"The Trick is Generosity"

The marketing departments of home builders stuck in the declining Sacramento housing market have become quite busy as of late, trying to reduce their backlog of unoccupied homes. One home builder even is offering home-staging seminars, apparently hoping people will be able to sell their homes in the "challenging market" and buy new.

Now it looks like the inventory glut has forced home sellers to think outside the box. The Roseville Press-Tribune reports on the latest twist in Sacramento home selling.

Maryal and Ken Maddux have a home they want to sell. It isn't just an ordinary home, though. Well, it is for now. But by the time work is complete, the home will be like new. New carpets, landscaping, and exterior paint are just some of the improvements. And they're all coming in free or discounted.

The trick is generosity.

With the help of their Realtor, Ronda Giangreco, several businesses have lined up to help spruce up the house. In turn, Ken and Maryal will donate 10 percent of the proceeds from the house's sale - probably about $3,000 - to Foothills Habitat for Humanity...

The Madduxes have wanted to move to a new house for some time. They used to live in Tennessee, and as lovers of the outdoors, they want a bigger back yard....

So, when it came time to get serious about selling, most of the nonessential stuff was packed into the large trailer of the RV the couple uses as a backup house. They met Giangreco at a wine-tasting event one night, and not long after posted a Lyon Real Estate sign. Their house appraised for $385,000.

However, Giangreco, wife of Gold Country Media General Manager Mike Giangreco, was worried. The housing market was slowing. Homes couldn't be sold in a day anymore, she said. "You can't do the same thing and expect to get the same results in this market," she said. "You need exposure..."

The idea of giving some of the proceeds to a charity was Ken and Maryal's idea. They regularly give to charities when they can afford to, usually ones helping animals or cancer research. Giangreco thought the idea was perfect - it added an extra sense of emotion that appealed to buyers. She suggested Habitat for Humanity, an organization she'd seen firsthand when she lived in Nashville...

However, that wasn't enough. Having seen shows like "Trading Spaces" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," Giangreco tacked on the idea to have businesses come in and fix the place up. It was, in part, for charity after all. And after checking with Lyon's legal department, she found the idea had never really been tried before.

The idea worked. With a little work, Giangreco has already lined up three businesses - Morris Landscaping and Amadieo Stone from Auburn and Design Refined from Meadow Vista - to help with the project...

Giangreco isn't just promoting the house, though. She is also giving to the cause, as she is taking a cut in her commission from 3 percent to 2.5 percent.