The family law attorney who hired Craig warned that the co-trustees had limited funds and were reluctant to remodel.  A general contractor as well as a realtor, Craig put together a plan of top priority repairs and modernizations.

Persuaded by ROI
He showed how an investment of $23,000 was expected to produce a return of 375% to 450%. The trustees liked the idea … and so did buyers. After supervising the remodel, Craig presented an airy and desirable home that sold in just three days.

Click here for all of this S.F. project’s photos and the suprising ROI.

Find out how we help:

• homeowners prepare and sell homes
• attorneys with trust and probate clients

1. No disclosure statement – thorough professional inspections and your own careful examination of the property can make up for the lack of disclosure.
2. A quick close – a trust sale tends to be carried out expeditiously, because the home is often the largest asset and trustees are anxious to settle the estate.
3. As-is property sales – because available funds are frequently lacking, many properties are sold without needed repairs and buyers can negotiate a lower price.

Learn about:

• our step-by-step plan to help you buy a house
• our clients’ experiences buying homes

Craig was hired to handle this trust administration sale by the attorney representing the estate.

Challenge

An identical unit across the hall had been on the market for 211 days, without a single offer. Its price had been reduced twice.

Solution

Craig concentrated on three areas, advising the estate to expect at least a 300% return on cash invested to freshen up this very tired unit:

• restore the unit back to a 3 bedroom (the deceased had repurposed one of them)
• replace the wheelchair-height kitchen bar with a standard-height Carrera marble top to create an eat-in kitchen
• replace all gold fixtures with silver to provide a cleaner look and attract younger buyers

Result

The first day on market, Craig phoned all the agents in the Pacific Heights neighborhood who were representing similarly priced 3-bedroom units. That day, one agent toured with his client. Two days later, Craig negotiated an attractive contract for the estate.

• Days to remodel complete:  12
• Days on market:  3
• Carrying costs saved:  $46,000
• Days to close: 15
• Return on investment:  510%  ($29,000 invested produced a sale five times greater)

The unit across the hall finally sold on its 259th day on the market, after 4 price reductions, and for $23,000 less than this condo.

This Edwardian duplex had been on the market for 77 days with another brokerage. It did not generate a sale and was taken off the market. The seller and his wife wanted to move on to a home in Sonoma.

Challenge

An outdated kitchen and a bedroom converted to a music room meant the home didn’t show well. Also, the tenant living in the lower level made it difficult for buyers to envision the full potential.

Solution

Craig researched trends and found that single-family homes were selling for an average of 13% more per square foot than duplexes in this area of Potrero Hill. Explaining the opportunity to the seller, Craig laid out a plan to completely transform the home – showing it as a single-family residence – at minimal cost.

Craig’s marginal benefits analysis projected a 400% return on the seller’s investment for the remodel.

Highlights of project:

• encouraged and was successful in getting the tenant to move out
• resurfaced the rental unit with finishes similar to the main house, so there was a common design theme, and removed the door that separated the spaces
• updated the main kitchen for less than $6,000 – added granite countertops, reused the existing sink (Craig’s policy is to hold down the remodeling budget), painted throughout the house
• restored the music room to a bedroom to generate more buyer demand

Result

At the first open house, 100 potential buyers and their agents toured the home, 85 brochures were distributed.

Days on market :  4 hours
Sale price:  $251,000 over asking
Days to close:  23
Return on investment:  nearly 500%

Craig quickly helped the seller and his wife purchase their dream home on five acres in Sonoma, with incredible Southern views.

See the video of how we sold a San Francisco home in one day.

Challenge

Tenants occupied the home for many years and it showed. Craig’s initial impression was that the house looked like a distressed sale.

Solution

Craig saw great potential in the home and the seller was receptive to his ideas for capitalizing on the best features, which included French doors leading to a large yard, built-ins and abundant architectural detail and a bright, open kitchen with a skylight.

Craig prepared a marginal benefits analysis and a plan to take advantage of these strengths, and secure a much higher return at sale. He projected a return of 350% on funds invested in remodeling.

Upgrades he recommended and the owner agreed to included:

• Repaint the entire interior, refinish the beautiful hardwood floors and stage the rooms
• Reface the kitchen with granite, bring in new stainless appliances and install a ceramic tile floor
• Reface the bathroom wall tile, install a large mirror, and replace the fixtures and hardware
• Remove temporary walls in the garage, install more lighting, paint and install a new washer and dryer
• Landscape the yard, replace the roof and repaint the exterior

Result

Days on market:  12
Return on investment:  400%  (each $1 spent on remodeling produced an additional $4 in the sale price)
Sale price:  $779,000

Craig managed the remodel and trust administration transaction of this condominium. The trustee to the estate traveled a great deal, so the task was to complete all the work before he returned from his overseas trip.

Challenge

The kitchen in this unit was dysfunctional, with very little convenient cabinet space and the cooktop positioned oddly, just inches below the fan hood (cooking was virtually impossible).

Solution

Craig instructed workers to shorten the cabinet above the cooktop, for more clearance and a natural sight-line to the work surface. Replaced the wall-mounted oven with a free-standing model and gained more cabinet space at a convenient reach.

