Outdated Homes Can Sometimes Be Like Cake... Without the Frosting

Outdated Homes Can Sometimes Be Like Cake... But Without the Frosting

Unless you've been hiding under a rock here in Los Angeles lately, you will have noticed that home inventory numbers are shrinking in many parts of the city, especially for the areas where homes are priced under the $500K mark.  First time home buyers are now inevitably finding themselves having to sacrifice some of the bells and whistles just to jump into the home buying fray while the going is still good. 

There are some homebuyers that can easily look beyond the outdated features of a house by visualizing modern upgrades that will eventually make it their perfect home, even if it takes a little time, effort and patience.  But then there are others who just can't seem to get beyond the plain Janes needing a cosmetic fix, when in most cases all they will have needed to do is personalize it by adding the "frosting"  to bring it up to their level of taste.

For some of my buyers who admittedly need a little help with seeing the vision, I've printed out some "Before" and "After" transformation photos from Janice Sutton of 1st Stage Property Transformations that I take along with us to show them ideas when faced with plain, outdated and sometimes hideous room features or an awkward space.  Mind you, had the vacant home already been updated or staged by the seller, other buyers that also needed a little help in this area would've benefitted from the real-life visuals as well.  But hey in this competitive market, as long as the homes are in good condition and in a fantastic resell location, I want them to leave the less attractive ones for my savvier first time home buyers! 

Here is just one example of something that my home buyers and I have often seen throughout our househunting experiences here in Lakewood and Long Beach;  A vacant room with an outdated fireplace as it's focal point. 

Before (without the frosting):

AFTER (with the frosting):

WOW!  What a huge difference!  A savvy homebuyer will look beyond the easier cosmetic fixes if the house has so many of the other right ingredients that will make it the perfect home such as it being in good condition, in a great location, at a great price, with a floor plan that suits their needs, with room to grow.

If you are home buyer looking to buy a home in Los Angeles, Lakewood, Long Beach, Downey and Carson or a home seller in the same areas looking for a Realtor that has both the experience and resources to help you prepare your home for sale, do not hesitate to call me at 310-508-4354 or write me at andi@andigrant.com.

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Before and After photos used with the expressed written permission of Janice Sutton of 1st Stage Property Transformations.  Plain cake photo by Blondie5000 for Creative Commons. 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.