When I first met with my client and took a tour of his home, I was a bit worried about how we can present this Alameda CA Victorian home so that it will appeal to a potential buyer.
MEN AND THEIR TOYS
Here's the situation.....and this is not a put down of men....but these guys are real heavy into the men "stuff".
The father and his two grown up sons are avid motorcyclists and bicyclists. As such, there are multiple bicycles, motorcycles, helmets, riding gear, tools, etc. scattered throughout the house. There is no dining room table....just couches and chairs parked in front of their TVs. Stereo equipment, CDs, DVDS, games, controllers are at every level of the house where there's a TV. Clothes strewn here, there and everywhere. Hard rock and motorcyle pictures and posters on the wall. Wherever there was a flat surface, you can bet there's something on top of it.
MAJOR CLEANING AND DECLUTTERING
I sat down with my client....and explained that more than likely, there will be women who will want to look at the house, who will be totally turned off. And they can either be major decision makers or major influencers when it comes time to choosing a property to buy.
He needed do a deep cleaning, major decluttering...pack away as many things as they can. I told him I'd rather have close to empty rooms, have less of everything. I generally recommend that 50% of things in the house are packed away. But in their case, it was more like 70%. I couldn't justify in my head a higher list price based on the condition of the house.
He couldn't hire a home cleaner or stager, but he agreed to follow my advice.
TREMENDOUS RESULTS
I didn't want to take before pictures because I didn't want to embarrass him. But here are photos of what it looked like after he finished cleaning. Before the photographer arrived, I helped with some cleaning and final touches. Bottom line, I was stunned! You had to be there.
I think they're ready for their close up. I am activating this new listing very soon, in time for broker's tour next week. In the meantime, if anyone wants to see more pictures, go to http://1537mozart.com/
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