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Cleveland Heights Remodel and Renovation – Kitchen Bath

Seller’s Goal:

To maximize net proceeds. Length of time on the market was not important.

Problem:

Seller had a stately, but dated home. Old kitchen, old baths, worn hardwood floors. Dated homes in general, were not selling.

Olsen Ziegler Solution:

Remodel (by removing a wall to enlarge the space) and renovate the kitchen, minor cosmetic bathroom updating, refinish hardwood floors, minor misc. items and home staging.

Detailed Background Information Follows (an optional read…)

Why Renovate?

It’s critical to answer two basic questions:

What is selling in a community and why?
What is not selling in a community and why not?

Understanding the answers to these questions along with analyzing and interpreting other key variables such absorptions rates, trend lines as well as the seller’s goals may paint a clear picture that renovating prior to placing one’s home on the market may be a better financial option.

For this particular seller in Cleveland Heights, the majority of homes that sold in Cleveland Heights fell into one of three categories:

Renovated
Bargain priced, or
Architectural

When we first met with this seller, their home, in it’s current condition, did not fall into any of the above three categories and therefore stood a high probability of not selling or the seller would have taken a huge financial hit to sell the property in as-is condition and neither option was desirable for this seller.

To Renovate or not to Renovate — Which approach should I take?

The short answer is: it depends.

In our opinion, the real estate industry has done a poor job for sellers by not performing extensive research into the seller’s local market in order to properly advise the seller with regard to the current state of the market AND show ALL options a seller should have at their disposal so they can decide which approach works best for them.

We feel that the “stick a sign in the yard and if it doesn’t sell, recommending one or more price reductions until it does sell” approach is akin to having one tool in the toolbox…

and the old saying (adapted for real estate): When all you have is a price-reduction hammer, everything looks like a nail…

…with the result being that sellers are truly at the mercy of the market, instead of being able to regain some control over the market, and ultimately, their net financial position.

Note: This is not a one size fits all approach. Sometimes: renovation is not the solution. Every property, community and local real estate market is unique, and it takes a keen eye to interpret and offer solutions based on fact, based on a proven track record, based on innovation and primarily, based on market realities. We understand that each of our sellers have different needs and constraints. Our goal is to eliminate any and all surprises before a seller’s home enters the market.

Total Seller Investment

$27,000

Outcome

+$26,000 - $36,000

Positive Net Return on Investment (ROI) by choosing to renovate and home staging.

Seller Kudo

“We would absolutely recommend Olsen Ziegler Realty with 100% confidence. With the extreme constraints of a highly competitive housing market and our need to relocate out of state, finding the right realtors with a high level of expertise and professionalism was a must for us. Although we could write a novel of accolades for Chris Olsen and Julie Ziegler, there are several main factors that helped us in deciding to use Olsen Ziegler Realty:

Free Home Staging: We can’t say enough about Chris and Julie’s ability to identify strengths and weaknesses of our house, and find clever and low cost ways to really present our house and property. We followed their recommendations, and the house looked so good, it surprised us both. We kept thinking to ourselves, we should have had them come out to our house years ago. We would have enjoyed living in it!
Even more impressive was the cost and dedication Chris and Julie demonstrated. Many Realtors charge the seller for this service which usually costs around $250 just for the home staging report. Not only were Chris and Julie experts at staging, they helped to save us an additional several hundred dollars in staging labor, as well as guiding us through this process, step by step.
Recommendations for Property Improvements: This really set Chris and Julie apart from other realtors. Given the extremely competitive selling market, we were anxious to learn what advice realtors had for us to best market our home. Other realtors provided minimal to no advice on practical improvements to help protect and maximize our sales price (i.e., painting, etc.). This was NOT the case with Olsen Ziegler! They spent multiple hours offering clear and economical recommendations for improvements, yet we never felt pressured to make even one – the decision was always ours to make. Likewise, Chris and Julie had an extremely knowledgeable appreciation of market trends and ways we could further maximize our marketing by considering additional property improvements. Olsen Ziegler quickly identified several consulting experts, whom provided us with some amazing options we took to further improve our home marketing potential and increase our ‘curb’ appeal.
Lower Listing Commission: Despite the extensive consultation and knowledge of staging, Olsen Ziegler was surprisingly economical. Compared to other national and local realty companies, Olsen Ziegler Realty helped cut costs. We saved in excess of $2,400! We also felt no pressure to sign a contract to list our home with Olsen Ziegler for longer than we were prepared to do.
Negotiations & Savings: Chris Olsen negotiated very hard to NOT use certain local title/escrow companies, which saved us around $1,000 in variable title/escrow fees.
Insurance premiums were reduced with Chris’ skills for obtaining a re-issue rate in our title insurance premium – another $300-$400 savings. Moreover, there were no administrative transaction fees (or as Chris would call them – junk fees) – saving us an additional $200-$250 versus other companies. Most importantly, Chris really knew how to discuss and negotiate with buyers agents to maximize our home price. Chris and Julie were wonderful!
Cost-Effective Contractors: Recommendations for home improvements also came with a list of contractors to help cut costs on larger projects. We had considered several of the projects for years before, but previous estimates made these projects impossible. However, Olsen Ziegler knew of several contractors to work with, and the estimates from these contractors nearly made us faint! It was considerably less costly than we anticipated, and the contractors had a reputation throughout the area for top quality work. The work on our house was done very professionally, and Chris and Julie were in contact with and worked with us and the contractors to get projects done. The saving was approximately 40% off retail prices. The materials used were name brand, high quality materials and the final product made us wish we weren’t selling our home!
Exceptional Project & Time Management: Due to our move out of state, the time frame for renovations and preparations were limited. In 8 short weeks, Olsen Ziegler expeditiously moved from identifying issues, facilitated proposals with contractors, and assisted in the completion of projects (both on time and within budget)! This is exceptional service, particularly for more established and sizeable homes.
Exceptional Personalized Customer Service & Local Market Knowledge: Chris and Julie were both professional and personable. They understood the stressors involved in the selling of a house and took this into consideration along every step of the process. Their knowledge of the market was absolutely without parallel! It was clear to us, Olsen Ziegler had more expertise than other realtors whom purported to “know” the market. They always kept us informed of any changes on a timely basis and communications were always seamless.
Overall Grade: A+!!!! The Olsen Ziegler approach (both to reducing expenses while maximizing our selling price) saved us at least $50K versus a traditional realtor. This paired with the indeterminate time on the market had we chosen to adopt the traditional approach with another realtor would likely have resulted in our home still being on the market today. In short – we highly and most definitely recommend Olsen Ziegler Realty! We feel we have been spoiled by Chris and Julie, and wish we could take Chris and Julie with us. Regardless if you are buying or selling a home, if you don’t call and talk with Olsen Ziegler Realty, you will short change yourself.