Seeing Your Home Through the Eyes of a Buyer

It can be difficult for sellers to make the shift away from viewing their home as a place of comfort, familiarity and security. We all love what we have created in our homes. When preparing a property for the market, however, we encourage you to shift your thinking. Your home may be your most prized investment and you may wish to capitalize on that investment. As such, you will want to think of your home as a commodity that will yield a high rate of return.

To increase your rate of return, we will discuss enhancements to the interior and exterior that will be most appealing to the modern buyers of today. Many mid-peninsula buyers tend to be dual income who do not have the band-width to undergo a remodel. They hope to purchase a home that is turnkey. Even investors who are seeking land will pay a bit more for a house that has been somewhat updated so they can lease out the home while they go through plan development and the permit process which can take up to a year or more.

The objective is to create an environment that appears somewhat modernized because buyers will pay more for the modernization and you are likely to engender multiple offers. Typically, we see properties sell for a factor of 2 to 3 times the investment of enhancements. If your property, as is, is valued at $6,000,000, if you invest $100,000 on enhancements, we would anticipate a sale of $6,250,000 to $6,300,000.

Whether you vacate or remain in the home during the selling process, we will manage the process with the various contractors. Typical enhancements include painting the interior and exterior, refinishing floors, installing new carpet, installing new light and plumbing fixtures and new cabinet and door hardware, deep cleaning the home including the windows, new appliances and landscaping.

Below are some before and after photos of enhancements we have managed.

At one of my listings in redwood city, the finishes were dark and uninviting. The finishes had not been replaced since the 1980s, so we decided to make minor cosmetic changes that would have maximum impact.

Amazing Results

At the end of our approximately five-week project, the results spoke for themselves. With minor, well-executed changes made by our coalition of experienced contractors, painters, and landscapers, we recaptured this home’s 1920s charm with the freshness of new finishes and paint. The light color choice for the cabinetry and peninsula made the room feel much larger, as did the lightened tile grout and painted tiles above the cabinets. New hardware, faucets, and light fixtures modernized the look, and refinishing the floors in a lighter color further brightened the space. Elegant staging elevated this home.

Transforming a Dated Kitchen

In our experience, kitchens and bathrooms are the most critical spaces to address with enhancements. When we first meet with the seller, we focus on the first impressions of a space, especially kitchens and baths. For example, this kitchen, dating to the 1980s, was dark, cluttered, and uninviting. The prominent tile grout lines and tiles along the ceiling looked busy, and the rugs and draperies detracted from the hardwood floor. The dark wood grain on the cabinetry and peninsula made the space feel much smaller and dark.

Buyers tend to overestimate the amount of time and expense necessary to update a tired space, and in today’s market, where buyers will pay a premium for an updated, move-in-ready house, this original kitchen may have caused a potential buyer to pass on a home or discount the price to compensate.