9 Small (But Mighty) Home Updates Agents Recommend Before Listing
Curbio Takes the Work Out of Pre-Sale Home Renovation
By John Voket
If Mike McCann—REALTOR®, associate broker, and agency co-owner—has learned anything throughout his 34-plus years in the industry, it’s that time is money. That’s why timely and efficient home renovation is essential to making the most profits. McCann has his own team with 20 agents and seven assistants. Still, he also helps lead nearly 700 Keller Williams agents at urban offices in Philadelphia and a suburban office in Ardmore that serves Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties.
McCann also knows that time well spent serving his clients earns him something money can’t buy: a loyal customer base and rock-solid reputation as the go-to guy in his local market.
Whether it’s a $90,000 condo or a multimillion-dollar estate, McCann has spent decades recruiting and facilitating home renovation workers who expertly and expediently address home inspection punch list deficiencies along with other suggested work that will increase the selling price for his clients.
“The average home we’re selling is around 100 – 120 years old, while some are 200 – 300 years old, so I’ll bring in my clean-out guy, my painters, my stager, my mover, my electrician, and my roofer,” says McCann.
While he prides himself on not having a high fall-through rate after inspections because his contractors can handle all the work, McCann is thrilled with his recent partnership with Curbio — a leading home renovation and improvement company for REALTORS® and their clients. Offering a fast, effortless process to repair and update homes before they go on the market or under contract, Curbio also defers payment for any work until closing.
“Curbio says, ‘send us your punch list from the inspection,’ and they’ll deliver proposals within 48 hours,” says McCann. “Instead of trying to arrange contractors to handle 20 inspection punch list items, Curbio will take care of everything.”
McCann also believes that Curbio is the perfect partner to deliver on the low-cost, high-impact tips to increase property values, which he was juggling on his own up until recently.
“It’s not only going to sell for more, but it’s also going to sell faster,” says McCann, who is planning to begin using Curbio for staging services in the near future.
“Our biggest issue was that clients often didn’t have the money to even get basic inspection items addressed, but with Curbio, if the client doesn’t have the money, they can pay for it at closing. That’s a big factor in why I see Curbio being a big partner in the future,” explains McCann.
The company’s communication capabilities are also off the charts. “They’re contacting the seller or me every day to address any issue and keep us up to date on their progress through their portal,” adds McCann. “The days of wondering what happened to the contractor or trying to find out when they’re showing up or coming back are over.”
Additionally, McCann says that Curbio is committed to giving his clients the same TLC he would.
“They’re handling all the arrangements and buying me more time to handle more clients. While I used to spend up to 35% of my time doing all that, with Curbio, I’ll be down to spending 5-10% of my time handling that aspect of my job in the near future,” adds McCann.
“I told our agents that we all need to use Curbio,” concludes McCann. “Anybody can open the door and sell real estate, but someone who gives a client the resources to get their work done and make them more money, that’s a valuable relationship our agents are providing.”
For more information, please visit https://curbio.com.