2011 by becoming a Staging and Redesign Advanced course graduate. Barnett earned her RESA-PRO designation in October 2010. Barnett is an Indiana State certified instructor through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency and the Indiana Real Estate Commission and has instructed training to Home Stagers and Real Estate agents including a GRI Continued Education class for the Indiana Association of Realtors at the IUPUI Campus at Kokomo, Indiana. Barnett served as Technical Editor for the Home Staging for Dummies book, released by Wiley Publishing, Inc. in May of 2008. Barnett has been a finalist multiple years for the RESA Professional Stager of the year award placing her in the top 15 Home Stagers in the U.S. Barnett set on the “Panel of Experts” at the 2011 Real Estate Staging Associations (RESA) International conference in Las Vegas. Barnett and the Home Matters team have been awarded the prestigious Angie’s List Super Service Award three consecutive years and the FC Tucker Home Services Award five consecutive years since 2008.

“We are always thrilled to receive recognition that comes our way as a result of reviews based on the results of the work we have accomplished for our clients” says Barnett.

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About Houzz

Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish – online or from a mobile device. From decorating a room to building a custom home, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community powered by social tools, Houzz is the easiest way for people to find inspiration, get advice, buy products and hire the professionals they need to help turn their ideas into reality. Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, Houzz also has international offices in London, Berlin and Sydney. For more information, visit www.houzz.com

So what exactly should a professional Home Stager be able to do for you? How can you tell who will be the right person for your home? It’s a question I am asked all the time and while I firmly believe that every homeowner should find the person that they communicate well with, and has the experience and expertise but here are a few things to keep in mind:

Is your home stager accredited by a professional Home Staging organization and do they continue their education as housing trends change. When was the last time they attended a workshop or a class?

How well do they understand the demographics of buyers suited for your home, neighborhood and the community in which you live? Will they be able to tailor your staging application with the level of buyer you hope to attract?

Do they understand the “gotta haves” versus the “nice to haves” when it comes to your home? Do they know what your particular buyer will be looking for at your price point?

Do they understand the difference between truly staging a room versus making it  look nice? Home staging is not the same as decorating.

Are they giving you real value for the money they charge?  Home staging with a highly qualified professional often offers a variety of packages to meet one’s budget as opposed to those who have a one-price-fits-all-model. Is your house like everyone else’s? Why should the cost of your staging be the same?

Ask to see their portfolio and their testimonials of satisfied clients.  Find out how many years they have been in business and what their experiences are.

Keep these tips in mind to find the best stager for your house so that you can get moving faster and for more money.

We create stylish, warm and welcoming houses that captures the buyers’ attention from the moment they are introduced to the property.  We focus on the buyer demographics, the selling features, life style selling techniques and the strategic placement of furniture, art, and accessories that translates to a powerful marketing tool.

Contact us today.  317-209-9801 or at homemattersllc.com

When the Relator called me to stage the client’s home, there was a sense of foreboding in her voice.

“Linda,” she began. “He’s got these…hobbies.”

Now, as a professional Home Stager I have seen a lot of hobbies in my career, but I was not prepared for the menagerie of exotic snakes that were caged in the client’s 8’ x 10’   spare bedroom. There was every kind of slithering creature known to man represented in the space and they were molting. It was enough to make me want to keel over.

But that wasn’t the half of it. The client then told me that he had something to show me in the bathroom. I followed him down the hall praying that I wasn’t about to see anything bloody and when I walked in; there it was…strung up on a meat hook…over the bathtub drain…a dirt bike.

Yes, he was a bachelor, why do you ask?

In addition to collecting and breeding snakes, the man liked to restore old dirt bikes in his guest bath and refurbish bicycles in his living room. Talk about a challenge! The man knew he needed to move to a larger property where he could have an outbuilding to accommodate his…um…interests but in the meantime, we had to get this place ready to show. I left him an extensive list of things to accomplish (starting with getting the snakes out of the house), painting and cleaning and guess what? He did everything I asked and the house sold within three days.

