In a volatile and wholly unpredictable real estate market, in order for a home to sell in the fastest time and for the most money it is imperative that the home shows well and is priced correctly. Nothing new here, right? We’ve all watched enough HGTV to know this. Anyone with an ounce of real estate savvy understands this concept…maybe…maybe not. How much money should you spend, and on what, to get your home ready for the market? Of course that depends on what deferred maintenance and cosmetic updates you might want or need to make.
So let me use a real life example to give you some ideas. A few months back I listed a 1965 split level home that was solid and in good shape and that had some upgrades in the ten years since I sold it to the owner. However it definitely needed some freshening up to put it on the market. A kitchen addition with an eat in area and butler’s pantry had been added when I sold the house. But the floor was the same inexpensive vinyl that the owner had talked about replacing when I sold it to her, but never did. The carpet in two of the bedrooms, although good quality, was stained beyond cleaning and the entire house needed to be painted.
Instead of just saying, “freshly painted, new carpet and flooring”, we wanted to add a more marketable wow factor and use sustainable products. We wanted potential buyers to feel that the seller cared about their well-being once they moved into the home. So we didn’t just paint the house with cheap generic off-white paint or put in the cheapest new carpet and kitchen flooring. All of these would have had toxic implications because of the dangerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that would no doubt be found in them. Here’s what we used instead.
Low VOC paint: Just a few years ago buying low VOC paint meant purchasing it from a specialty store or from an online seller. This of course, meant the paint cost substantially more. Today, Benjamin Moore, Behr, Sherwin Williams for example all sell low or no VOC paints. A couple of years ago Sherwin Williams low VOC paint was about $9 more per gallon than traditional paint. Now–it’s about the same or maybe even a few cents lower. So why not use paint that has absolutely no paint smell and that doesn’t expose potential buyers and their families to toxins? Sherwin Williams and Home Depot’s Yolo brand sell for about $35 per gallon–about the same as any good quality regular paint.
Marmoleum Flooring: Marmoleum is one of the best flooring choices you can make. You may remember your grandmother’s linoleum. Marmoleum is linoleum 2.0. It’s a completely natural flooring material made from linseed oil from the flax seed, wood pulp and resin and other natural products. It’s anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and has is non-allergenic. It cleans easily, resists stains and burns and comes in beautiful colors and patterns. And it’s much cheaper than, say ceramic tile. Ceramic tile can cost between $5 and $15 per square foot plus $6-8 per square foot installation. Marmoleum costs between $5.50 and $7.50 per square foot and around $2.50 per square foot for installation.
P.E.T Recycled Carpet: This carpet is made from the millions of plastic bottles that the world uses. It’s naturally stain resistant and doesn’t off gas. It’s unbelievably durable and long-lasting. And, it’s plush and beautiful. A medium grade regular carpet costs about $2.75 per square foot. P.E.T costs $3.25. Installation for either is $6 per yard.
The cost to use these materials is not much more, or is equal too using non-sustainable products. But the marketing potential is huge. Even when buyers aren’t totally knowledgeable about these products, they are intrigued and appreciative. The house in this example had a contract within 2 weeks. There were minimal negotiations or counter offers and the seller will net exactly what she expected. Here are some photos from the house.
I got an unusual real estate referral a couple of weeks ago. A young woman from Colorado who is moving to the DC Metro area requested an agent who had an extensive knowledge of DC area bike trails. Well, that would be me, of course. It was the first time I've had such a request from a potential buyer. Leisa will be working at Crystal City and absolutely wants to bike to and from work. Her biggest fear was to wind up working with a real estate agent who would under estimate the importance of being able to cycle to work. "When I asked a Realtor friend to refer me to a Keller Williams Realtor in the NOVA/DC areas, the most important request was not gender, not experience, not numbers. My future Realtor had to be a cyclist! Because I intend to ride my bicycle to work, I wanted a realtor who understands the cycling routes and one who could relate to my bike-minded ways,” Leisa said.
![GreenLogo_CMYK[1]](http://ecogayle.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/greenlogo_cmyk1.gif?w=125&h=75&h=75 "GreenLogo_CMYK[1]")
I know indoor air quality isn’t a sexy “green” topic. It isn’t as interesting as eco-friendly kitchen countertops or solar power. In fact it’s kind of a scary topic because, well, there seem to be so many unknown variables. But every day, in our homes, we live with dangerous chemicals that we have complete control over and can choose to minimize and even eliminate from our homes. So I hope you will take a few minutes to read this blog and then take stock of your home.
