I was delighted with the way that Heights Enterprises transformed our 55 year old home. One of our grandsons said it looked like a "new house".

As a result the home sold in less than a day at an excellent price, while many other houses on the street and in the neighborhood have remained unsold for a long time.

The quality of the work was absolutely perfect! Robert Pullan was so easy to work with. He communicated with me at every stage of the project.
Owner

New record set for Fast Sale
for a Record Price!

Premiere Realty/One agent Kay Shea sets a new record for fast home resale - minutes! Kay was told within minutes after the first lookers saw the home that they were making an offer. Hours later there was a sale to pre-qualified buyers. She also sold the house for a record price for the neighborhood! When Kay first caught wind of the listing, she knew it needed work to make it stand out from the many other similar homes in the area. The home was owned by a couple who had lived in the home for almost fifty years. While the owners had had cared for the home, it also been well lived in. It showed the all the signs of the wonderful family that had been raised there and owners who had modified the home to accommodate their changing senior needs. The challenge was how to present this home to a whole new generation of buyers - children of the children who were raised there. Wisely, the owner trusted Kay's twenty-seven years of extraordinary real estate experience. Kay called upon Heights Enterprises to carry out the transformation she knew was needed. If there was anyone we would bet would be a record holder, Kay would be one of the contenders!

The transformation

The transformation of this home took several weeks at the end of the winter of 2005. To view a slide show of before and after pictures

Beginning the process
The owner had removed most of her belongings, everything she intended to keep, but left many things that neither she nor friends or family had a desire to keep. We removed everything, saw what could be reused got a good home, and the rest went to the garbage.

Living room & Dining room
The Living Room and Dining Room are high impact spaces. They are the first thing people see when the visit. The owner had carpeted the floors, but the seams in the carpeting were coming loose and it covered a very appealing selling point - white oak hardwood floors. Once the carpet was pulled up, damage from the existing carpet installers became obvious and needed repair. Additionally, the owners had added extra railings to the stairs to facilitate their safety in later years, these were removed. The floors were re sanded, walls and trim repainted and outdated fixtures replaced or removed.

Den/Family Room
The den had three paneled walls and one wallpapered wall and very dated rolled vinyl flooring. Once we removed the wall paper it revealed that it covered a former wall heating unit. We plastered the scars, repainted the walls and carpeted the room in new Berber style carpeting.

Kitchen
The kitchen had both an addition and major upgrade in the recent past. The cabinets were a strong selling plus. There were settling cracks along the edge of the addition. There was an unfinished patch on the ceiling. Once again when we removed the wall paper we discovered more plaster repair being covered up. Like all other rooms we repaired the plaster, and repainted through out.

1st Floor Half Bath
This room was off the kitchen and needed a major update. The walls were stripped of paper and paneling. New paneling was applied and the vanity mirror was upgraded.

Basement & Rear Hallway
One of the many bonuses this house offered was a paneled room in the basement. The owners had used the room as a workshop. So it needed repair and tweaking to reveal its potential.

Master Suite
The suite was another addition to the house. The sleeping chamber was carpeted with older low pile carpeting, there was significant settling cracks. The bath room also has several substantial plaster cracks and also looked very dated. We painted the suite completely, re carpeted the bedroom and upgraded the vanity in the bath.

Other three bedrooms other bathroom on 2nd level
They all were carpeted with carpet similar to that in the master suite. Two of the rooms walls had a wallpapered wall that was in dated patterns. We sanded and refinished all floors and painted all rooms in complimentary colors.

Transforming a nice home
A common challenge is transforming a nice home into one with stronger market appeal to a younger generation.

The good ole days when you pitched a sign in the front yard simply doesn't work anymore. The problem is today's buyers WANT homes that are "Move-in Ready" and they are wiling to pay a premium for them when they find the right house.

The most common situation is that of long term residents, often seniors. They have lived in the home forever, and have tweaked it to suit their desires. Over the years they may also have modified the home to meet the changing needs of their health. Further, the homes often reflect the decorating tastes and styles of years ago.

Clues to look to change before selling