I was called by a woman whose parents recently passed away leaving her and her brothers a bungalow in an older yet very nice neighbourhood here in town. The house had been vacant for some time and while she mourned the loss of her parents, and best friends, she new the house had to be dealt with.
She said she wanted movers to go in and pack everything - she was emotionally unable to go by the house much less go inside. Movers were the only option. They would box everything up, label the boxes and place them in storage ready for the day when she would feel emotionally up to sorting through everything.
She asked me to meet with the Realtor at the house, and to have a look and develop a plan. I discovered a 1960's bungalow that was aromatically laden with cigarette smoke and rich with furnishings from the 70's. The furniture, accessories, pictures, and clothing were all in the places where her parents left them when they moved to 'the home'. Nothing had been done in the house in 30 years.
The walls, curtains, windows and ceiling were yellow with nicotine stains. The cupboards and pantries were still full of food, the garage with washer fluid, oil, gasoline and herbicides, and the laundry room with detergents, cleansers and bleach. I counted 12 different flooring surfaces throughout the house - renovations had been done bit by bit over time. Some lights worked, some didn't.
Dad's closet was bursting with wide striped ties from the the 70's, and his bathroom still had his cologne and toothpaste beside the sink. He passed away over a year ago.
When the Realtor and I discussed our plan of action, we were on the same page - go for cosmetic improvements so the house smelled and looked clean. We decided the first step was getting the movers in to remove everything that would not be needed for the Staging, then paint the walls and the ceiling, clean it to a shine, take a run to the ECO station to properly dispose of the chemicals, do some quick and easy touch ups on the exterior, and tidy up the yard to achieve good curb appeal. We estimated it would be about an $8000 - $8600 investment to get it ready, and it could be listed at $330,000.
I was excited to help this lady for many reasons - I was able to provide a service that filled her need, plus it was a cute little house and a good project, and it was a nice size contract that would keep me and a crew busy for a few weeks.
Today she called the Realtor and said she and her brothers discussed it and they decided to sell the house as is. No movers, no cleaning, no painting, no staging. Nothing the Realtor said could sway them to change their mind. They didn't want to deal with the house. Even when he said the house will now have to be listed $35,000 less than if it had been prepared for selling. The money didn't matter. Their emotions were too high.
I feel for this family. I can't imagine what they're going through. This is an interesting profession to have a snap-shot glimpse into people's lives and so in that snap-shot we see an image of their lives frozen in time. I don't have to whole story - probably never will. I wish them well and I hope the healing process can begin for this family.
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