12,000 sq. ft. estate gets transformed and goes under contract in days.

In June, I received a call from Clare Guluzian, a Realtor with Pineywoods Realty. Clare also owns MGA Homes with her husband Aram. MGA Homes is a unique, luxury home builder in Tampa. While their homes are not custom built, every home feels special and is loaded up with high end finishes and detail. If you have not seen their work, check it out here, click here.

Click here for more before & after photos

Back to the “how to add value to a luxury listing” success story.

“Karen, are you ready for a 12,000,000 sq ft home staging project?”, she asked. “I’ve got one on 5225 S Nichol St in Ballast Point”.

“Absolutely! I replied. And it must be the season for mega estates to need home preparation”. As we started working on another 12,000,000 sq ft project in North Tampa too.

Clare’s listing was situated in a secured & gated, 1.3-acre lush lot. The Colonial-style home was gorgeous and had no shortage of unique features (like a bathroom door from Hugh Hefner’s original Playboy Mansion in Chicago, the 2,000 sq ft master suite, oval windows from London, and a grand chandelier from Paris).

However, the property did need a lot of work to do, quickly, to get the home ready to put on the market & command the top price…even in this red hot market.

Clare had a long-time relationship with the seller and told them if they would let her team make the needed changes and professionally stage the place, she would list the home. They were on board and the 90-day project began.

The home transformation edits included updating the entry, removing columns, repairing and replacing flooring; painting walls, ceilings, and cabinets; replacing lighting, and landscaping. To add to the project complexity, the sellers had acquired a lot of furniture & personal items that were throughout their home, plus they were still living there.

Together, the team created a strategic home preparation plan and this South Tampa gem was weeks away from being listed. Here’s exactly what we did:

Home improvements were planned and scheduled
At the same time, serious decluttering & removal of all personal items was underway
Heavy window treatments were eliminated
Home repairs were completed
All dark rugs were replaced with lighter options
Lighting fixtures and light bulbs were updated
Furniture was strategical rearranged to make rooms feel spacious have a purpose
Lighter, transitional furniture was staged
Large, abstract art was installed to replace smaller, darker, more traditional pieces
Landscaping was enhanced

Was all of this effort and investment worth it? Yes it was. Within days, offers were coming in and the sales transaction came down to a bidding war and final choice by the sellers.

Love it when this happens! Congrats to Clare who represented the seller, the sellers, Henderson Everett, and the new buyers.

3 important truths and home prep tips that are game changers

It’s not about what the home seller’s personal style preferences are in preparing a home for sale. It’s about what will appeal to buyers.
The thought of “update projects” scares most new home buyers. They imagine the cost will be higher and the headache bigger. The more move in ready a home can real, the better.
Old and dark furniture is tough visual wall, (distraction) to climb when your goal is to show a home’s style many possibilities.