An Expired Listing Is Reborn

Check out this story of how I helped a family succeed after failing to sell their home

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Who you work with matters

A Berkeley couple had been trying to sell their family home for over two months, which is an eternity in our local market. They were frustrated with their agent, her remodeling suggestions, and her marketing efforts. They had invested a lot of time and money into getting the home ready to list, and ultimately they were disappointed in the one offer they received. You can view the original listing here. The agent listed the home at $1,549,000, and the only offer they received was $1.7M - far short of their $1.8M expectation. So they hired me to give it another try, with my fresh perspective and unique strategy as a listing agent.

The first thing I did was set my clients up with Compass Concierge. This is a hassle-free program where my brokerage fronts the money for painting, flooring, repairs, staging, etc. There is no cost or interest, and the loan is paid back at close of escrow from seller proceeds. Having a keen eye for what additional remodeling would help get the home sold, I helped my clients design a scope of work, source contractors and vendors, and figure out the best return on investment for the work we chose to do. I believe it's all about getting the most bang for your buck, so you can maximize your profit from the sale.

I often say that people are actually 'buying' bathrooms and kitchens when they shop for homes. These rooms are the most expensive and most disruptive to remodel. Buyers these days want move-in ready homes, without needing to do significant work. So I saw the two bathrooms as a golden opportunity to update and refresh the home, bringing in modern, quality finishes without breaking the bank. We turned this bathroom into an en suite, so the adjacent bedroom felt like a true master.

The kitchen layout was wonky - it was small, dark, and cut-off from the dining room. I knew this was likely a dealbreaker for many buyers, who want an open kitchen that is suitable for entertaining. We reimagined the space, removing the wall between the kitchen and dining room, and created a peninsula and bar. This completely transformed the experience and flow of the home, and was extremely well-received by buyers.

Same home, different listing agents, extremely different outcomes

After the additional remodeling work was completed, I created a winning marketing strategy that I was confident would attract the right buyers to this home. I felt that the subpar photography and lack of video from the previous listing failed to showcase the unique features of this beautiful home. I brought in my team of photographers, videographers, and website designers to create a custom marketing push. You can view the website and the content we created here. As you can see below, even something as simple as the main 'hero' image can dramatically impact how a home is perceived. The original listing image on the left failed to show the relative size of the home and its craftsman details. I instructed my photographer to capture the 3/4 view on the right, as well as the new landscaping we had planted. In the end, I helped my clients get an offer that was $250,000 higher than the one they received from the previous listing.

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$1,700,000

The previous listing by a different agent failed to meet the sellers' expectation of getting at least $1.8M after two months on market

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$1,950,000

My listing, with a fresh take on updates and marketing, got the sellers a significantly higher offer after just two weeks on market