How It Works

Using a Personal Home Buyer

You're an important person.  You have a personal assistant, a personal trainer, and a personal shopper for routine gifts and purchases.  More than most people, you value your time and choose to spend it wisely.  Many of our clients have high power careers and enjoy globe-trotting with friends and family.  In these areas of life, our clients often find the need or desire to purchase a new home to cut down on business commuting or simply just get away from it all.  That's where we come in!  Benin Real Estate acts as a personal shopper specific to your luxury home buying experience.  We start each home buying process with an in depth assessment of your luxury home wants and needs.  This assessment includes what home features and property amenities you can and can't live without in addition to your ideal location and property budget. We do the foot work for you.  We sift through listings and visit properties to determine which properties meet all your top priorities.  Then we determine 3-5 luxury homes we think will satisfy you the most.  From there, we arrange a time to show off these homes and what it is about each home we think you'll like best.  With 3-5 luxury homes chosen just for you, we help to streamline your luxury home purchasing process and help get you into the home of your dreams without the time consuming headaches that tend to come with traditional house hunting. 

Selling Your Luxury Home

Did you know?

  • Percent of first-time and repeat buyers with household incomes of $200,000 or more: 8%
  • Percent of first-time and repeat buyers who bought homes priced $500,000 and more: 9%
  • Percent of first-time and repeat buyers who bought homes 3,501 sq ft or more: 10%

Source: 2013 NAR Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers

With a limited quantity of luxury properties and prospective buyers, selling a luxury home can be a daunting task. It's true that selling a luxury home often requires the right market and a little creativity to reach prospective luxury home buyers.  We've had clients convert a multimillion dollar home into everything from wineries to vacation spa centers to help connect with an international community of potential home buyers and property investors.  To ensure that your home sells at the highest potential value, we suggest having a professional assessment from one of our Luxury Home Specialists who will help you determine what features to accentuate in your property listing and any property changes you may need to make.  This same Luxury Home Specialist will work with you to list your property, create a fully interactive website specific to your luxury home listing, and advertise your property in notable luxury home magazines to help reach as many prospective buyers as possible.

Increasing the Value of Your Luxury Home

Increasing the value of your property doesn't always mean a complete home refurbish.  In many cases, the value of your home is in the eye of the beholder and can be as simple as de-cluttering and investing in a few quality updates.  To get the most bang for your buck, you should spend wisely and think simply.

Consider making brief updates to these areas to help raise the current value of your home.

Beautify the garden

Is your home landscaped?  If your landscaping is overgrown, died down, out of date, or simply does not exist, consider adding some long lasting greenery to accentuate your front walk way and curbside appeal.  If your greenery is already in place, kick it up a notch and have a landscaping specialist work with you to plant flowers or bushes that were bloom in succession throughout the year.  From tulips to holly berries, your home can have that seasonal wow appeal and gain that positive first impression. 

Update the kitchen

Although we often go to a great extent to ensure our homes are appealing for entertaining and comfortable for our family, everyone flocks to the kitchen and dining areas.  A kitchen is often the center of home life whether you're entertaining party guests or entertaining the idea of a new science project with the kids.  Your kitchen should be bright, open, and clean with plenty of storage and conveniently placed electrical outlets.  Some quick kitchen fixes include changing the counter tops and cupboard doors.  Consider a lighter, neutral counter top that is high quality, and either paint or replace your cabinet doors to match.

Refurbish the bathrooms

While your entire home should appear well kept, organized, and clean, the bathrooms are one key area where a pristine cleaning regimen will go a long way.  While most luxury home owners have no problem in this area, we want to point out that clean goes beyond the countertop shine and into the grit and grime.  Does the tile grout need to be bleached or re-caulked?  Is the bathroom light as bright as it once was and the fan still running strong?  Although your bathtub is cleaned regularly, is there any discoloration to attend to?  If your bathroom only has a shower, make sure hard water stains are not visible on the shower door.  If a good dose of lime-away won't rid you of these stains, consider replacing the shower door.  Some simple updates to bring a bathroom up to date are: replace the fittings, replace light fixtures, paint, add convenient storage, and maybe even update the bathroom mirror.

Adding rooms

Adding extra rooms can increase the value of a home. Some choose to build extensions, while others use the space they already have.

Attic

Expanding into attic space for a bonus room, office, or loft-like bedroom are great ways of adding extra square footage to your home.  Check to make sure that this renovation can be done safely and is not against any Covenants, Conditions or Restrictions (CCRs). When done professionally, adding an attic can increase the value of a house by over 60 percent.

Basements

Basement renovations don't increase home value as much as attic renovations, and basement renovations are often high in cost.  Before any home purchase or sale, inspecting a basement area for "wet basement" is key to discovering possible foundation problems and any leaks the home might have.  When reselling, consider simplifying your basement rather than renovating entirely.  De-clutter the basement to appear as wide open as possible.  Whitewash all basement walls to make the basement appear brighter, larger, and clean.

Washrooms & Mud Rooms

If you don't have a downstairs bathroom and you have spare space, maybe under the stairs or off the kitchen, consider fitting an extra washroom.  Likewise, if you have a washroom in an easily accessible area that you can add to or a back door are you can spruce up into a mud room, these are ideal upgrades.  A mud room area gives the home owner space to sit down, take off their shoes, hang up their hiking gear or set aside their tennis rackets without having to walk through the main living space.

Upgrading lighting, color, and mood

Pick a good, neutral color scheme to compliment the lighting throughout your household.  A home should appear to be bright, open, and inviting to attract more high end buyers.  Quick fixes include: painting the walls a neutral color, arranging furniture for a open look that's free of clutter, and position some mirrors throughout the house to make a room feel larger.  Replace dated light fittings and add lighting or lamps to any dark spots or hallways.  If you have a larger budget, consider adding windows to a dark room.

Basic upgrades

Adding good light, re-designing a kitchen or putting in an extra bathroom are all great ideas, but don't forget the basics. A house that is put on the market with bad basics will sell for less than a safe and efficient home. If you have an old home, consider getting the following items inspected and fixed up if necessary:
  • Roof - Is it safe? How is the tiling? Are there any leaks?
  • Electrical system - Is it safe? Is it efficient? Are there enough outlets to suit the buyer?
  • Water and heating system - Is it time for a more efficient system?
  • Wet basement - A home with a wet basement is worth less.
  • Sewage piping - Are there tree roots obstructing sewage pipes? Is there any damage?
  • Windows - Are they in good condition? Replacing simple windows with double-glazed windows could increase the value of the home.

Extras

Little touches of luxury can make a house more attractive and can raise the value. Don't go overboard, but think about adding or updating features like these:
  • Water filtration system
  • Jacuzzi whirlpool bathtub
  • Dishwasher
  • Fitted closets and storage solutions
  • High-quality insulation
  • Alarm systems

Added value

When trying to add value to a home you plan to sell, never pick renovations or updates that you yourself don't actually like. Try to make the property as clean, fresh and welcoming as possible and enjoy bringing out the best in your home.


Luxury Living Abroad

Benin Real Estate specializes in luxury home buying and selling within the United States, yet many of our clients venture to buy additional properties outside of the United States to use as vacation homes and luxurious getaways.  Per our licensing requirements for buying and selling, we are not allowed to do personal home shopping for you in other countries.  However, we have partnered with personal home buyers in key areas.