HGTVs Property Brothers‘ Jonathan Scott teamed up with Mr. Clean yesterday to demonstrate how simple cleaning techniques can boost the appeal and price of a house on the market. Utilizing Mr. Clean’s Magic Eraser and Concentrated Multi-Surface Cleaner Jonathan Scott demonstrated how easy it is to do a 15 minute reno on your home just by cleaning. Armed with nothing more than a Magic Eraser and some elbow grease Scott busted down on dirt and grime in every room of the house, saying that sellers “can have a cleaning person come in for $200 to $500 and they would get five grand more.” Scott and Mr. Clean’s 15 minute reno stressed the importance of cleanliness in the real estate business and showed that, whether you’re looking to get more cash for your home on the market or you just want to freshen up your own abode, Mr. Clean products offer a simple and cost affective solution.
Photo courtesy of contractmusic.com
Jonathan Scott sat down with The Knockturnal to talk real estate tips for buyers and sellers and to update us on what’s new with the Property Brothers.
What exactly is a 15 minute renovation? It doesn’t seem possible. What makes it happen?
Jonathan Scott: I’ve had so many people challenge me on it. They’re like what can you possibly do that’s going to add value in 15 minutes and- have you watched the show before? When I’m showing houses people think- the audience thinks we make up these houses we tour through, there’s no way they’re that nasty. You must go in there ahead of time and make it look worse. I swear to God no we don’t that is how people have it on the market and it is such a lost opportunity because just cleaning it- they can have a cleaning person come in for $200 $500 whatever and they would get five grand more because it’s all psychological. Real estate is all psychological. If somebody sees something that makes them uncomfortable it’s easier for them just to walk away. So they have nothing invested in this home so that’s why we say focus on some things that are going to be great features like lighting, make sure your kitchen looks great, the bathroom, but also make it so clean that it sparkles and then people will be like yeah, you know what, I could have my kids lying on the floor playing there or I could do this. I could do that.
What are some things new home buyers should be looking for in a house?
JS: Most important thing first of all is location because you can’t change the location and generally I like to find houses that the footprint is there even if they have to remove some interior walls or do something but at least the actual footprint of the home is there because as soon as you start trying to add another floor or trying to do additions it gets crazy expensive and the development process can take a year or more. That’s the first thing and the other thing is to think realistically about what the house needs to do to function for you. Your house should make your life easier. That’s my whole philosophy that your house should make your life easier. So if you have four kids and you spend half your life doing laundry maybe it’s worth spending a little more on the laundry facility. You can get washers and dryers now that do a 15 minute wash 15 minute dry, extra-large capacity. That would free up your whole weekend because nobody wants to work 9-5 all week and then spend the weekend cleaning. So easy stuff.
You mentioned the new show. Can you tell me a little more about that?
JS: Property Bothers At Home was the special I did last year on my house in Vegas and it broke all the records for the highest rated series that they’d ever aired on HGTV until this year with Brother vs. Brother which destroyed that record so it’s nice to know that we hold all the records. So they said it was such a success they want us to do another season but I said I already renovated my home what do we do? So we had the idea of going back- I grew up on a ranch up in the Rocky Mountains and we thought what about going there. These lifelong friends of ours have a ranch that’s falling apart and I could do this beautiful makeover on a log home and you’ll see the memories of us as kids on horseback and everything. It’ll be beautiful. So they loved it and that’s what we’ve been doing and I can’t tell you right now but there is something that’s happening with this special- What can I tell you? So Drew and myself used to have a boyband way back in the day and it was terrible but for this special, Property Brothers: At Home on the Ranch, you may see us releasing something that you’ve never seen any of the hosts on the network do before. It’s going to be very very excited and I wouldn’t be surprised if we get multiple Emmy nominations for that show. It’s going to be beautiful.
You mentioned you were doing some houses on the East coast. What’s that been like for you?
JS: Well the trades here have been the best I have had in any city. They’ve been outstanding. The quality of the work, the reliability. I’m doing 25 houses here. So all the way from the Bronx right up to Connecticut. 25 houses in six months, it’s a lot but the cast has been great. … has been amazing. I’m addicted to shows and restaurants and New York is phenomenal for that. It’s been great. We’ve been exploring around. Also every property we’ve done is completely different so we you know- I like the diversity in the stories. You can tell a million different stories and it’s just like every other city- renovations that have been done by home owners in the past, so bad.
It’s so expensive. So what if someone wants to do a 15 minute renovation, how do they work it out so it’s cost affective?
JS: It’s even more important here to look at the bottom line and especially the apartments and stuff like that where a lot of them they won’t even let you paint or anything. So all the 15 minute Reno tips would work on an apartment or anything as well. The cost and the renovations here yeah it’s more expensive so you just really have to go by the numbers. I always say work with a real estate professional who knows the area because then you can say to them this is what I want to do and then they can hypothetically value your home with all the renos done and tell you if it’s actually worth that in real life. And if it’s not then you know you have to scale back the renovation because you never want to put more money into it than you’ll ever get back.
Property Brothers airs Wednesdays at 9pm on HGTV and keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming special, Property Brothers: At Home on the Ranch.
