Without expecting it, this particular Sunday was a day for me to get a real workout by my being menially laborious. With the exception of taking about an hour off to re-shoot some photos on one of my listings, I was nearly in a constant state of motion for hours on end. At least it wasn’t so hot outside due to the north wind providing a constant cooling breeze.
While diligently working on several projects today, my thoughts were taken back to about a year ago when I was preparing my Mother’s home for the market. At the time, I considered getting her home ready a daunting task, but now after it’s been sold for nearly a year, I look back and smile to myself in how near possessed I was in getting it presentable to the general public.
Without a question, every square inch of her home was fully cleaned, every wall and ceiling painted, kitchen and bath updated, all woodwork cleaned and re-varnished, anything not in tip-top condition was either repaired or replaced, all the oak floors were re-finished, and last but not least, her basement and garage was cleaned and painted to where when finished, I dare say you could eat off of any of those floor. At the time, one of the professionals from Downtown happened to see the photos of her home online and said, “Wow! That basement is so clean, it looks like you could eat off the floor.” I smiled and said, “Yes, I think you probably could.”
I mention my work on her home not out of pride, but as an encouragement for others who are planning on listing their homes. More sellers are concerned about placement of furniture and online presentation, but that’s not what sells homes the most. A very clean and well kept home either furnished or empty will sell the fastest, and I’ll argue that fact with anyone into perpetuity.
Thinking of two of my most recent sales, both sets of sellers were exceptionally good about having their homes as close as one could get to being spotlessly clean and maintenance free . Did they offer quartz countertops and glitzy stagings? No. They were presented as real life homes owned by real life conscientious homeowners. If only all of the other home sellers here in our City were of similar mindsets, we would likely be experiencing an even more robust real estate market.
One of these days I’m going to take a drive over to Bancroft just to have a good look around as well as take an abundance of photos. From what I’ve heard, their market is very strong and what few homes do come on the market are sold quickly. Keep in mind, Bancroft isn’t that large and not exactly in spitting distance of any “hub” communities in North Iowa. I suspect the reason their market is hot is because it’s a great little community in which to live, and certainly not containing any “mini ghettos”.
The above photo is of 107 S. Rhode Island which I re-visited today to take new photos. The sellers have added appliances along with making more improvements. It’s a great home, in a great neighborhood, and certainly priced to sell. Click on the address link and see why 107 S. Rhode Island here in Mason City was worth revisiting for another photo shoot today.
