West Linn, OR Project June 2023
It was a honor to work with this family on everything from estate attorney recommendations to trusted contractors that could prepare a run down and outdated property for market. This family had lost their family member unexpectedly and on top of grieving were hit with the burden of a multitude of tasks to handle the estate process. These clients were given extra care, support and trust as we work through such a delicate matter together. I was glad I was able to offer so much more than they had expected having been through a number of estate sales already.
Now that you have a little background on my lovely clients and how we came to work on this project lets jump right in and breakdown what we did to enhance, update and repair this home before hitting the market. To start, as I always do, I begin researching the area, title reports, and recent comps. This helps me gauge a target list price with and without repairs (everyone likes options don’t they).
This client chose to go with the proposal with repairs and we agreed on budget for the scope of work, timeframe, and list price range and date going to market. This project was one of our largest projects to date at nearly $100,000 in renovations and repairs. The cost to do the project was not paid out of pocket but was agreed to pay through the escrow proceeds once the home sold (a huge relief for my clients). Wondering what we added up to $100,000?! Yes, that is a big amount of money that is NOT the typical budget we work within. However, this home had a laundry list of large repairs and deferred maintenance including a big repair from a tree falling on it, a leak from a jetted tub on the 3rd floor, rotted decking boards, and an acre of overgrown landscape among a number of beautiful updates we did to put this home back together and make the family proud. Some other updates we splurged on was extending and refinishing the original hardwood floors, replacing all the appliances in the kitchen and painting the exterior of the home, pouring new concrete stairs to the entrance of the home and adding new gutters around the home.
The best part is we did all of this work in just over 30 days! The look on the families faces when they walked back through after the home was complete was absolute shock and filled with love and NO regrets. I am pleased that my partners and I were able to get this home ready for market and sold in 2 months for over a million dollars. The list price without these repairs and in the state it was in would have been lucky to sell for $750,000 MEANING we added more than $275,000 in value and our clients cleared an additional $175,000 after the renovations that they would have without doing the work.
This family was able to close this chapter on the best note possible for the circumstance and I’m so proud I could be apart of their story. My passion is helping others no matter how big the challenge or amount of handholding needed. The truth is we ALL need support from others at some stages, embrace that rather than trying to do it on your own.
We are in this together!
-Sara
