As if it weren’t hard enough to sell a home in Clark County, empty houses are even more difficult to showcase.
Cold and dark dwellings without any furnishings are a turn off to buyers, said Karyn Slanina, co-owner of a Vancouver business aimed at solving the problem. Called Professional Property Tenders LLC, the company signs contracts with occupants who will live in vacant homes that are listed for sale. The contractor agrees to pay a low monthly fee, as well as utilities, and keep the homes in tip-top condition for showings and open houses.
“Their job is to maintain and care for the property,” keeping the yard and the home’s interior clean and tidy, Slanina said.
The fees produce revenue for her company, which can handle 10 or more properties at a time. Slanina said the company holds extensive interviews with each potential property tender. The caretakers also undergo background checks for criminal and debt history.
The service is a no-cost option for real estate agents and sellers of vacant houses, who are often in a must-sell situation. Clark County’s real estate market has been in distress for more than three years, with foreclosures high, few homes selling and the houses that do sell going for prices that are up to 20 percent less than at the peak of the market.
Neatniks make the best property tenders, said Julie Fisher, who recently signed on to tend a $700,000 home in Vancouver.
“It takes a very organized, detailed person; someone who can adjust to change,” Fisher said.
She likes the low monthly fee, which she estimated is a fraction of the rent costs for a similar house.
However, the rigors of Fisher’s contract were apparent on her very first day, when a Realtor called and asked to show the house on short notice.
“I was still moving in,” Fisher said.
For the most part, Professional Property Tenders expects its contractors to have the homes ready to show in as little as 30 minutes, Slanina said.
Aside from the reduced expense, some say the nomadic arrangement can be a drawback for the tenders.
“For a lot of people, it’s tough to move a substantial amount of furniture knowing they’ve got to take it all out,” said John Slocum, a broker with Re/Max Equity Group’s office near Westfield Vancouver mall.
But Slocum said the concept could weed out problems with squatters and vandals who break into vacant houses.
“If someone comes in and rips out the stove, those missing elements make it hard for a buyer to get a loan,” he said.
Professional Property Tenders stipulates that minor repairs, such as light bulb replacements, will be paid for by the occupant while the homeowner covers major repairs, said Slanina, who launched the business one year ago with her husband Daniel Slanina and their married friends Sheri and Randy Hunzeker.
The business partners share an extensive background in real estate, said Slanina, who formerly worked for a residential developer. Her husband Daniel is a civil engineer. Their partners are experienced residential real estate agents.
Slanina expects the business to grow, even if the growing supply of homes for sale here dwindles.
Professional Property Tenders hopes to add bank-owned foreclosures to its list of properties tended. So far, few banks are interested in the service, Slanina said.
“Working with banks has not been as fruitful,” she said, adding that the service needn’t focus entirely on houses for sale.
“We hope to be able to work with people with vacation homes, to tend properties for people who go south for the winter,” Slanina said. “That’s part of our long-term plan and I think we’re poised to do well as the years go by.”
