CRES Client Success Story - Downsizing

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We often work with clients who urgently need to move into assisted living facilties because they are no longer able to live alone and take care of a primary residence.  In this situation it was an elderly woman who needed to be in an assisted living facility and in order to afford the monthly cost of the facility she needed to sell her home for the most amount possible.

Condition of the Home:  The home was full of contents that had no value and the home was in very rough condition.  Through the work of her Senior Living Specialist she was able to find a suitable place to live and in order to pay for the new apartment she needed to sell her home as soon as possible for the most amount possible.  The home needed to be cleared out and there were quite a few updates that needed to be done to sell the home for top dollar for the neighborhood. In this instance, we provided them with 2 options. Each option includes a full marketing plan with high-definition professional photography.

• Option 1: Sell the home as-is:  In this case, we would list the property for sale in as-is condition, including the contents of the home, which would most likely be for an investor. The estimated sales price in this condition was $130,000.
• Option 2: Clean up the property:  This involves cleaning out the home of all the furnishings and debris, checking all the major systems to ensure they are in working condition, painting the entire home, installing new flooring and giving the home a professional cleaning. The estimated cost was $15,000 and the estimated sales price is $210,000.

What they decided:

Being that the homeowner had enough cash to fund the renovations, they agreed to renovate the home to maximize the value of the property. The renovation was completed in 3 weeks and listed for sale. We went under contract with an over asking price offer the first weekend.

Scope of Services Performed:

• Whole home clean-out and disposal
• New flooring throughout (carpet in bedrooms and Luxury Vinyl Plank in living areas)
• Removal of all wallpaper
• Repainting the entire interior of the home
• New stainless steel appliances
• New HVAC System
• Light staging of the home
• Professional photos for marketing the home for sale
• 10 point marketing plan to ensure 100% market exposure
• Secured qualified buyer in first weekend
• Managed the closing process and closed on time
• Managed the home's maintenance on behalf of the seller until closing
• Regular home pop-ins to ensure home was secure

Return on investment:

By choosing to renovate the home which ended up costing $22,000 ($15,000 renovation plus the HVAC needed to be replaced which added an additional $7,000), the estate was able to recognize nearly $58,000 in additional value. That investment provided a 263% return. 

Challenges along the way:

• HVAC Stopped working: As part of the renovation we had an HVAC technician inspect the equipment and it was not working properly.  We ended up replacing the unit which increased their costs by $7,000.  While this was an unfortunate surprise to them it was necesssary for us to address this to sell for the highest amount possible.  

Each home presents its own set of challenges.  We pride ourselves in being problem solvers and we don't stop until we have a solution. You can rest assured that you are in good hands when trusting us with your downsize.