Mary Ann Smith loves her job, but the commute is a killer. She spends at least an hour and a half on two trains and a bus getting to and from her home near Midway Airport and her office on the Northwest Side of the Chicago.
“I want to keep my job, so I’m going to move finally,” said Smith, who does not drive.
Hoping for an expedient sale, Smith wrote to Selling Points and asked for some guidance. We arranged for her to meet with Janine Dumas Vrablic of Realty Executives, Garfield Ridge. Vrablic toured Smith’s home and offered several suggestions for making it as appealing as possible to prospective buyers.
Smith’s two-bedroom condominium is one of six units in a three-story brick building erected in the late 1970s. Her unit is on the second floor and features a large living room with balcony, a remodeled full bath, a formal dining room and a kitchen with work peninsula and new appliances. The woodwork is natural-colored, the walls are white and the all-new carpeting is beige. Her unit also has new light fixtures, new windows, assigned parking, and laundry and storage facilities.
Freshly painted
Smith, who is offering the condo for sale herself, has owned it since 1983.
With its new carpeting and fresh paint job, the unit appears clean and inviting. Smith and her brother, who lives with her, don’t have an overabundance of furniture, but his home-based business takes over the dining room and part of one bedroom. Smith has begun packing and is stacking boxes in one corner of the living room.
“There are two opinions of boxes,” said Vrablic. “One is, `She’s motivated, she’ll move out by closing,’ and the other is that you want to show how spacious the home is.”
She recommended Smith invest in a storage facility. Smith said she’d heard they were very expensive, and Vrablic pointed out that the seller would need it for only a short time.
Another tip Vrablic offered was to not store anything behind doors.
“When they don’t open all the way, people think there is no room,” she said.
In the kitchen, she said that Smith could create more space by removing an aging bread box and tucking the microwave in a far corner. Smith said she would like to throw the bread box away, but it covers a stain in the countertop. The two women then discussed stain removal techniques.
If the stain does not come out, Smith should disclose it to prospective buyers, Vrablic said. She also said she didn’t think the stain will deter anyone.
“I think whoever does buy will put in a new countertop,” she said.
“I was going to put in new cabinets if I stayed here,” Smith said.
Vrablic told her not to do that. The cabinets are wood and are in good condition. What she could do is change the 1950s-style silver knobs, which she referred to as “jewelry.” A porcelain knob will eliminate the need to change the hinges as well.
Another accent that dates the kitchen is the fluorescent tube light over the sink, said Vrablic.
“We’ll get rid of it,” Smith promised.
On reflection
Vrablic suggested a framed mirror designed to look like a window. “You need a pick-me-up in here,” she said.
Smith said she liked the idea very much.
The front door opens into the living room, where Smith has two sofas and a television at one end and some boxes at the other. The walls are blank because the room was recently painted.
On first impression, the room looks somewhat bare, Vrablic said. She suggested putting the boxes in storage and then spreading out the furniture so the room is more evenly weighted. She would also like to see something on the wall above the television set, perhaps a swag of eucalyptus, which will also add a pleasant fragrance to the room.
“These are great ideas,” said Smith. “You’ve given me a lot of things I can do to make improvements and there’s nothing really expensive.”
“You’ve followed the right rules of coloring, and you’ve got fresh paint and new appliances,” said Vrablic. “Now all you have to do is pull a few more things together.”
