Ed and Elaine Labuz have cross-country retirement plans they hope to put into action next year. They own a condominium in Florida but have also enjoyed the vacations they have taken in Traverse City, Mich. The ideal living arrangement, they decided, would be to winter in the South and summer in the North.
Precisely when they will put their Clarendon Hills brick ranch on the market is uncertain, but Elaine has decided this is the last year she will teach school.
John Damore, broker/owner for Realty Pros in Burr Ridge, consulted with the couple and offered his suggestions on how they can best showcase their property for resale.
Located two blocks from the village train station, the home has known only two owners. It was built in 1958 and the Labuzes purchased it in 1978. The layout includes three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a formal dining room, a partially finished basement and a two-car detached garage.
”I know we need flowers in the front and back yards,” Elaine said.
”We didn`t plant any this year because of the cicadas, but we will next year.”
Starting outside
Flowers would enhance the exterior of the home, agreed Damore, as would repainting the front door from its present vivid turquoise to the same coffee color as its wood trim. He also suggested a fresh layer of sealcoating to cover the nicks and dents in the driveway.
Inside the house, the Realtor praised the couple`s handsome decor but advised a few updates and space-enlarging techniques.
”These are not small rooms ,but they are not huge rooms,” Damore said. ”The more patterns you have, the smaller the rooms appear. Your home is very marketable, but you just have to get rid of some of the busyness.”
At the center of the home, away from any windows, is the kitchen. Hearty- toned cabinets and bright plaid wallpaper darken the room despite the indirect lighting. The cabinets are wood, but scratched from wear.
Cabinet touchup
”The cabinets need some touching up,” said Damore, and Elaine agreed.
”They have definitely had their day,” she said.
”As long as you are going to do something with them, I`d make them a lighter color, too,” Damore said. Removing the wallpaper from the kitchen and also the ivy-patterned paper in the front entry would lighten these areas, he said.
”Sometimes it`s just better to paint with a neutral color than to worry about redecorating,” he said.
Elaine`s ”to-do list” already included taking down the wallpaper, with a pattern of large red and orange poppies, from the basement bath. She is concerned, however, about the main bath, which she refers to as a ”`50s bathroom.” The tub has been successfully re-enameled, but she wonders whether they should remodel the entire room.
Damore said no. ”People like beige,” he said. ”I`d just put in a new countertop in a solid color to give it a fresh look.”
Another room that could stand some attention is the third bedroom, Damore said. As part of an addition put on the home 20 years ago, the rarely used room has the original olive-green carpeting, and the closet floor is vinyl tile.
Damore advised that the room, and its closet, be carpeted to match the light beige flowing throughout the rest of the home.
Cellar uplift
What about painting the basement? Ed asked. Will it make a difference or will people think they are trying to hide something?
”If you want to go through the trouble, I think it would be a great asset. Bright is in,” Damore said.
And, what did the homeowners think of his suggestions?
”You`ve said some things I hadn`t thought of and given us the reasons for them,” Elaine told Damore. ”I love this (ivy) wallpaper, but I understand the reasoning behind taking it down. In the bathroom, sometimes I think I`d just like to gut it and start over. It didn`t occur to me to just change the countertop. In my mind, I was thinking all or nothing. I know these things should be done, but at this stage you think, `How much do we want to do?` ”
”Anything you do is tax-deductible and will help when you sell it,”
Damore said. ”With times the way they are in the real estate market, the immaculate ones sell.”
