Selling an Estate Sale in Shorewood Glen: A Seller Success Story

Selling a home after the death of a family member can involve much more than putting a property on the market. Families may be dealing with personal belongings, deferred maintenance, financial considerations and unfamiliar decisions—all while navigating an already difficult transition.

That was the situation with 621 Pleasant Drive in Shorewood Glen, a 55+ community in Shorewood, Illinois.

The Challenge

This was an estate sale, and the sellers needed additional guidance before the home was ready to go on the market.

One of the first considerations was understanding how the home's reverse mortgage would affect the sale and what needed to happen as the family moved toward closing.

There was also the practical question many families face with an estate property:

What should we do to the house before we sell it?

The home needed to be cleaned out, and the sellers wanted to make smart decisions about where to spend money without taking on an unnecessary renovation.

Preparing the Home for Sale

Instead of recommending extensive improvements, we concentrated on relatively simple updates that could make the home feel clean, fresh and move-in ready.

The preparation included cleaning out the property, fresh interior paint and new carpeting.

These improvements helped showcase the home's existing strengths, including its open floor plan, hardwood flooring, 9-foot ceilings and private backyard.

The property was a Madison model featuring two bedrooms, two full bathrooms and an attached two-car garage in Shorewood Glen.

The Result: Sold for More Than the Asking Price

After the preparation was completed, 621 Pleasant Drive was listed for $300,000 and ultimately sold for $305,000.

For the sellers, however, the success of the transaction wasn't simply about the final sales price.

It was about having a plan.

From navigating the considerations surrounding the reverse mortgage to determining how much work to put into the property, coordinating the cleanout and preparing the home for market, the goal was to help the family move through each decision without making the process more complicated than it needed to be.

Selling an Estate Property in a 55+ Community?

Families selling an estate home often don't know where to begin.

Should you empty the entire house before calling a REALTOR®? Should you paint? Replace flooring? Make repairs? Sell the property as-is? And what happens when there is a reverse mortgage?

There isn't one answer that works for every property.

Before spending money on improvements, I help sellers evaluate the home's condition, the competing properties and the local 55+ market so we can determine which improvements may be worthwhile—and which ones may not be necessary.

As a REALTOR® and Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES®) working extensively in Chicagoland's 55+ communities, I can also help families coordinate the many moving pieces involved in preparing an estate property for sale.

If you're preparing to sell a home in Shorewood Glen or another Chicagoland 55+ community, you don't have to have everything figured out before contacting me. We can start with the property exactly as it is and develop a plan from there.