It's Monday. The weather is a bit gloomy here in Grants Pass, Oregon, home of Rentec Direct. The coffee pot is empty and I'm hungry and it's not yet lunchtime. Oh, first world problems... :)
Luckily, I found a great little gem online that brightened-up and kick-started my day. Nothing makes me happier than seeing people follow their bliss and daily labors of love. In this case, a man with Aspergers who has a serious love of cats, has transformed his home to satisfy both his talents and love of furry roommates.
While he has gone and ruined his chances of selling his home to the 10 million people in the world with cat allergies, he has a hot commodity for the cat-lovers of the universe. Unique has its niche, for sure. The last home I built was very custom-made for our family and when we decided to sell it, I remember our Realtor saying "you know, this is not going to be easy to sell...." He was right in that many people turned their noses up at the glass garage door in the bedroom and the suspended bridge through the greenhouse connecting the library to the dining room, but he was off-base in saying it would be hard to sell. We changed Realtor. Good Realtors know that the eclectic home in a sea of cookie-cutter homes is easy to sell... to the right person, that is. One tour of our home by "the right person" landed a sale in 15 minutes, along with 1/2 our furniture and art.
Here are some pointers home-owners with flare (and the awesome Realtor who represents them) should keep in mind when tickling their fancy:
- Any work done to your home should be completed up to current building code unless you want to change it before the sale.
- Custom-work should be high-quality, rather than a DIY hack-job. Interesting is one thing. Shoddy is another.
- When you do go to sell your home, find a Realtor that admires your cool-factor. The best sales professionals love what they sell (or love the challenge.)
- Encourage your Realtor to use marketing sites that appeal to your sense of style as they may not be familiar with the sites your "type" frequents (CATLOVERSOFTHEWORLDUNITE.com.)
For you Property Managers out there, you are not exempt from running into those artsy-fartsy types who want to transform your rental home into their little Mecca. Home owners are one thing... it's on their dollar. Renters... well, follow these pointers to be sure you don't end up with a rental like I had back in 2001 (High-rise penthouse suite... lovely rental with gorgeous veiws... wait-list for vacancy... Quick turn-around needed. Renter moving out of country turned in his keys overnight and when I went to inspect, EVERY SINGLE WALL AND CEILING WAS PAINTED A DIFFERENT VIBRANT COLOR! It was like Pee-Wee Hermans Playhouse. And several coats of primer later...)
- Lease clause indicating all changes to the unit must be pre-approved in writing from management and be performed by a skilled person (no, toothpaste is not the same as drywall mud...)
- Lease clause indicating changes to the home are at the renter's expense and the deposit on hand must cover fixing the change if need be.
- Detailed Wear-And-Tear clause.
Janell is a member of Rentec Direct, a web-based property management software program designed to help streamline tenant screening and the day-to-day operations of landlords and property managers. You'll find many other useful articles like this on the Rentec Direct Blog.
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