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A luxury brokerage on Florida’s Atlantic coast has launched a renovation and project management service for listing clients.
ONE Sotheby’s International Realty has branded the pre-list service “ELEVATE,” and it’s designed to address areas of the home most able to lend additional value once on the open market.
While staging and minor physical touch-ups are commonplace tactics for ensuring a home is best positioned, full-fledged brokerage-facilited renovation services are a growing line of business. Compass Concierge is one example, as is Keller Offers’ concierge program.
The ELEVATE program deploys a team of experts to determine what upgrades in a luxury home would allow it to best compete with the market. That team then handles all aspects of the effort in conjunction with the seller, from materials selection to punch list items.
In most cases, ELEVATE would likely be handling minor physical improvements and interior design changes, but it is equipped to tackle large-scale demolition and renovations.
Actually a separate company, ELEVATE will service the construction loan with the intent of gaining restitution upon the sale of the property at the listing agreement’s termination or within a year of its go-to-market date.
“Unlike the current financing options some other brokerages offer for pre-listing home improvements, ELEVATE handles the renovation itself from start to finish, with expert teams and no upfront costs,” Daniel de la Vega, president of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty, said in a press release for the announcement. “ELEVATE will ensure properties stand out from competitive listings and attract a broad range of potential buyers to sell at a higher price and faster than ever.”
A byproduct of the service is that it allows sellers to be very hands-off during the project, or at least less involved in the day to day than they would be they were to orchestrate it with their own general contractor and vendors.
Like KW Offers and Compass, the in-house construction company serves as an extension of the brand. It’s intended to help entrench clients under the company for the long term.
For now, ELEVATE can be accessed in three South Florida counties — Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward — all of which have been experiencing very fast moving markets.
It is expected to be leveraged most often by top-end luxury sellers who are typically more comfortable with the additional expenses and custom home modifications.
Craig C. Rowe started in commercial real estate at the dawn of the dot-com boom, helping an array of commercial real estate companies fortify their online presence and analyze internal software decisions. He now helps agents with technology decisions and marketing through reviewing software and tech for Inman.