Last month our Burbank listing closed escrow. I met with the trustee on July 9th. Each client has different needs and goals. This trustee and his wife were taking a trip to Europe in early September and hoped not to be burdened with paperwork and negotiations while on vacation. Initially, the seller wanted to sell the home AS IS. With his permission, I prepared two valuations: AS IS and AS REPAIRED.
I compiled estimates:
Interior Cleaning, including buffing original hardwood floors, $540.00
Interior Painting, including removal and disposal of carpet and misc. repairs: $4,050.00
Initial Landscape clean up, including patching missing front lawn with new sod, $1,960.00
Total $6,550.00
A prudent rule of thumb when recommending fix-it repairs is that for each $1.00 spent, the seller should gain at least $3.00. Once that has been determined, it’s much easier to decide on a course of action. As I send so much work to my house cleaner, painter, and gardener, they agree to be paid through the seller’s closing proceeds. This was a vacant home, so the Harb and Co. Team coordinated and oversaw the cleanup.
There was new sod patched in the front lawn, and it had to be watered three times a week. The gardener agreed to water once a week. The painter watered daily while he was painting and preparing our listing for sale. But once the painter was finished, we watered twice a week.
We listed live in the MLS on August 19th for $749,000.00. We received half a dozen offers on August 27th. Our client returned from vacation, and our Burbank listing closed escrow a few days after their return for $818,000.
The Harb & Co. Team specializes in maximizing our home seller’s proceeds. Give us a call and allow us to do the same for you!
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What is escrow
