Jen Carroll with The Steller Group Senior Solutions Division likes to think of her job as a real estate specialist as both a problem solver and coordinator, making things run smoothly for people in complex circumstances. But she rarely gets a chance to deal with more crises than her client Janet Santaniello faced over the past two years.
Last fall, Janet’s husband Pat had died after a long illness; and then within days of his passing she broke her leg—requiring surgery and a stay in a care facility, then at a senior community. Janet knew that she wouldn’t be returning to their house of 35 years in Lakewood’s Green Mountain, but it would need some serious decluttering before it could be put on the market.
“Everybody recommends a Realtor, and I interviewed five,” she recalls now. “But when I met Jen Carroll, I knew she was the one.”
Janet had found Jen by attending a free seminar on decluttering that The Steller Group offers at locations all over the metro area (there are three set for this month—in Aurora, Lakewood and Cherry Creek).
“I’ve seen decluttering situations much more serious than Janet had,” Jen says now. “But her husband had been a serious record collector, with a strong interest in cameras and photography. Our contractor Household Liquidators ended up cleaning out what remained after family took what they wanted.”
Getting rid of the “stuff” that accumulates was just the start of the problems Janet faced early this year when she met Jen. “I was exhausted,” Janet recalls of the moment, following two years of caregiving, arranging a memorial service, and recovering from surgery.
But the house would need some additional work before resale. “I needed to move fast,” Janet says. “I was paying rent for the senior community, but was still paying for upkeep on my house, too.”
Jen encouraged Janet to accept some help on the house from her kids and friends, and to relax more. “I told her, ‘Stop checking your emails; I’ve got this.’”
Jen Carroll set Steller’s in-house contractor, Steller Renovations Solutions, to work on a minimal fix-up of the Lakewood house, and put it on the market (it sold last month in two days). Meanwhile, she went to work finding Janet a condo—something on the west side of town, but closer to her kids in Littleton and Parker.
That turned up RiverWalk—a well manicured condo community overlooking Littleton Golf Course. “This beautiful condo needed a few minor updates, but we’re fixing it up at minimal cost, and it came in around $50,000 less than a more updated one in the same community,” Jen says.
The interesting thing about this market, Jen adds, is that it offers good opportunities to buyers who are willing to work fast. “Most buyers out there now want everything HGTV perfect,” she notes.
“If you’re somebody willing to do just a little fix-up, you’re going to be surprised how much of a deal you can get.”
“People ask me, ‘Aren’t you excited?’” Janet recalls now, looking at her new view. “In truth, I no longer feel exhausted and overwhelmed. I just feel relieved.”
Steller has 3 free seminars coming up. See the box above for a schedule or visit DenverSeniorSeminars.com.
The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this post’s preparation.
