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Allison Fernandez - Owner and Lead Stager

Allison fell in love with the house hunting process when she bought her first home in 2000. She became a licensed realtor in 2001 and assisted buyers and sellers all over Morris, Essex, Somerset, Hunterdon, and Union counties.  Allison always guided her sellers in preparation and staging and learned a long time ago that staged homes sell.  She flipped her own personal homes and investment properties as well.  In 2018, she stepped away from real estate to focus on her family, but by 2019 she casually began staging homes for agents, friends and family.  Allison became and Expert level stager with The Staging Studio and quickly began applying her skills in design, scale and space to help sellers achieve results.  CHC Home Staging began in 2020 but fully launched in 2021.  Allison is a member of RESA and recently was accepted into The Staging Collective which is a select group of 60 home staging companies around the country that meet, share and work together to elevate the staging industry and to educate realtors and the public as to the value of home staging. Since founding the CHC, Allison, and later with her team, has personally staged well over 100 homes and nearly $100,000,000 in real estate.  CHC is a fully insured company with a 5000 sq foot warehouse holding all sorts of inventory to enhance owner occupied residences as well as set the scene in vacant and/or new properties.

 

Licensed Realtor / Sales Agent 2001-2017

Certifed Expert Home Stager by the Staging Studio

Opened CHC Home Staging January 2020

Member of RESA

Member of THE STAGING COLLECTIVE

House Flipper and GC of Construction Projects

Fully Insured

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Magnus Elgstam - Construction Manager

Magnus is our CHC Construction Manager and licensed contractor.  Magnus runs our sister company, CHC Home Improvement, which handles some of our bigger construction and renovation projects. Magnus and Allison are partners in work and life.  They have a blended family of 5 boys and a managerie of animals!  They also passionately donate their time and energy to raising guide dog puppies for "The Seeing Eye".  If you're a dog lover, be sure to ask as the pups in training are often in the truck tagging along with us!

 

Originally from Stockholm, Magnus has a background as a professional hockey player and coach and has even worked with several NHL players.  While living in Sweden, Magnus was well known off the ice as well.  He owned and ran several construction companies where he managed the replacement and maintenance of copper steeples and structures in and around Stockholm - including some of the city's oldest churches and buildings. From small repairs to more comprehensive cosmetic updates, Magnus can fix it all!

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Lisa Merklinger - Warehouse Operations & Inventory Manager

Lisa is a New Jersey native and mother of six.  She joined the CHC Team in the fall of 2020 and has been a part of countless projects. A keen eye for design, she is also known for her tireless work ethic, creativity and attention to detail. Lisa plays a key role in the field keeping things moving and when back at the warehouse, keeping things organized.  As Director of Warehouse Operations, Lisa keeps track of all our inventory making sure each item is cataloged and tracked so that the perfect pieces are on hand for your home.  Lisa brings her upbeat personality to every job!

Sandra Polsin - Admin & Client Liason

Sandra brings over 15 years business management experience with a focus on client services and workflow systems. Sandra has a role in almost every behind the scenes aspect of CHC's operations. From contracts and billing, accounting and reporting, client communications and overall problem solver! Sandra is the voice on the phone and keeps all things pulled together.

Sandra is also mother of 3 young girls and is an old friend of Allison where they shared a love of horses!

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Amanda Zalis - Staging Assistant

A Psychiatric nurse by trade, Amanda put her nursing career aside to be home with her two young sons.  Amanda is a hands on go-getter with a passion for design and home improvement.  She is forever planning and implementing improvements to her home as well as clients of her own "JD Design & Co".  Once her boys reached full time school age, Amanda recognized that she missed the collaborative energy from working with others. Amanda joined CHC in 2022 and has been a fantastic addition to the group.

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Brigitte Dizon - Staging Assistant

Brigette brings a wealth of knowledge in all things design.  She holds a BA in Fine Arts and Interior Design, as well as extensive course work from Parsons, FIT and NYSID.    Brigette also has professional experience in real estate client services, as well as retail. She worked for several years as a designer with Ethan Allen and received accolades and awards from the EA Design Team. A perfectionist, Brigette's style is always meticulous at every project we tackle.  Brigette is the mother of 2 college aged boys and joined CHC in early 2023.

 

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