The Maplewood Home That Sat Untouched for 20 Years — and Sold for 48.5% Over Asking

Written by:

Heather Hook

Date:

03 Jun 2026

KeyCrew Studio

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When Mark Slade of Mark Slade Homes first walked through 25 Burnett Terrace in Maplewood, NJ, he was looking at a 1923 home that hadn’t seen a meaningful update in over two decades. The sellers had made a start – painted the kitchen cabinets white, laid some flooring in the basement – but the list of what remained was long. 

Five days of showings led to the property closing at $1,188,000 against an $800,000 list price – that’s $388,000 (or close to 49%) over asking, with the property closing in just 6 total weeks. Here is what happened in between.

The Basement Was the First Problem

A previous owner had covered the basement windows with corrugated plastic sheeting. After 23 years of accumulated grime, the room had no usable natural light. It read as a dungeon. No amount of staging fixes a room that feels closed off, so in the final 24 hours before launch, the team peeled off every panel, cleaned the glass underneath, and let the light back in. The room changed completely.

The rest of the prep followed the same logic. The sun room had dark wood paneling that was painted out to a clean dove white. Five light fixtures on the first floor were replaced – kitchen, dining room, living room, sun room, and a basement powder room – though the sellers pushed back on the full list of ten that had been recommended. 

The open staircase to the third floor had no balustrades, which Slade addressed himself: wooden lattice, a circular saw, cut to spec, painted dark brown to match the existing railing. Peeling paint near the rear entrance was touched up using paint found in the garage. Fresh flowers went on the dining table, in the kitchen, and in the living room. Planters were placed on either side of the front door.

The property was fully staged throughout. Tree branches blocking sightlines from the street were trimmed before the photographer arrived. Mulch was laid. The front of the house was cleared so that buyers stepping out of their cars actually saw the home.

The Psychology Behind the Prep

Slade uses a taxi analogy to explain why every detail matters. When you get into a cab, you see the fare on the meter. You don’t feel it ticking until you’re stuck in traffic – but it’s been running the whole time. Buyers work the same way. They walk in with a number in their head, and every imperfection they notice starts running that meter backward. A cracked window, a dark basement, an unfinished staircase – none of these are dealbreakers on their own, but they stack. A buyer who has mentally catalogued ten small problems is not the same buyer who goes well over asking.

The goal of every walkthrough is to find what’s running the meter and fix it before launch day.

What the Market Delivered

The property launched at $800,000. Seventy groups came through the open houses. Thirty-two buyer agency appointments followed. Sixteen offers came in. The top three were so close they were statistically tied, so all three were invited back for best and final. Two returned with higher numbers. The winning offer was $1,188,000 – 48.5% over asking, and the highest such result in Maplewood year to date.

The sellers were empty nesters who had already moved out by the time the prep work began. They chose the team in part because of the offer to manage contractors in their absence, which meant Slade was on-site every day or every other day during the preparation period, overseeing work and handling repairs himself.

What This Tells Sellers With Older Homes

The instinct for many sellers with dated properties is to apologize for them – to price low and hope for the best. The 25 Burnett Terrace result argues against that. A home that hasn’t been updated in 20 years is not automatically a liability. It becomes one only when it launches before the right work is done. The gap between what a property looks like on day one of a walkthrough and what it looks like on launch day is exactly where results like this are made.

For sellers thinking about listing, the starting point is not a price conversation. It is a walkthrough. Visit the seller resources page at Mark Slade Homes to learn more about the preparation process.

About Mark Slade Homes: Mark Slade leads Mark Slade Homes, a Keller Williams team with over $ One-Half Billion in lifetime sales volume across 53 New Jersey municipalities. His SMART RE-SULTS™ Listing System is trademarked and built around preparation, strategic pricing, and high-impact marketing for sellers across Essex, Union, and Morris Counties.

This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.

Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.