How We Prep Your Santa Cruz Home For Listing

Selling your Santa Cruz County home is an exciting milestone, but preparing it for the market can also feel overwhelming. From repairs and updates to staging and presentation, there are often several tasks that need to be completed to help your home make the best possible impression on buyers. Managing these improvements efficiently and effectively can seem like a daunting process, but with the right guidance, it can be much more manageable.

That's why we offer our Market Ready Concierge program, designed to help maximize your home's value through strategic improvements and professional services. From painting, flooring, and staging to more than 100 additional home-preparation services, sellers can access up to $75,000 in funding with no payment due until the close of escrow (subject to program terms and approval).

Learn more about how Lauren Spencer and Amy Jeske recently helped a Santa Cruz homeowner prepare their property for market and achieve outstanding results.

Case Study

This property required a comprehensive mix of services to get it ready for listing. Repairs included drywall, grout, and interior and exterior stucco. Interior and exterior painting was completed to brighten, refresh, and open up interior spaces, and boost overall curb appeal. 

Interior hardware upgrades included new lighting fixtures. towel bars, electrical plugs, and plate covers. Older kitchen appliances were replaced with new stainless steel models. These changes helped update all living spaces to an aesthetic appealing to modern homeowners. 

This targeted prep work, which also included landscaping, power washing, and staging, resulted in a 10% increase in sale price, and the sellers had an offer in 2 days of listing. As the seller said in a note to Lauren and Amy, "the house never looked better".

What Services are included in the Market Ready Concierge Program? 

Repairs, Flooring, & Painting

Minor repairs, replacing flooring, and painting make a huge difference when it comes to a prospective buyer’s first impression. 

Every well-loved home has its quirks. While a squeaky hinge, a loose floorboard, or a drywall ding are often only minor annoyances, cumulatively, they can lead prospective buyers to wonder about larger potential issues with the home that may have been neglected. Fixing issues like these means that a buyer’s home inspector doesn’t have to find them and helps preserve the perceived value of the home. This is why the team focused on areas like drywall and interior stucco for the Santa Cruz home highlighted in the case study. 

Flooring doesn’t last forever, and depending on the condition, repairing, cleaning, or replacing it can help make a home feel new again. Clean, damage-free flooring can also help make a floor plan look larger and cohesive. According to the National Association of Realtors, 54% of homebuyers are willing to pay more for a property with hardwood floors, often making new installation a worthwhile investment. Similarly, a fresh paint job covers up imperfections and often brightens and opens up key spaces, including kitchens and living rooms. 

Kitchen & Bathroom Upgrades 

When selling your home, you might think that large-scale renovations are needed, especially in the kitchen, to raise the market value and appeal to modern design tastes. As seen with the recent Santa Cruz listing, swapping out kitchen and bathroom hardware and replacing old appliances can completely transform these spaces.

Cleaning Services 

Junk removal and deep cleaning can often be the most important and time-consuming part of the moving process. Clearing out overstuffed rooms and a deep, professional clean helps show off the size of the house and communicates to buyers on an emotional level that the house is safe and ready to be lived in. Our team is prepared to step in to help remove clutter and ensure that your house is clean and presentable for showings. 

Landscaping & Staging

Prospective buyers can sometimes judge a home by the outside alone. Lauren and Amy fully understand the importance of curb appeal and are able to facilitate any necessary landscaping (fresh mulch, new plants, trimming, weeding) to ensure that the exterior of your home matches the aesthetic appeal of the interior. 

Lauren and Amy have years of experience with home staging and keenly understand the importance of creating an inviting atmosphere for prospective buyers that highlights the best features of your home. 53% of seller’s agents say that staging decreases a property’s time on market, and our recent Santa Cruz listing is a prime example of the benefits. 

Other Market Ready Concierge services include, but are not limited to:

• HVAC

• Carpet cleaning and replacement

• Moving and storage

• Pool and tennis court services

• Pest control

• Custom closet work

• Water heating and plumbing repair

• Fencing 

• Electrical work 

Ready to Maximize the Value of Your Home?

Lauren and Amy are prepared to make any necessary improvements to your home so it is market-ready. Get a free home evaluation and find out what prep work would maximize your sale price.