I have decided to sell the CA property. BB and I went out to visit it last week and decided selling was the best option.
We went out to CA for 5 days. We spent 3 days in the city, staying on Haight street. It was great, but expensive! But great.
Then we headed a little south and spent 2 days in San Mateo to see some old friends of mine.
I met with the long term tenant in the condo, and she has not found a job yet, no promising prospects.
I met with a realtor and we discussed next steps.
The condo is in surprisingly good shape, and surprisingly huge!
The realtor said we need to paint it nuetral, fix the heater, paint the cabinets, clean the carpets and stage it before putting it on the market. Maybe get some new light fixtures too.
The realtor is really fixated on staging, saying its really important.
I dont know, if you walk into an empty condo- does staging really compel you to put in an offer? Wouldnt taking the $2k to stage it maybe be better spent on a granite countertop? Or would nice furnishings be a better bang for your buck?
The realtor also said if it does not sell within a month, to increase the realtor commission by 1% to get realtors to work hard on bringing buyers in.
Regardless, the tenant is moving out in January, and BB and a contractor friend of his is going to fly in to complete the fix ups. He'll stay at the empty condo for 2 weeks and do all the necessary remodeling with the realtors input. She said she will go to Home Depot with BB and pick out the fixtures and stuff for him.
So we are hoping the remodeling is $5k, flights for the men $1k, food for the men $500, rental car $300 ...and then staging $2k.
So thats the plan...right now. pics of the place are below. Input appreciated!
California Property is going up for sale
December 4th, 2011 at 12:13 am
December 4th, 2011 at 01:19 am 1322961542
Good luck!
December 4th, 2011 at 01:28 am 1322962100
December 4th, 2011 at 01:30 am 1322962207
December 4th, 2011 at 01:33 am 1322962421
December 4th, 2011 at 06:28 am 1322980136
For sure, paint the pink bathroom some other color. And match the shower curtain to the new wall color and towels.
Paint the ceiling a light color in that kitchen, and it will really look bigger. But painting the whole room a nice beige would do the most good. I have painted cabinets, and it made them look really good, but I wouldn't want to live in a house with painted cabinets...the paint kept chipping where the doors hit the stiles. So, if you do it yourself, let the paint dry for a LONG time before closing the doors and drawers or it will pull it off.
You want all the clutter gone. Hardly anything on the countertops. Hide the trash can, if that is where it always is.
You want to make it look like they could move in. The illusion should be if they buy it, they could pack a suitcase and move in and live there.
December 4th, 2011 at 06:57 am 1322981830
December 4th, 2011 at 01:16 pm 1323004593
And the contractor friend is the same friend who blew up our last budget! His skill is great even if his budget anticipation is not.
December 4th, 2011 at 02:36 pm 1323009415
December 4th, 2011 at 03:21 pm 1323012118
December 14th, 2011 at 08:37 pm 1323895052
Glad you decided to sell the condo -- I wish you the best of luck.