Unleashing Hidden Value: How Simple Alterations Transformed a Watertown Condominium into a Lucrative Investment

With a few inexpensive alterations, a Watertown condominium fetches a much higher price than our client ever thought possible.

Problem: Anticipating that she would be putting her condominium on the market, our client had rehabbed her kitchen with new stainless steel appliances, recessed lighting, new curtains and fresh coat of paint. But she had not touched the Formica® countertops or the dated sink and faucet. The room looked good, but we knew we could do better with a few additional changes. An unheated office also had untapped potential.

Solution: For better of for worse, buyers today want granite countertops and that doesn’t necessarily mean big bucks; there is less costly granite that looks great and is just a little more expensive than Formica. For $3,500, our client installed granite countertops and a stainless steel sink and faucet. We also recommended that our client install electric baseboard heat, at a cost of $350, to create an all-year-round office that she currently used only in warmer weather.

Result: The kitchen and office alterations enabled us to bump up the asking price by $10,000 to $489,900 and the buyer ultimately paid $500,000! We and our client were thrilled.