An Historic House in Tryon

 "It was a real pleasure to work with such gifted professionals as Sandy LeRoy and Roger Ness. From evaluation to completion of our project, we were impressed with the timely, careful and highly focused attention we received. We are altogether satisfied and recommend Sterling Property Services without reservation."

Judith Lawson
Roger Broome
Tryon, NC

Judith Lawson and Roger Broome who live in Massachusetts, were referred to me for staging advice before listing their historic house in Tryon. The property had been a rental but was about to become vacant, and they wanted recommendations on how to prepare it for sale.

My first suggestion was to have a staging consultation and a pre-listing home inspection so that if any repairs or cosmetic fixes were needed, they could be addressed in advance and resolved at the lowest cost. These are particularly important pre-listing steps with an older house to make it more competitive. Judith and Roger agreed and got work. They chose Kathy Toomey of New View Realty to represent them and arranged for Dale Hansen of Advantage Inspection to do the home inspection.

The following week Roger Broome  came to town for a summit meeting with the "Smart Selling" team. Here they are in the picture I took that day, (left to right) Roger Ness of Sterling Property Services, Team Leader Roger Broome, Dale Hansen and Kathy Toomey.

While Dale inspected the house from top to bottom, inside and out, and Roger looked at the condition of the surfaces and the paint, Roger Broome, Kathy and I discussed the cosmetic issues I identified, and the best, most cost-effective way to approach them.

This is the house as it looked the first day we saw it:

The exterior of the house needed to be cleaned, and the blue trim needed to go. Roger was asked to do painting and pressure-washing estimates, and I was asked to find a new trim color.  I also recommended painting the downspouts and other utilitarian items in the same color as the walls to make them "disappear" and refinishing the front door and iron railings.

After Roger worked his magic, the house was transformed. A landscaping crew had detailed the grounds and the azaleas were blooming in vibrant colors, combining to create amazing curb appeal.

On his next visit to Tryon, I met with Roger to chose paint and carpet for the interior, and he did or arranged much of the clearing out and the rest of the work. After the repairs and cosmetic fixes, the house became a sounder, much more appealing and photogenic property.

The best part of  this story is the  happy ending. The house was on the market for one day, when a buyer came to see it in person and said, "This is it!" The buyer returned the next day for another look, and now the house is under contract. It shows you the power of curb appeal to create the instant emotional connection that turns a visitor into a buyer.