Result

All work was completed on time and just slightly over budget because of an additional  purchase – a stacked washer-dryer to install in the hall closet. Plumbers gave estimates and the HOA approved installation in individual units. Craig felt the updated laundry facility was an important selling attribute for the buyers targeted.

www.265molino.com

Challenge

This beautiful, custom-built home was neglected for two years as the famous physician/owner fell terminally ill. This trust administration sale required a very gentle and understanding approach in working with the trustee, along with a customized sales strategy that honored the superior quality of the home’s construction, style and features.

The trustee was under pressure to sell the home quickly and distribute the proceeds to a number of beneficiaries. Competing homes sold in an average of 117 days, and many homes in the area were withdrawn from the market with no sale.

Solution

The marginal benefits analysis Craig prepared projected a return of 260% on funds invested in preparing the home for sale.

Upgrades he recommended and the trustee secured agreement for included:

• Secure a stager with the expertise to attract our target demographic and who was sensitive to the delicate position of the trustee
• Bring the garden, landscaping and exterior back to its original glory for a ‘celebration of life’ ceremony for  international guests
• Remove the illegal kitchen downstairs and navigate the city’s resale inspection guidelines
• Convert the shed to an artist’s studio
• Source matching granite in the kitchen where necessary

Result

Days on market :  27 (competing properties averaged  117 days)
Offers secured:  2, within 9 days
Days to close of escrow:  18

Challenge

This trust administration sale was complicated by the trustee having lived, with limited mobility, in the home for many years. Much of the interior was over 50 years old. Because the home design was unique – one of the first built in San Francisco with a loft-style master bedroom – it would appeal to a very limited and specific target market.

Solution

The plan was to bring this gem back to its full glory by preserving the integrity of its unfinished wood and carrying on the Japanese-inspired “harmony with nature” theme.  Included in Signature Architects of the Bay Area by Dave Weinstein (2006), the home’s design was inspired by the San Francisco cable car and features single-piece wood members bent to mimic the distinctive ceiling lines of the cars.

To help promote the home, Craig recruited specialists:

• an architect with a Master’s degree in Japanese woodworking (from Tokyo), who had a unique ability to communicate the nuances of this one-of-a-kind home to potential buyers
• a public relations firm to define the buyer demographic and reach the very specific audience both domestically and internationally

Craig’s team removed all the personal property, made minor repairs and landscaped before staging the home and hosting several design events at dusk. The patio and views of the Golden Gate Bridge sold one of the invited guests.

Project highlights:

• The president of the company that produced and hosted the website for the property called Craig to say the volume of traffic was unprecedented – more than 800 visitors to the website in 24 hours
• 3 blog posts were written about the home at no cost to the owner, attracting attention and buyer activity
• Over 750 visitors saw the San Francisco MLS listing in the first 4 days
• Hosted several premier design events at the house with big names in San Francisco architecture, interior and home design

Result

Days on market:  61 (competing properties averaged 101 days)
Offers secured:  2
Sale price:  $1,925,000
Compared to average price/sq. ft.: +20%

This mid-century duplex needed extensive resurfacing to show to its best advantage. Ackerman Realty was hired by the senior director of gift and estate planning at a very large corporation to carry out this trust administration sale.

Challenge

Besides the complications inherent in a trust administration sale, the market for duplexes was severely depressed and this property was worn out. Large trees on the adjoining property obstructed extensive bay views.

Solution

To get the most value for this property, Craig took these steps:

• Got permission from the neighbor to have 14 45-foot tall cypress trees trimmed to restore striking views of Angel Island and the San Francisco Bay
• Painted and resurfaced the interior to cover sun-faded paneling and imposing wall paper that made the home appear as a distressed sale
• Staged and showed the building as dual use (both as a duplex and the vision of converting to a single family home), for the highest value.  As he investigated recent sales, Craig found that single-family homes were selling for as much as 12% per square foot more than duplexes.

Bonus for the seller

Craig discovered, in researching the title and county records, that the property was mistakenly categorized and had been taxed as a 3-unit building for years. The resulting large tax credit was a windfall for the estate.

Result

The buyer did, in fact, bring in his contractor and designer to pursue a conversion to a single-family home for their estate.

Days on market:  22 (comparative buildings were averaging 55)
Return on investment:  310% (actual vs. projected sales price, without improvements)

Challenge

When Craig first interviewed the seller, the home looked like a fraternity house. One bedroom was converted to a pool hall, complete with a New England Patriots theme. The bathrooms were tiled in pink and orange, sliding closet doors did not function, none of the closets had lights and the owner had a friend living in the first level.

Solution

The transformation was remarkable. Here is a selection of the most important changes:

•  resurfaced tile in both bathrooms and installed very large mirrors
• painted neutral colors inside to emphasize the impeccable view from the common areas of the house
• restored the pool hall to a sought-after 4^th bedroom

Two agents with a similar home on the market stopped by on Friday, before the Sunday open house. One said, “It will take you at least another week to finish. There is no way you will be ready by Sunday.” Later that day Craig had 14 workers in the house, and yes, they met the deadline.

Result

The response to the upgrades was tremendous – 4 offers were received and counter-offered. Craig sold the home for $1,480,000, well above its appraisal value. This sale broke the ceiling on sales prices in the Anza Vista neighborhood.

Days on market:  12
Offers received:  4
Sale price:  $131,000 over asking
Days to close: 30
Return on investment = 475% (actual vs. projected sales price, without improvements)