1760 Santa Lucia, San Bruno

Site Conditions

• Retired couple wanted to cash out of rental home
  
• Worn and outdated, the home needed work to be competitive
  
• Other agents suggested selling as is

Results of Our Work

• 17 offers, 7 days on market
• Listed at $1.199M, sold for $1.69M, $491,000 over asking
• 500% ROI ($36,020 investment produced additional $180,000 profit)

Save $36,000 or Make a Couple Hundred Thousand More?

These sellers, a retired couple, wanted to convert their 3-bedroom, 2-bath family-home-turned-rental into profits. Every other agent told them, "Why paint when buyers will renovate anyway?"

Craig answered, “Well, you could save the $36,000 prepping budget. Or use it to make a couple hundred thousand more on the sale. Which would you rather do? My team and I will create a finished product in 10 business days.”

With minor cleaning and painting, Craig predicted a sale at $1.3M. But adding in kitchen and bathroom upgrades, he felt $1.4M was in reach.

We always strive to present:

- a finished, move-in ready home
- fully inspected, with local compliance issues resolved
- synergistic staging showing the lifestyle our targeted highest paying buyer demographic seeks
- a multi-layered marketing effort
- a bid date to intensely focus on competitive offers

The top bidder is often $100,000 or even $200,000 higher than the next one in line. These winning offers are nearly always contingent-free, which leads to a smooth, fast close. This case proved the point, selling at $1.69M, which tickled our sellers.

Kitchen (before) Thirty-year-old design—dark, wide grout lines, dark wood cabinets, some water damaged. Yet, the kitchen plays a central role and features an open bar counter.  

Kitchen (after) A fresh new look without reconfiguring. New paint, hardware and appliances enhance the perfect kitchen layout, and we kept the original floor.

Kitchen Bar (before) The outdated wood finish created visual separation between rooms. But we know buyers want an open floor plan.

Kitchen Bar (after) Sealing and painting the wood produced a feeling of openness and connectivity. ONE opulent room with a bar for entertaining and interacting.

Office/Lounge (before) A home office next to the kitchen? Seemed like we could use the space better.

Office/Lounge (after) Presto—the perfect complement to the kitchen and segue to the patio. A cooling blue and silver rug balanced the warm-hued floor.

Living Room (before) We saved $4,500 by not refinishing the floors, and bet buyers would still love the home’s open, inviting floor plan.

Living Room (after) Our stager emphasized the fireplace seating area with an area rug and enhanced the space with attractive components.

Bathroom (before) A classic period hallway bathroom with Art Deco tile had seen better days.

Bathroom (after) A fresh coat of paint, new caulk, a large wall mirror, new light fixture and tile cleaning made all the difference for less than $2,700.

Patio (before) The patio and BBQ space offered value, but was blemished, especially by the corrugated fiberglass partitions, reminiscent of lower-tier housing.

Patio (after) At minimal cost, we gave buyers a space they could more readily envision themselves entertaining in.

Back Yard (before) We struggled with whether families, our targeted highest paying demographic, would find be attracted to this cute shed.  

Back Yard (after) When we calculated what repainting it would cost, it was clear that removal and freeing up yard space would add more value.