Selling
Turnkey Home Prep: One Point of Contact From Walk-Through to Listing Day
What is Turnkey Home Prep?
Turnkey Home Prep is how we get your home ready to sell while you work with one person instead of five vendors. Selling a home that needs work usually means calling a handyman, a cleaner, an estate sale company, a hauler and a stager. Then you have to get them in the right order. We take that off your plate.
It is part of how Maggie B. Hopkins sells homes at Surroundings. You get one point of contact who coordinates the vendors, keeps the work in order and tells you where things stand. You make the decisions. We do the calling, scheduling and checking.
When the market calls for it, we run Krista Mashore's Certified Turn-Key Home™ system: inspections and real repairs handled before your home hits the market.
What is a Certified Turn-Key Home™?
A Certified Turn-Key Home™ is a home that has already been through inspections and repairs before it goes on the market. It is a system created by Krista Mashore, and we run it for sellers when it fits the home and the market.
Here is how it works:
- Inspections first. The major inspections are done before the home is listed, so we know its true condition up front.
- Health and safety repairs. Any health and safety items are repaired by a licensed contractor.
- Paperwork ready. The reports and repair records are ready for buyers to review before they write an offer.
Why it helps you as the seller:
- Buyers feel safe. Uncertainty is what makes buyers nervous and pushes them to offer low. A home with its condition already documented is the safe, move-in-ready choice.
- You stay in control. Because the condition is already known, a buyer has a harder time coming back mid-escrow with a long repair list to chip away at your price.
- Fewer deals fall apart. Inspection surprises are behind many cancelled sales. Handling them first takes most of that risk off the table.
Think of a certified pre-owned car. It has been inspected, repaired and documented, so buyers trust it and pay for that peace of mind. A Certified Turn-Key Home™ works the same way.
Buyers still do their own inspections, as they always should. They just start from a home with a known condition instead of a question mark.
It isn't right for every home. Some homes sell best as-is, and some need only light prep. We look at your home, your timeline and the market and tell you plainly whether it is worth doing.
What does Turnkey Home Prep cover?
It covers everything between the walk-through and listing day.
- Repairs. We handle the items buyers and inspectors will notice, chosen with you, not by default.
- Cleaning. We do a deep clean before photos, and a touch-up before the home goes live if it needs one.
- The estate sale. When a house holds a lifetime of belongings, we line up the sale after the family has chosen what to keep.
- Donations. What does not sell can still help someone. Our Sacramento Giving Map lists places in four counties, what each takes and who picks up.
- Hauling. We do the final clean-out, so the house is empty or ready to stage.
- Staging. We set furniture, light and layout so buyers can picture their own life in each room.
- Photos and video. We shoot professional photography and video after the home is ready, not before.
Our presentation step explains why this work comes before the first photo.
Who prepares and presents the home?
Rachel Dee Minyard, a REALTOR® since 2023 and our Creative Director, lists homes and leads how each one is prepared and presented. Before real estate she spent 25 years in design, retail and running her own Sacramento businesses. She directs the staging: what stays, what goes and how each room is set.
Maggie and Rachel both list and sell homes. Whoever leads your sale prices and lists the home; Rachel shapes how it looks and feels, and Maggie, a real estate and mortgage broker, adds the lending view of the numbers. You get both of them on one plan, with one team phone number.
The attention shows up in small things. A lamp is moved so a dark corner reads as a reading spot, and a spare room is set for how a buyer will use it. The goal is not to dress the house up as something else. It is to show the home it already is.
How do you decide what to fix and what to leave?
We decide together, with the numbers in front of you. For each item, you see what it costs and what it could change in your net. Then we give you a clear recommendation, and the choice is yours.
Most homes land on one of three paths:
- Refresh. This path covers paint, a deep clean, the yard, small repairs and staging. These often change how a home photographs more than a remodel would.
- Repair. Fix the items buyers or their inspectors are likely to flag, so they don't turn into a negotiation in escrow.
- Sell in its current condition. Price the home for a buyer who wants to do the work. Our page on selling without repairs covers that path.
Big remodels rarely return their full cost before a sale, so we seldom recommend them. Some repairs pay for themselves and many do not. No one can promise a price before seeing the house, so the walk-through comes first.
How are vendor costs handled?
We go over every cost with you before anything is ordered. Nothing is scheduled until you have seen what it will cost and said yes.
The vendors are real businesses with their own prices, so we don't publish a price list here. What we can promise is that you see each cost ahead of time and know what it is for. If a cost is higher than the change it could make in your sale, we will tell you so and suggest skipping it.
Our fee for selling the home is separate. It is negotiable and agreed with you in writing in the listing agreement.
What does the timeline look like from walk-through to listing day?
Every home sets its own pace, but the order stays the same.
- Walk-through. We walk the home with you, or on video if you are away, and note what needs attention.
- Plan and costs. You see the list, the costs and our recommendation. You approve what moves forward.
- Belongings. Family picks first, then the estate sale, donations and the final haul.
- Repairs and cleaning. We do the work you approved, in the order that avoids doing anything twice.
- Staging, photos and video. Rachel sets the rooms, then the home is photographed and filmed.
- Listing day. The home goes live with its marketing already in place.
Our free 30-day home prep plan shows this order day by day for a home that needs about a month. A full estate clean-out or larger repairs can take longer. We give you a target listing date after the walk-through and tell you right away if it moves.
Can you prepare the home if I live out of town?
Yes. Owners often manage a sale from another city or state. We meet the vendors at the house, check the work and send photo and video updates at each stage. You see the progress without getting on a plane.
If several family members share the decision, each person gets the same update at the same time. When the home belonged to a parent, our Well MOVED™ service wraps this prep into the full senior move, from the first family conversation to the next home.
Do you take homes in any condition?
Yes. A dated kitchen, years of deferred repairs, a house full of belongings or a home that has sat empty all get a real plan. Sometimes the best plan is less work, not more.
When a home needs more than the owner wants to take on, we can price it for a buyer who wants the project. That includes our network of cash buyers when it fits your goals. Either way, you see what each path could net before you choose.
How do you get started?
Start with a walk-through. Tell us about the home or call or text Maggie at (916) 549-3131, and we will set a time to see it, in person or on video. You will leave that visit knowing what we would do first and why.
Thank you for considering us. Letting someone into your home, and often into a family's story, is a lot of trust. We don't take it for granted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to manage the vendors myself?
No. You have one point of contact who schedules the vendors, keeps the work in order and checks it. You approve the plan and the costs, and we handle the calling and coordinating.
How do you decide what to fix before selling?
We put each item next to its cost and what it could change in your net, then recommend. Paint, cleaning, the yard and staging often matter more than a remodel. The decision is always yours.
Who pays for the repairs, cleaning and staging?
These are separate from the sale itself. We go over every cost with you before anything is ordered, and nothing is scheduled until you say yes.
How long does it take to get a home ready to list?
It depends on the home. Our 30-day plan shows the order for a home that needs about a month, and a full clean-out or larger repairs can take longer. We set a target listing date after the walk-through.
Can you prepare my home if I live out of state?
Yes. We meet the vendors at the house, check the work and send photo and video updates at each stage. Every family member you name gets the same update at the same time.
What happens to belongings no one wants?
After the family chooses what to keep, we line up the estate sale, donations and the final haul. Our Sacramento Giving Map lists places across four counties that take household items.
Do I have to fix anything at all?
No. Some homes are better sold in their current condition, priced for a buyer who wants to do the work. We show you what each path could net before you decide.