The bathroom tile stayed. The floors did the talking.

At this Richmond home, I kept the preparation focused—and listened closely to what buyers noticed once the doors opened.

Front exterior of 718 34th Street in Richmond at dusk — The Richmond home prepared for its 2024 listing.

Single-family home

Start with what is worth keeping

The original bathroom tile at 718 34th Street was a reason to look twice. I wanted buyers to appreciate it. My recommendation was to keep the bathroom and put the effort into the hardwood floors, cleaning, landscaping and the way we presented the rooms.

If you are staring at a long list of possible improvements, this is where I can help: deciding which work belongs on the list in the first place. Here, a bathroom replacement would have taken us away from a feature worth keeping.

Tile bathroom at 718 34th Street with pink tub surround and gray upper walls — The original tile bathroom was a feature to preserve.

Getting the right people through the door

I coordinated the preparation, pricing, staging and photography, working on the listing with Richard Lei. We refinished the hardwood floors, cleaned the bedroom carpets, deep-cleaned the house and refreshed the landscaping.

Then I got the home in front of agents. We held our brokerage tour, followed by the West Contra Costa broker tour. I invited agents for a look around and pastries, and had the inspection reports printed and ready. Sixteen agents and brokers came through that second tour, along with three neighbors.

Staged living room at 718 34th Street with wood floors and brick fireplace — Refinished hardwood floors anchor the living-room presentation.

Rear patio and planted garden beds at 718 34th Street — The garden and patio complete the listing presentation.

Answering the inspection questions

The conversations were useful. Agents liked the layout and the backyard, but they also had questions about the inspections. I followed up on the requested test-hole investigation and asked a plumber for itemized pricing on the plumbing findings. That gave us something concrete to discuss.

A floor furnace needed the right service company, so I followed up with local providers rather than treating every heating question as the same job. My part was to get the questions to someone who could assess them and keep the seller informed.

Listening to the room

The first Saturday open house was cool and overcast. Seventeen visitors came by. They noticed the backyard, the layout and the hardwood floors—the features we had worked to bring forward. I sent the sellers an update that evening, including the feedback and the nearby listings competing for attention.

Those updates included the ordinary things, too: checking the alarm, offering to water the indoor plants and getting the garbage carts out. Preparing a home for sale is easier when someone is watching the details between appointments.

A focused plan, carried through

The sellers accepted the preemptive offer on April 18, 2024. The listing history shows an April 9 launch at $649,000, pending status on April 19 and a May 13 closing at $683,250. That is 10 calendar days from listing to pending, with a closing price $34,250 above asking.

For a Richmond seller weighing a remodel, this house offers a useful starting question: what would help a buyer see the good things that are already here? Let’s look at your home before deciding what to replace.

Original asking price $649,000
Sold $683,250
10 calendar days from listing to pending

Listing details

zillow.com

Wondering what your home needs?

Tell me what you are thinking about. We can look at what is worth doing, what can stay, and how to make the next step manageable.

Walk the Property With Colin