fp Turks and Caicos

Fortunately, since the amount of quality real estate in dream destinations like the Turks and Caicos is limited, prices have remained much more stable than in many other places. Nonetheless, international real estate investors seem to be “sitting on the fence” rather than acting, which poses a problem for the Turks and Caicos economy.

Within this overall economic environment, sellers of homes and condos have to ask themselves the questions of how to maximize their achieved sales prices and how to even end up in the relevant set of the few buyers out there.

Buyers are now more careful than ever and want to know everything about what they are buying. They take every precaution to ensure that they are content with their potential purchase and that they are getting the best deal available. This is where perceived value comes into play - something, which seems to have been under-rated in the years of bullish real estate sales. With so many available listings competing with each other and fewer qualified buyers than ever before, sellers truly need to make their properties stand out above the rest.

Both ‘curb appeal’ and ‘staging’ are two industry terms that all home owners hoping to sell should re-examine and actively put into practice. The architecture and interior design firm Fenimore Rosenberg Kolb Ltd. (FRK) and the furniture showroom and retail store Belongings, both based in the Grace Bay area of Providenciales, TCI, have recognized this market niche and are responding to the current down turn in the economy by offering a service focusing on all this.

FRK and Belongings recently conducted informative seminars for real estate agents and property managers, acting on behalf of their clients, about how to effectively “dress up” the exteriors and stage the interiors of their properties to give them the presence they deserve and need in order to stand out above the rest. The seminars illustrated a number of examples of FRK’s past and present work ranging from moderate to high-end renovations and interior staging efforts undertaken by the company to help its clients effectively sell or rent their properties. Mike Fenimore from FRK said: “We showed before and after photographs brilliantly contrasting how simply re-arranging some of their existing furnishings, removing some personal objects and introducing a moderate amount of new items could dramatically improve their space.” The aim of the seminars was to reach the relevant people guiding owners to ultimately maximize their sales or rental returns.

FRK’s design staff can professionally asses the needs of an existing space after only one visit and suggest a number of quick and inexpensive solutions for improving the space.

“Through the inventory of Belongings, we can easily suggest a number of attractive furniture and accessory items that can be rented at a nominal fee. FRK’s designers will also advise on what to remove from the home to make it look and feel less personalized and more appealing to a wider array of potential buyers. This allows the client to dramatically improve the look of their home to the neutral eye, even if only temporarily for open house viewings and to photograph for advertising listings in real estate magazines and on-line.” Mike Fenimore commented.

He further explained, “Although FRK has always offered these services to the trade and individuals alike, we are now prominently featuring them in response to the recession to specifically help the TCI’s waning real-estate market sales. It is no secret that these techniques are effective in selling homes, we have seen proof of it time and time again. The question is how long are you willing to wait to make your sale a reality?”