Muffins of love. Nuggets of sweetness. Cutie-patooties. I have a hundred names for cute little houses when I see them, and Nashville is certainly a field of generosity when it comes to these real estate home sweethearts.Home sellers and investors often do not realize that smaller homes can pack a powerful resale punch when finished and designed properly. With energy efficiency being a core for today’s buyers, nothing says smart moreso than a reduced footprint. The first home you see here was just listed today at under $200K in Nashville’s red hot Area 2 near Vanderbilt and HCA Medical. While curb appeal is important, you can’t ignore the interior essentials.
744 sq ft packed a powerful punch with this amenity filled kitchen.
If you’re wanting to attract the small dwellers, remember kitchen perks go a long ways. In late 2008, I ended up in multiple offers as a buyers agent a home that was horrifically overpriced for its East Nashville neighborhood. The wine fridge, stainless appliances, hardwood floors and hard surfaced counters pushed all the buyers over the edge to go to quick offers, even at its questionable appraisable price. It closed for a whopping $143/sq ft in a neighborhood where the average is well below $80/sq ft.
BEFORE: Prior to its boom-boom pow renovation, this cottage seemed to be more of a nuisance than a cutie.
AFTER: The stunning Cape inspired after shot of the once neighborhood eye sore.
Good bones, a ton of potential and an extra eye for curb appeal and color are a few of the essential aspects to going small and attracting that consumer to almost any area or block. In the before and after example here, the investors paid $33,000 for the home that eventually gained price-per-square foot bragging rights with its $107,000 sale. Obviously, the renovators put several tens of thousands of dollars into the major overhaul, but the results speak for themselves.
Strong exterior color plans can also be a silver bullet for selling the small space. With a smaller home, you have less oomph to show with an exterior so color, styles and diverse textures can get you a likely sale. One East Nashville Shelby Village 1930 shabby shack was transformed into a Sunday drive worthy piece of eye candy.
Located on South 12th Street in East Nashville, this cutie causes a lot of brake lights.
Finally, the neighbors are going to love you! Small homes, done well, selling for top dollar can improve everyone’s value. Case and point, a small home in the Neil S. Brown neighborhood. This neighborhood consistently brings some of the most affordable price-per-square foot dollars in the area. One home on North 9th Street raises the comp price for every neighbor and, again, sold in multiple offers in 2009’s challenged market.
With its corner lot, complementing tiny garage and spicy colors, this cottage closed at above asking price in multiple offers, closing at $164 sq. ft.
The renovators filled a missing niche with the kitchen's uber modern IKEA cabinetry contrasted with frosted white glass, stainless appliances and exposed brick.
