Jean and Jack Lynch aren’t eager to sell the home they built in South Holland 35 years ago but know it’s in their best interest.
One reason is their adult children have migrated to the northern and western suburbs and would like to have them live closer. Another is that, although the couple enjoys good health, within a few years they may not be able to navigate three floors of living space as agilely as they do now.
“We’re loosey-goosey at this point,” Jean said. “We know we have to make a change but we’re in no hurry because we don’t know where to go. What we’re doing is trying to spruce the house up and do the things we should do.”
But what are the things they should do to prepare the home for market? That’s the question they asked Selling Points. In turn, we arranged for them to meet with Roland Vuletich and Shirley Rudofski of Re/Max Excellence in South Holland. The duo recently toured the property and offered some collective advice.
Built in 1963, the home is a red brick Colonial. The interior features four bedrooms, two baths, an extra-large living room with fireplace, a formal dining room, an eat-in kitchen and a paneled family room with glass doors leading to the patio outside. It also has an attached two-car garage and partially finished basement. The floors are carpeted, with hardwood beneath. The carpeting is beige in the living room, family room and master bedroom, and of varying hues in the other rooms.
“Do you guys even live in here?” Vuletich asked after walking through the home. “This is immaculate.”
“Your decorating is nice and updated, too,” Rudofski added.
The Lynches said they appreciated the praise but have a few projects in mind. One is replacing the built-in oven in the kitchen. The appliance is a continuous-cleaning model, and Jean doesn’t care for it.
“We’re not advocates of revamping your house to sell it,” said Vuletich. “We don’t want you to spend money unless you have to. On a new range, you’re not going to get your money back. This one is black; it looks like a happening range.”
In the family room the couple has considered replacing the Berber-style carpeting. Rudofski suggested they have it cleaned first. “If it cleans well in the traffic areas, I wouldn’t replace it,” she said. “If not, it’s probably not that big an expense to do it (for only one room).”
Also on the subject of carpeting, the agent said some buyers might have a problem with the blue color in the dining room but she didn’t recommend changing it.
Jean said she hopes to take the dining room light fixture and move it into their new home. Rudofski suggested taking it down before putting the house on the market and putting up a different fixture.
The fixture “goes so nicely with your dining room set,” she said. “Replace it with something else so there are no misunderstandings later.”
Unlike other areas of the home, the second-floor bath hints of another era–it is entirely pink. “This is probably the only thing in this house that is dated,” said Vuletich. “We don’t have pink fixtures anymore. Are we going to take them out? No, we have to live with it.”
Jack said a neighbor had his tub refinished and the result was a good one. He might consider having this one painted white, he said.
A more serious concern is the soffit above the vanity, where paint peels on the underside. The peeling recurs although the roof has been replaced and no water problems are evident. Jack will repair the area again before the home goes up for sale, he said. He can do that or he can tile or wallpaper the soffit to prevent further peeling, the brokers said.
Because both Jean and Jack use the basement for their offices, they were concerned about the amount of clutter there. Rudofski reassured them that their idea of clutter is many people’s idea of clean.
“Everything you have is organized,” she said. “Your husband has his piles, but they are neat. A person who comes in here can visualize this as an extra family room for the children.”
The brokers’ overall assessment was that the Lynch home shows well without further work on it. “You’ve got a great house,” said Vuletich. “It’s ready to go today. We had to nit-pick to do this.”
