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Series -- Our Unique Selling Proposition (USP) -- Another Fabulous Makeover of a 1920s Shaker Heights Ohio Home

By Chris Olsen

Real Estate Broker/Owner with Olsen Ziegler Realty

August 25, 2009 04:30 PM

Series -- Post 7 of 7 -- Our Unique Selling Proposition (USP) -- Another Fabulous Makeover of a 1920s Shaker Heights Ohio Home

The first post in this series focused on performing an extreme makover by performing major renovation, redesign and home staging of a home in Cleveland Heights Ohio that we did for a seller client in both a cost-effective manner and quick turn-around time frame.

The second post in this series focused on home staging a Twinsburg, Ohio home on a shoestring budget. This seller said the total they had to invest in preparing their home for sale was $1,000. The actual total was $500 and was primarily spent on obtaining a POD filled to the brim and stored off-site.

The third post in this series focused on another extreme makeover of an architecturally significant home in Shaker Heights Ohio. This stately home on one of Shaker's finest streets was on the market previously for six months with another top Realtor affiliated with a large real estate brokerage. The owner approached us and asked for a second opinion on why this home hadn't sold, nor had any offers in the previous six months. After touring the home, it quickly became apparent that there were many issues to address.

The fourth post in this series focused on minimizing the negative effects of selling a vacant University Heights, Ohio home and also bringing some very tired, dated and worn elements up to date in a cost-effective manner.

The fifith post in this series focused on how to showcase a partially updated by using innovative home staging techniques as well as uncovering hidden gems in a home.

The sixth post in this series focused on transforming a very dated but stately 1920s colonial home in Cleveland Heights, Ohio from a dated and tired home with that would have hammered the seller's selling price down into the basement with an indeterminate time on the market. Moreover, this home had previous termite damage, which while fully repaired and disclosed by the seller, would have made this home exceptionally hard to sell, given it's history and lack of modern updates.

This last and seventh post focused on a wide-ranging but moderate in complexity transformations, such as:

Eliminating minor water intrusion in the basement with a basement waterproofing system
Taking the basement from icky, damp and dark to acceptable, brighter and organized
Taking a disaster of a wood-paneled den with ripped-out bookshelves, missing boards, beaten up floors and a cave-like feel into the Pottery Barn era
Massive exterior curb appeal makeover with new landscaping, mailbox, overhead light, removing an old storm door, restoring and installing antique benches, etc.
Transforming the only full-bath on the second floor with a new mosiac ceramic tile floor, hardware, plumbing fixtures, refinishing the cheesy 80s thin ceramic tile wall and tub surround, painting, etc.
Painting, decluttering, home staging and a variety of other tasks.

Here is a summary version of the project proposal Julie Ziegler (90% brains (design, materials, integration, creativity, home staging) on this project) and Chris Olsen (10% brains - proactively identifying likely buyer objections, 90% support and project/contractor management) presented to the sellers:

Exterior

Landscaping/Entry

Keep everything watered in pots and flowerbeds.
Julie to find flowerboxes for upper windows.
New overhead light.
New mailbox.
Remove storm door, fill in hinges, paint.
New front landscaping - specified all plant materials. see computer-generated design.
Fill flower boxes with purple, red, white petunias. Leave them in 6" pots. Need to water everyday (keep moist). Cover pots with mulch or peat moss).
Remove weeds from flower beds and walkway on routine basis.
Restore and place benches on front porch.
Repair trim around frame of front door and paint same brown color of house.
Paint front door Cranberry
Paint lamp post Black.
Benches will be placed on porch by owners
Roof to be fixed where shingles are missing and curled/damaged.
Owners to clean lower shingles on home and garage where dirt has adhered to shingles.

Garage

Keep organized and try and make as much room as possible.

Interior of Home: Main Level

Foyer/Entrance

Clean tile floor.
Remove wallpaper.
Paint ceiling from orange to white.

Dining Room

Clean chandelier.

Den

Place three pictures centered on long wall at 5'6" center of picture (6-8" between them)
Place rug in center of room with two red chairs and patio table with lamp.
Place tall plant in front right corner.
Place kitchen island on wall to right on entrance. Place something (books, candles, vase, etc ) on top. Place basket with magazines to the left of this in corner.
Hang bronze rods and put one panel each of white window curtain on each end (4 total).
Remove remaining paneling completely from back wall, repair wall, and paint entire room cream color.
Paint all window trim and door casing same as other white trim in house.
Install new fan (to be purchased by owner).

Living Room

Remove everything from floor and everything not needed.
Skirt television table with fabric.
Leave red lamps on mantel and hide cords if possible. Nothing else on mantel.
Leave mirror over mantel.
Place books and decorative items on bookshelf. Only fill 50-75% (can discuss when we meet).
Fireplace mantel painted white

Sun porch

Place black, round rug in center of porch.
Place black table (Julie) and 4 chairs on rug.
Add hanging flowers.
Paint door to porch same color as front door (cranberry color TBD).
Scrape porch floor and paint either light gray enamel or cranberry color-- (color TBD).
Paint new wood trim the same brown color as house.