“Hey Linda, do you remember the Snake Man?” The Realtor asked when she called me again.

“Of course,” I replied. Who could forget him?

“He did everything you suggested and his house sold. You wouldn’t believe what this place looked like when I returned!”

Actually I would and it just goes to show that even the biggest horror story can become a fairytale and that no matter what condition your house is in you can turn it into a showplace with a little help with the right action plan from a qualified home stager…

And a snake wrangler of course.

Happy Halloween!

We create stylish, warm and welcoming houses that captures the buyers’ attention from the moment they are introduced to the property.  We focus on the buyer demographics, the selling features, life style selling techniques and the strategic placement of furniture, art, and accessories that translates to a powerful marketing tool.

Contact us today.  317-209-9801 or at homemattersllc.com

Once upon a time, calling in a professional Home Stager was a Realtor’s last resort. A home had sat on the market for four-to-six months and was no closer to selling than it was before. Price reductions and open houses failed to generate a decent response and now wanting to take a different approach, they bring in a professional who makes a lot of suggestions causing the homeowners to question the reasons why now it is important to do and stress out trying to get it all done.

I understand, really I do and that’s why more and more Realtors are suggesting home staging as the first step in your home’s overall marketing plan. Before you list that property, you should take the time to get it show ready so that you give yourself the best possible chance of selling in less time and for more money.

Is it less stressful? Maybe not, but the process is more fluid. You see a means to an end rather than another hurdle to jump through and sometimes that can make all of the difference to a homeowner.  We all know that being on the real estate market is an inconvenience state of living and the idea is of course to shorten the time of that inconvenience. The inconvenience you experience now can save you a lot of time, trouble, money and heartache in the future.

Of course no one wants to think about making improvements or doing a lot of additional work on their home prior to selling it, but believe me; you will pay for it whether it is now or later. Price reductions are not cheap, neither are negotiations.

Why not give your home the best shot to be sold from the beginning because it is the best abode on the avenue?

We create stylish, warm and welcoming houses that captures the buyers’ attention from the moment they are introduced to the property.  We focus on the buyer demographics, the selling features, life style selling techniques and the strategic placement of furniture, art, and accessories that translates to a powerful marketing tool.

Contact us today.  317-209-9801 or at homemattersllc.com

Ten years ago, one of the most difficult subjects to discuss with my clients was the smell of smoke in the home. It was always a touch-and-go situation. More and more public places were cracking down on smokers and no one likes to be told what they can and cannot do in their own homes. Trust me, I had more than a few conversations with people who did not like the suggestion that they smoked outside in order to make walk-throughs more pleasant for the potential buyer.

But today, it’s a different story. With fewer people smoking inside the home, the newest “scentsation” to try and tackle is the prominent cooking smells that distract from the tour. Don’t get me wrong, every family has their favorite fare, but it can be overwhelming to guests who may not be as enthusiastic about onions, peppers and curry spice as much as you are.

Hey, I love all kinds of food and I know how savory the dishes can be, but there are some scents that get into everything: the walls, the upholstery, and the air, you name it and it makes for difficult showings. While I am not one to tell you what you can and cannot eat, I will suggest that you ramp up your cleaning routine a little so that the house and look, feel and smell as fresh as possible.

And since we are on the subject of “scents,” let’s talk a little about cleaning products and what not to use when selling your home. Homebuyers are looking for something that smells fresh and clean, not a mountain breeze, an orange grove or a field of wildflowers in the middle of fall.

Shift over to vinegar and water mixtures that will clean without leaving behind additional odors. Keep up with laundry as much as possible and whenever possible, open the windows for a few minutes each day to let some fresh air in. Every home has its own smell, but yours doesn’t have to be a deal breaker when selling.

We create stylish, warm and welcoming houses that captures the buyers’ attention from the moment they are introduced to the property.  We focus on the buyer demographics, the selling features, life style selling techniques and the strategic placement of furniture, art, and accessories that translates to a powerful marketing tool.  Contact us today.  317-209-9801 or at homemattersllc.com