You have a listing that needs work before it goes live, and a seller asking what it'll cost. You need a number fast, from someone who will show up and won't embarrass you in front of your client. That's the whole job we're offering to do for you.
Take our pre-listing cheat sheet with you.
One page on the five exterior conditions sellers ask about, including the two where our honest advice is to spend nothing. Written for agents, and clean enough to forward straight to a client.
What we do differently for agents
- Written estimate within 48 hours of the walkthrough. Line-itemed, so you can hand it straight to your seller and they can see exactly what each piece costs. No "I'll get back to you next week."
- Priority scheduling when there's a listing date. Tell us the date you need to be photo-ready and we'll tell you honestly, up front, whether we can hit it. If we can't, we'll say so rather than take the job and miss it.
- Daily progress photos by text. To you as well as the homeowner, so you can update your seller without chasing anyone.
- We talk to your seller the way you would. Your name is on the recommendation. We know that.
- An honest "don't bother" when that's the answer. Sometimes the deck isn't worth replacing before a sale. We'd rather tell you that and keep the relationship than sell a job that doesn't return.
What's actually worth fixing before a listing
This is the question your sellers ask and it deserves a straight answer rather than a blanket "yes, fix everything." Here is how we'd advise on the five things we get called about most.
| Condition | Our honest read | Ballpark |
|---|---|---|
| Fence leaning or with rotted posts | Fix it. Cheapest visible fix on the list and it's the first thing a buyer sees from the yard. | $32 to $48 / linear ft |
| Deck structurally sound, just grey and tired | Clean and re-stain, don't replace. A few hundred dollars does most of what a rebuild would do for the photos. | Staining only |
| Deck soft underfoot or failing at the ledger | Fix it or disclose it. This one shows up in inspection either way, and a surprise at option period costs more than the repair. | $30 to $75 / sq ft |
| Roof at end of life, no active leak | Usually get an estimate rather than replace. A written quote in hand often does more for negotiation than spending the money would. | $11,000 to $18,000 |
| Bare concrete slab, no shade | Skip it before a sale. A cover is a great project for someone staying, but it rarely returns its cost in a 30-day listing window. | — |
Every number here comes from our published cost guides, not from a sales pitch. Decks · Fences · Roofing
The pre-listing walkthrough
- You call or text John. Give him the address and the listing date.
- He walks it, usually within a couple of days. You don't have to be there, though you're welcome to be.
- Written estimate within 48 hours, itemised so your seller can pick and choose rather than face one intimidating number.
- If they go ahead, we schedule around your date and text photos daily until it's done.
Got a listing that needs work right now? Call or text John at (512) 587-3914. Send the address and the date you need it photo-ready.
Book a pre-listing walkthroughWe'll bring lunch to your next sales meeting
Lunch and twenty minutes, on us.
John brings lunch for the office and spends twenty minutes on what adds value before a listing and what wastes a seller's money. Your agents ask him anything they want.
- We buy lunch. Tell us the headcount and any allergies.
- Twenty minutes, then questions. No slide deck, no sign-up sheet, no logos.
- Everyone leaves with the one-pager above, so they have a straight answer ready the next time a seller asks.
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays suit us best, but tell us your meeting day and we will work around it.
Offices of any size. We have done four agents around a kitchen table and we have done thirty.
Book a lunch & learnWho you'd be recommending
JB Contracting ATX is John Bernard, his wife Brooke, and their crew. Licensed and insured, 5.0 across 25 Google reviews, and small on purpose — when you call, you get John, not a call centre.
We build decks, roofs, cedar fences, pergolas and patio covers, siding, and concrete and hardscape across Travis, Hays and Williamson counties. That range matters for pre-listing work, because one call covers the fence, the deck and the roof instead of three contractors and three schedules to coordinate.
Want to talk before you send us a client? That's fair. Call John at (512) 587-3914 and ask him anything, or come look at a job in progress.
Start a conversationQuestions agents ask us
Do you pay referral fees?
No, and we'd rather be upfront about why. Referral arrangements between contractors and licensed agents get complicated fast under disclosure rules, and we don't want you carrying that for a deck job. What we offer instead is that your client has a good experience and comes back to you. That's worth more to your business than a fee, and it keeps everything clean.
How fast can you turn around a pre-listing job?
It depends entirely on scope. A fence repair or a deck re-stain can often happen inside a week. A full deck rebuild or a re-side is one to three weeks on site, plus HOA approval where the neighbourhood requires it. The useful part is that we'll tell you at the walkthrough whether your date is achievable, rather than taking the job and missing it.
Will you work with the seller directly so I don't have to project-manage it?
Yes, that's the normal arrangement. We deal with the homeowner on scheduling, access and decisions, and we copy you on the daily progress photos so you're never guessing where it stands. You get the information without the admin.
What if the inspection turns up something after you've worked on it?
Every project we do carries a written warranty, and we'll come back out. If an inspector flags something in work we did, call us and we'll deal with it directly rather than leaving you in the middle of it.
Can you look at a house before my seller has signed anything?
Yes. A walkthrough and a written estimate are free and carry no obligation, and plenty of agents use them purely to advise a seller on whether a repair is worth doing at all. If the answer is "leave it," we'll say so.
Not sure your old deck needs replacing? Our guide to deck repair cost in Austin explains what repairs cost and how to tell a repair from a rebuild.