Before and After

Our first house was quite a project, having been sitting vacant for over a year. Unfortunately we didn't get a before picture of the front of the house but this photo is after just three months of living there. When we first moved in, the front lawn was completely dead- nothing but brown, dried shrivels of grass. We brought it back to this beautiful green in just a couple weeks of watering and mowing. In front of the home there was a large pile of small rocks and garbage, as well as weeds, some of which were as tall as me! We pulled the weeds, cleaned the garbage, and spread the large pile of rocks in the small patch up in front of the patio. The side yard, which is not pictured, was also a mess of garbage and five foot tall weeds. Tyler picked up all the garbage and pulled all the weeds revealing the lawn beneath. After some watering and mowing, you never would have known it was a weed patch.

Kitchen: The oven and fridge were gone. We bought appliances to stand in. It was DIRTY- as was the entire house. The floors were dusty and dull but after I polished them they shined up very nicely. The garbage disposal was leaking into a bucket beneath the sink. We replaced the garbage disposal and got everything working. We replaced some light bulbs and the kitchen was good to go!

Before:

After:

Kid's rooms: We brought the upstairs to life with the kids rooms. This made the house warm and inviting to families of every kind.

As home staging goes, we try to keep it simple. The less "stuff" you have the cleaner the home feels and the bigger the space seems. Our decor is family oriented featuring kids rooms and a family room. Therefore, homes we stage will be most attractive to family buyers which is a positive in the Boise area considering it is a family-centered community.

The bathrooms were in need of some serious TLC! They were disgusting- toilets were grimy and moldy, tubs were dirty and home to several large spiders. A couple hours of cleaning got them sparkling like new- really the toilets and tubs looked like they'd never been used.

Eeeew!

The master tub faucet broke and we were able to fix it.

As you can see, a buyer can appreciate the fact that someone is living in the home. It assures them that the home is in livable condition with all systems functioning properly.

The Benefits For You!

Typically, home tenders will move into a vacant house, stage the main living areas of the home with quality furnishings, pay the utilities, maintain the landscape, and clean and prepare the home for showings and open houses. These services are proven to help homes sell quicker and at higher prices than homes left vacant.

Benefits to the Home Owner:

· The home’s beauty and integrity, as well as landscaping, is maintained free of cost

· Staged homes sell faster and for more money than vacant homes

· The home will be kept at optimal temperatures to prevent damage to home

· Prevents increase in cost of home owner’s insurance that occurs once home is vacant

· Owner no longer has to pay utilities

· Home will be kept clean and pleasant smelling to provide a buyer-friendly atmosphere

· Prevents vandalism

· Ensures the home is in “livable” condition with all systems functioning properly

Benefits to Listing Agent:

· We comply with all showings and open houses

· We can assist in keeping flyers stocked

· Aid in a quicker sale of the home

Get to Know Us!

My husband and I recently decided to take on a new adventure know as "Home Tending". So far we have successfully helped sell one home and are currently searching for a second vacant home in need of a little TLC. There are a couple reasons we looked into home tending rather than renting or buying. First of all, we are not quite ready for that big leap into home ownership. Being undecided about whether my husband wants to pursue a PhD has kept us from putting down roots and like most newly weds, we are still trying to build up a savings worthy of a down payment for a home. We tried renting for a while and after dealing with nightmarish and dishonest landlords, we decided we needed a break from the world of rentals. We were introduced to home tending through my sister-in-law who has been doing it for a few years now.

The benefits? First of all, in most cases, it means free rent- well free in that you don't have a monthly payment. You do put money into maintaining the home but not nearly the $1,000 we were paying each month. Another benefit for me- it may not be appealing to everyone- we get to live in pretty nice homes. I have always loved going to open houses and watching HGTV and dreaming about the home I will someday raise my family in. Living in a variety of homes with different floor plans and different materials will help me decide what I like and what I don't like so that when we do decide to buy, I will know exactly what works for our family. Lastly I have an outlet for my love for home decor. Applying that HGTV knowledge one room at a time :)

The drawbacks? Well you never know how long you are going to be in the house. Our first home sold six very short weeks after moving in so we were moving out not even three months later. You also have to keep your house spotless at all times in case of a surprise call from a realtor wanting to show the house (It is super hard for me with a 2 year old and a 2 month old but it also motivates me to keep the house clean). And of course you have to have some where you can escape to when they want to show the house- luckily for us we have my parents and my sister-in-law close by.

Why let us live in your home? It takes a lot of trust to let strangers move into your home when you could be hundreds of miles away and we understand. We are a young family, full of the energy and motivation to do the work necessary to keep your house marketable. We have an appreciation for beautiful homes and vow to restore your home (if necessary) to the state it was in when you called it your home. Our furniture and decor bring the warmth of family to a home with out over-personalizing. We are responsible and pride ourselves on our honesty and integrity. We work well with others and make every effort to accommodate the realtors we work with.

Thank You for your interest in Boise Happy Homes!