We just closed escrow on this Arcadia trust sale. When selling a home held in trust, it pays to work with a trust sale expert.
The trustee served the tenant notice to vacate to sell. Selling with the tenant in place would have cost her several hundred thousand dollars. It is tough to get a tenant who doesn’t want to vacate to move. The eviction process can take more than one year. They were long-term tenants with very low rent. The trustee had a balloon payment due on another property, so the clock was ticking.
Once the tenant moved out, we did a pre-inspection. There was so much deferred maintenance that there was no point in making any repairs. The termite estimate alone was nearly $15,000.We debated about virtually staging the home, but we thought we should put our best foot forward in the best interest of our client.
We listed the home on 5/19, held an open house on Saturday and Sunday, and received fifteen offers. Although we listed at $899,000, our marketing efforts paid off, resulting in a $1,000,000 sales price. This Arcadia trust sale closed on 6/10. It was a very fast escrow with a cash buyer.
A note about the virtual staging, not one person who came to the open house commented that the home looked so different in person.
I love virtual staging. It gives great ideas on how the space can be transformed and used
I’m glad you brought that up—virtual staging can be a really helpful tool when it’s used thoughtfully. It allows buyers to look past empty or outdated rooms and better understand the scale and potential of a space, especially in online listings where first impressions matter so much.
It’s also a great way to spark ideas for layout and design without the expense of physically staging a home. That said, I always think it works best when it’s realistic and clearly represents the actual structure of the room, so buyers aren’t surprised when they visit in person.
Used well, it’s less about “decorating” a home and more about helping buyers visualize how they might live there—and that can make a real difference in how quickly a property connects with the right buyer.
My sister passed away, and I am the trustee and am looking for a realtor in the La Canada area who can help facilitate this since I am out of state. Are you equipped for handling this?
Thank you for the question, yes I live in La Canada and just closed a La Canada trust sale. I have extensive experience in La Canada trust sales.
so sorry I just saw this and yes I am