As part of our commitment to provide the kind and quality real estate services people need most, we now have experienced project managers on our team who help us prepare homes for sale in the smartest, most economical ways possible.

To get started, our team visits the listed property, often weeks or even months before the on-market date. We itemize everything that 1) needs doing, and 2) is worth doing. Not all improvements and repairs are wise investments for a seller, but many are. Fresh paint, landscaping, floor refinishing and new fixtures are often at the top of the list of what should be done. Working with the client’s budget, we estimate and coordinate subcontractor schedules for desired improvements. Our project managers then schedule the work in the right order, and supervise the details to make sure everything gets done professionally, quickly and economically.

Good real estate is a team sport, so the players on the team really do matter. Because we work with many of the same contractors regularly, and have a good working relationship with them, they tend to give us great service and excellent value. They know we expect top quality work and on-time completion.

The last step is staging, another highly advised investment in most cases. Staging a whole home can cost from $8000 to $10,000, but can result in a substantially higher sales price, so we almost always advise it. Sometimes we stage just the main living areas, and maybe the master bedroom. Each home is different. Each has different needs, different deferred maintenance, and different opportunities. But by providing fresh paint and finishes, new fixtures, and other relatively inexpensive upgrades, we are able to create the best possible first impression for buyers.

As Dale Carnegie said, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.”