Andrey Sokurec on WCCO: Homestead Road's Mission to Make Selling a Family Home Easier

WCCO Anchor: It can be so emotional to sell a family home — whether mom or dad may have passed away, or are no longer capable of managing that home on their own. So there's one local company on a mission to make that process just a little bit easier — by buying homes as-is and giving sellers a lasting memory of that home. Andrey Sokurec with Homestead Road is here with us on Mid-Morning. Andrey, thanks for coming in.

Andrey Sokurec: Thank you.

WCCO Anchor: We've been seeing and hearing more about this — people looking, on the real estate side, for an easier way to not have to go through all the emotions of rehabbing a home that maybe mom or dad had died in. That's part of what your business does, right?

Andrey Sokurec: Yeah. "As-is" means exactly what it says — easy, stress-free, no hassle. People don't need to do any repairs to the house at all, and they can leave everything behind. What we do is donate as much as possible to local charities like Justice Page Middle School or the Salvation Army, and we dispose of the rest.

WCCO Anchor: Now, with "as-is," do you still have to disclose any problems with the home? Do the sellers still have to tell you about those things?

Andrey Sokurec: We're a professional company, so there's no future liability for the sellers. We do the inspection, and it's as-is — that means you can literally throw the keys at us, and you don't even need to clean the dishes.

WCCO Anchor: So tell us about the art component, and how that fits in.

Andrey Sokurec: Sure. We've developed the "Feel the Joy" process. If you have your mom's house to sell, you call our office and we send one of our acquisition managers. They make an offer and explain the whole process — how we arrive at the price. A lot of people have an emotional attachment to the house, so we invite them back for the last time to say goodbye — to the house and the neighbors. We do a neighborhood celebration so they can bring the whole family one last time. And as a special gift, we have a watercolor painting made of the home so they can keep it.

WCCO Anchor: So you have an in-house artist who comes out for each home. And what do you do with the homes once you buy them — rehab them, then resell?

Andrey Sokurec: Yeah — we fix it, and then we resell.

WCCO Anchor: This isn't for everyone, obviously — as the seller, you'll receive less than if you cleaned it up and put it on the market yourself, right?

Andrey Sokurec: Exactly. So consider what's most important to you: do you want the maximum price and to do all the heavy lifting yourself, or do you want the easy, hassle-free route? Realistically, also consider whether you have the ability to find good contractors and manage the rehab process — the hiring is important.

WCCO Anchor: Andrey, thank you.

Andrey Sokurec: Thank you.

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Transcript of a WCCO – CBS Minnesota broadcast segment, provided for accessibility.