Janine Romney Knows the Details Matter 

A good agent knows that the details can make or break the sale, and Janine Romney is that agent. She wants to help people, and she knows that to do that you need to pay attention to the little things.  

An agent with Lyon Real Estate, Janine works in northern California including Sacramento County, Placer County, Nevada County, Yolo County, and El Dorado County. She is happy to work with anyone; she just wants to help.  

“I’m willing to help people wherever they are… willing to meet them wherever they are and to get them to where they need to go.”

In It for the Long Haul 

Janine only got her real estate license in 2010, but she worked in the industry for many years prior. Before becoming an agent, Janine worked at a title insurance company starting in 1983. 

With this long-term experience in real estate, Janine has seen the many ebbs and flows of the market, including the coming and going of agents because of it. As she explains, “When times get tough and the market gets slow, like now, you need to work at it. But not everyone is willing to do that.”  

Now that the market has cooled down considerably since the days of the pandemic, Janine expects many agents to struggle and ultimately leave the business. She explains, “I think what ends up happening is the people who get into the business to make a quick buck are gone, and the people who are in it for the long haul are steady.” 

She continues, “People will not renew their license or invest in what they need to continue to operate their business. They won’t do that if they’re just in it for the short term. But people that are in it as a career for the long term, not just to make a quick buck when it’s hot and high but to be here to help people forever, they are going to have business.” 

And Janine certainly seems to know what she is talking about. While many agents are struggling to win listings in the current market, she is having a great year. She notes, “I’ve probably closed 8 transactions so far since May, and I am due to close about 15 personally.”  

Covering the Basics  

You don’t stay in the business as long as Janine without learning a few tricks. And one of these tricks is adapting to the current market.  

New paint, flooring updates, and some cleaning — sometimes that is all it takes to transform a listing from okay to top-notch. And in today’s market, these projects are something almost every listing needs if it is going to sell. According to our survey, 77% of buyers will only consider buying a home that is move-in ready.¹ If your listing is dirty, cluttered, or showing wear and tear, it is not meeting this mark and will take much longer to get off the market.  

For a recent listing, Janine knew that the home needed a bit of work before it would be ready for the market and sell for top dollar. To help the home meet this standard, Janine partnered with the Curbio Sacramento team.  

In the end, some basic listing prep was all that was needed to take her listing from worn down to first-class. As Janine notes, “Paint to me is a no-brainer, a must.” So Janine, her seller, and Curbio settled on painting the entire interior. Along with a fresh coat of paint, the flooring also needed some attention. They installed some linoleum and replaced the carpet.  

But you can’t just slap on a new coat of paint or get any old carpet. Color matters too. For those decisions, they turned to Curbio for assistance. Janine explains, “He [the project manager] made some recommendations on color choices based on what he’s seen in some of the higher-end homes and the kind of trends that he’s seeing lately. They were very neutral colors for paint and carpet, and we weren’t sure, but when it all came out, it looked fabulous.” 

The Devil Is in the Details  

Along with covering the basics, Janine knows that when listing a home in today’s market, every detail matters. Buyers are being more particular, so if you want to capture their attention, all the details need to be in order.  

Touch-ups and minor fixes are often a part of home improvement projects. Janine made sure to point out anything that she or her client noticed that required attention. “Anything that I thought needed to be touched up, Curbio immediately fixed.” 

In one instance, an unforeseen weather mishap left a pair of blinds bent and broken. While this may seem like such a small detail, Janine explains, “We got really nice quality furniture and staging in, so everything would have looked right except for the blinds. So, I know it seems like a minor thing, but in this whole scheme of things, it was a huge thing.”  

To keep with the feel of the rest of the home, Curbio replaced the blinds and Janine noted, “Had they not done that, I don’t think the house would have shown nearly as well because everything else was fresh.” With Janine and Curbio working together, all the details were in order by the time the home hit the market.  

The Details Paid Off  

And these details certainly captured the attention of buyers. As Janine explains, “It was a bidding war. We had about eight offers that we were reviewing in addition to another probably five that were in the wings asking to submit.” You would never guess that the market is slowing with the amount of interest Janine’s listing received.  

Not surprisingly, that interest translated to a big profit as well. “I would say the listing probably netted $100,000 more than it would have had it not had Curbio make the improvements that needed to be made. And they were just minor updates.” 

Such a huge profit seemed, at one point out of reach, for the seller. And it was all thanks to an experienced agent who knows that attention to detail matters. 

Sources:  

1.  Curbio (2022). Preparing to Sell: 2022 Home Improvement Report