I recently sold a house on Wallace Way in Terra Linda in a trustee sale, and the other day I got a call from one of the family members thanking me for a job well done! Needless to say, the call made my day. I had met the mother years before, and when she passed away her family contacted me to sell. At first, they hadn’t wanted to do anything to the home, just sell it ‘as is’. I agreed to present the home any way they wanted. However, when they started to take art and photos off the walls it became apparent the house really needed an interior paint job. It’s not uncommon for houses to need painting before resale, especially when families have been in there for decades. I’ve found that in most cases, painting increases the property value several times more than the cost.
There was also carpet in the house that was decades old, including a funky blue shag in one of the bedrooms that probably looked best in the 1970’s when accentuated a lava lamp and disco ball. They agreed to have the carpet throughout the house removed and the hardwood refinished, in addition to getting an interior paint job. We had the house staged as a finishing touch. I estimate that with an investment of about $20,000 we got between at least between $60,000-$100,000 more than we otherwise would have gotten by selling the house ‘as is’. It wasn’t just about the money though, it’s always nice to sell a well presented home, and I think the family appreciated how nice it looked when it came time to say goodbye.
My clients were great to work with, the buyers were pleased to get a sweet new home, and everyone was happy.