388 Madison St., San Francisco

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Site Conditions

Rental home needed work
Sibling trustees with high expectations and conflict about the path forward
Very tight resurfacing budget

Results of Our Work

16 offers, 7 days on market
Listed at $1.099M, sold for $1.475M, $376,000 over asking
500% ROI, $72,735 invested in resurfacing, $8,450 for staging

The Thanksgiving Offering

Around Thanksgiving, Craig met two sisters who had inherited their 1950s-era family home. The 5-bedroom, 2-bath house, adjacent to McLaren Park, had great potential and commanding views of the San Francisco skyline. Unfortunately, it was in severe disrepair with subtenants living in the unwarranted ground floor unit.

The sisters had grand plans and grand sales price ambitions based on misinformation and inaccurate assumptions. It seemed they also had nothing to fund their plans and vehemently disagreed on every decision. What fun!

As with most rentals, the new owners knew little about the property. Through our discovery process we professionally evaluated the home and recommended actions based on facts, not hopeful thinking.

To help them reach their goals, Craig arranged interest-free financing and a lot of project management to transform their home.

We conducted all elective and mandatory inspections/compliance certifications to generate contingent-free offers. Dry-rotted wood had to be replaced. And because of the tight budget, we skipped painting the exterior and just gave the home’s front façade a fresh coat.

By December 15, we finished all the work. A week later, we had a buyer contract, and by January 20, the siblings had the proceeds.

Living Room (before) The room was bland and closed off from the staircase.

Living Room (after) In three weeks, we redid the floors, lighting and retexturing, creating a much more open, contemporary experience.

Kitchen (before) The tiny kitchen presented our largest challenge.

Kitchen (after) On time and on budget, our designer and transformations team crafted a modern palette, more openness, natural light and an expansive quartz bar counter ideal for family living.

Hall Bathroom (before) With no master bedroom suite, the upper hall bathroom played a vital role, yet was at the end of its useful life.

Hall Bathroom (after) A large mirror, gray quartz slabs, black hardware and a fresh coat of paint was the right formula to attract our young, targeted buyer.

Entryway (before) Green and brown color palette, shiny flooring, ornate front door from the ‘90s. Not what the highest paying buyers in today’s marketplace are looking for.

7b – Entryway (after) Wide-plank flooring, neutral tones and a solid core door with black hardware became the new standard throughout the home. Buyers loved the scale of this oversized entry foyer.

Backyard (before) Few aspects of a home encourage a buyer’s mind to wander and ponder bad thoughts than a border fence in disrepair. It’s ideal when the yard presents the buyer with endless possibilities.