It really doesn’t take that much to completely change the feel of a home. It took my client $1,775.13 to go from “before” to “after.”
Paint and painting living room, kitchen and baths: $1,075. Bathroom Lights, lightbulbs and new kitchen faucet $320.14. Dining room light fixture $179.99. Handyman to install dining room light fixture and faucet $200. I covered the staging. Zero cost to the seller. Total to seller $1,775.13.
Of course – you need professional advice about the colors and light fixtures – just some random fresh paint and a new light fixture won’t cut it. That’s why you hire professionals.
My client had this condo listed by a different company for 4 months without any offers. It was just a square box. The old fashioned dining room light fixture and plain white walls didn’t make anyone feel at home here. Especially none of the sophisticated Arlington condo buyers. I know our housing stock is lacking in design, but we can definitely take it up a notch. We can help people envision what is possible. We received 3 offers on this condo and sold above list price at $750,000 (originally listed at $740,000)
My client was very happy with the result. He even wrote me a testimonial after the closing. “Renata is the best! I had a wonderful experience working with her to sell a condo in Arlington. Another broker had previously listed the unit but didn’t get any offers. Renata knew exactly what buyers in the area were looking for, coordinated some upgrades to the unit (new light fixtures, paint, staging), and had it on the market looking great within two weeks. We quickly received multiple offers at full asking price and above. From our first meeting through closing, Renata and her team were very helpful and communicative. They took care of everything and made the whole process stress-free. I can’t say enough good things about the fantastic job they did!”
So how did we do it? My stager Jan and I came up with a plan for this beautiful Clarendon condo. In order to add some drama and make the windows and fireplace pop – we painted the living room a bold dark color. You can see – the furniture is white. This would not have the same affect with dark furniture.
Before
The “before” was probably the most important change ($179.99 plus $100 for installation) – as it made the condo look dated. In most homes – upgrading light fixtures should be on the top of the list. Here’s a view from a different angle.
Hiring photographers with a wide lens also help 🙂
Other changes included painting the bathrooms. Bone color fixtures with white walls are very unattractive – so we chose a bold color and also changed the light fixtures.
Here’s the 2nd bathroom – same concept.
For the half bath – we painted and just change the glass covers for the light.
The last transformation is that of the kitchen – we only painted it a lighter gray color – to add a little bit of warmth and cohesiveness with the rest of the space.
The whole process from getting started to going on the market was about 2 weeks. I’d say that’s not very long.
If you’d like to see a full tour with all the photos – click here.
And that’s the end of this success story. The seller is happy, the buyer is happy and we are happy. We didn’t just get to sell a condo and get top dollar for our client, but we got an opportunity to transform a space and make it more beautiful. How amazing is that? I personally believe that creating more life – whatever that may be – beauty, experience, solution to a problem, etc. is the meaning of our life and I get to do it every single day.
Are you thinking about selling? Please give me an opportunity to talk to you. No obligation. Maybe I can help you create something amazing and help you move you forward as well. Click here to contact me!