Kitchen

Center round table and 4 chairs. Place tablecloth on table and small, decorative centerpiece.
Swag light (if possible) over table.
Replace telephone jack cover with ivory plate.
Remove bookshelf (basement?).
Clean fan and chandelier.
Remove everything from window sills
Remove everything from refrigerator doors.
Leave coffee maker and other essentials on counters. Not more than 2 or 3 items.
Hang Scott's favorite pictures - larger one on far left wall, smaller one on back wall.
Clean all appliances so they look almost new.

Half Bath

Remove chrome shelf.
Hang small art piece on wall over commode.
Place decorative item on counter.

Second Level

Hallway

Remove door mat and do not add runner (runner to go in basement in front of washer and dryer).
Restore hall floor to lighten it to color of bedroom floors.
Restore wood finish on banister cap along hall.

Master Bedroom

Remove television and place 4 panel mirrors over dresser. Clean all items off of dresser and only leave decorative item.
If possible, store television in basement.
Remove chairs and table. Table goes into 2^nd bedroom as nightstand.
Clean off nightstand tables and leave lamps. Books are fine.
Measure for area rug where most of the hardwood shows (round, colorful rug would look really nice).
Assess any areas of the floor that would not be covered by rug and could be cleaned up quickly and efficiently-paint spots, scratches, etc.

Second Bedroom (guest bedroom)

Remove small desk and dresser and put in blue room.
Leave dresser on right wall.
Place wood step next to bed (left) as nightstand. Place lamp on top and books on bottom.
Place chair in corner by radiator (as it was).
Can put quilts in basket and place next to dresser.
Remove bookshelf (basement?).
Need carpet remnant (TBD) to cover most of floor (12" edge from all walls).

Blue Bedroom

Blue carpet will remain in first bedroom (to be cleaned by company.)
Remove large desk.
Place air mattress bed on back wall.
See if small dresser will fit next to bed comfortably. Can be used as nightstand with lamp.
Place small desk on wall facing entry. Hide cable to computer.

Second Level Bathroom

Spray walls using state-of-the-art refinishing system. We will obtain two contractor quotes.
New plumbing fixtures - sink, bath.
New cabinet hardware.
Paint.
Add decorative item on counter. Keep all personal items out of sight.
Nothing on window sills.
Basket on wood cabinet shelf fine.
Tie back shower curtain with ribbon (Julie has some).
Optional: Either replace rubber baseboard molding on tub side with wood baseboard trim, or perhaps an easier solution would be to paint it white with Sherwin Williams ProBlock Bonding Primer and a topcoat of an All Surface Enamel Paint.

Balcony

Leave 2 chairs.
Add one pot of flowers.

Third Level

Remove everything. Space will be open and fresh.
Reassess condition of carpet and consider good cleaning by company. This would be one job done for third level, stairs, and blue bedroom
Install new white toilet in bathroom (toilet-to-go at Lowe's).
Skimcoat hall going up and other areas as needed.
Paint entire third level including stairway through to both rooms. Use same paint color as in den/library and paint everything including ceiling the same

Lower Level

Basement

B-Dry waterproof the basement.
Scrape walls.
Paint floor, some walls, wood partitions, support posts.
Massive de-clutter and organize.
Place red runner in front of washer/dryer.
Place bookshelves in basement (if you want) and organize things.
We will review laundry area when we are there as far as what needs to "dress it up."

Important General Items

Clean windows and window sills.
Keep all countertops (kitchen, bathrooms) clean and free of personal items.
Keep everything off floors and keep floors clean.
Water, water, water landscaping, flowerboxes, hanging flowers, and pots.
Keep all closets neat and organized. Remove anything you do not wear, need, or use.
Keep outside of yard free of any debris, unused items, etc.
Clean, clean, clean---buyers like to feel like the home is new, fresh, and clean.
Keep furniture dusted and free of personal items.
Make sure every room has some kind of lighting (overhead, lamp).

****We will go through each room next Saturday to do final staging, moving, rearranging, etc. Keep items such as baskets, artwork, rugs, and decorative pieces available so we can use things as needed.

Seller's testimonial:

August 2009 - "Olsen Ziegler Realty is, simply, the best. Chris and Julie helped us take our home from 'OK' to fabulous in a very short time. They introduced us to tradesmen who did an amazing job on a very tight budget, and with whom we will work on every house we purchase in future. Julie has wonderful taste, selecting all the finishes for our project and managing every detail. This was a tremendous load off of our shoulders as we prepared to move, and a service you just can't get anywhere else. The changes they suggested allowed us to price our house $30K higher than we had anticipated, and we had a signed contract in two weeks for almost the entire asking price. This, after several houses on our street that are represented by a very prominent realtor had sat on the market for well over a year. We enjoyed our experience with Chris and Julie so much that we asked Chris to represent us in the purchase of our next home. Although it was a complicated and difficult process, Chris worked patiently to be our advocate through the process and helped us get the house we wanted at a great price! We will definitely be calling on Julie to help us as we tackle projects on the new house, as well. Olsen Ziegler Realty is the only realty company we will ever use." - Scott & Quinn B.