Bobbett & Associates: All spruced up after strategic improvements make best use of seller’s budget

As our clients’ advisors and support, we make every effort to guide home sellers toward home improvement projects that will add value to their home and maximize their sales price.

Our latest project property had been a rental for many years and was in dire need of some TLC, and we were faced with some large home improvement chores.

We oversaw every aspect of this renovation project on behalf of our out-of-state seller: new roofing, permitting, landscape clean-up, interior painting, hardwood refinishing and a variety of repairs and updates throughout the home, primarily kitchen and bathrooms

Because this house required some big-ticket fix-it items, our costs turned out to be higher than usual at $28,000, with the final cost for improvements coming in slightly higher than the $25,000 budget we initially estimated.

Half of our budget went to the new roof, which is not a common improvement for most home sellers before selling their home. But the roof on this home was the original 50-plus-year-old wood shake roof. It had to go!

Two other items on our wish list could have used attention, central air conditioning and updated windows. In a perfect world, the home would have already had central air and updated windows making the property more comparable to others in its price range.
We advised our seller to skip these projects however, because it would have been difficult to recoup the additional out-of-pocket expense and we wanted to ensure we could maximize resale value for our seller.

Our out-of-state seller was thrilled to see the massive improvements and the higher sales price. She loved how we strategically and logically made the best use of her budget by making repairs and updates that were the most cost effective.
Once the home improvement tasks were completed, we turned our attention to developing an effective home staging strategy to ensure the house made a positive impression on prospective homebuyers.

As we’ve noted before, a beautifully staged home can make such a strong impression on would-be homebuyers, they may wind up offering above asking price.

In the end, our home improvement advice and home staging efforts on behalf of this lovely homeowner and house in Fullerton paid off. The house sold for $115,000 more than the sitting tenant had offered the owner.

Home improvement advice and project management, as well as the home staging services, were inclusive and at no additional cost to the seller – just part of what distinguishes Bobbett & Associates from ordinary Realtors® – truly FULL service real estate representation.