Can you tell which of these houses had the best chance of selling? Let's examine three houses recently on the market.
House #1: "The Cute Ranch" I say cute because it was small. It had been on the market for just over a year when I got the listing and it had been overpriced. The owners were discouraged and ready to give up. Previous feedback (when they got it) had been mediocre.
House #2: "The Mess" There was mold present, an underground oil tank, and a septic tank that would never get a certification, among other things. It was an estate and the previous owner was a hoarder. The sellers couldn't believe anyone would want the house and actually felt sorry for me, taking the listing!
House #3: "The Early 80's Flashback" It featured 30-year-old bright green carpeting with light fixtures and décor to match. It was generally well kept and had a lovely landscaped yard with a gorgeous in-ground pool.
Any guesses? Who was our winner?
Actually, it was House #2, The Mess, that sold the fastest but really, they are all winners!
Why?
House #1: The owners were ready to sell, priced it accordingly, and agreed to staging. A few simple changes made the home seem much larger than it had originally appeared. The staging and storage investment came to under $200.00, well worth it because within 29 days, we had a buyer who fell in love with it and we were under contract!
House #2: I arranged to have someone come and clean out the mess, so that investors would be able to see what they were dealing with. In this case, all the staging in the world could not have helped! Priced as a total fix-up, this house was snapped up by investors in just 1 day!
House #3: The owners had already placed an offer on a lovely new home and were ready to do whatever it took to sell this one fast. We replaced the carpet, lighting, and staged the entire home within 2 weeks. The inside now matched the gorgeous exterior. The whole investment for carpet, painting, lighting, and staging came to about $5,500. We had multiple offers its first day of showing and it sold for $9,000 over asking price.
Each of these homes had some serious issues that could have left them sitting on the market, unsold. In each of these cases, the owners were ready to sell. They were ready to price the homes competitively and if needed, stage their homes to increase the appeal to buyers.
There is hope for every home!
Even in this market, there is NO reason for any home to remain unsold. The fact is homes that are priced well and showing well are selling.
That, my friends, is good news for everyone!
Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ. She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs for the last 6 years. In 2007, she founded Rose-Colored Staging, a professional home staging and redesign business, to help sellers and other Realtors successfully market their listings with professional home staging.
That is good news. I hope all of these examples are recent sales. Even if they are not, the story behind each one is very good!
Michele,
WOW! You really did a great job for your sellers! I am sure they are spreading the word as to what a great agent you are!
Great news Michele. I really like how your presented this story.
Michele
Congratulations, thanks for sharing your success story.
Good luck and success.
Lou Ludwig
Vic: I should have mentioned how recent these were! House #1 was the end of October 2009, House #2 was March 2010, and House #3 was April 2010.
Thanks Lori! I hope so! :)
Thanks Ginger, Lou, and Randy: If there's one thing I can't stand it's houses just sitting on the market! Fortunately, the home owners were also motivated!
Cleaning out a property makes an impact every time. Great job!
VERY cool. Sounds like what each house had in common was a willing and cooperative owner, as well as a creative and energetic listing agent! :)
Incredible-thanks for sharing and congratulations!!!!!
Michele, I love your positive, can-do attitude! Given the right incentives any home can be sold, and make someones' dream come true.
Sharon: I totally agree! If they can't see it, they won't buy it!
Candice: It makes all the difference in the world when the owners are really motivated! Thanks!
Thanks Cathy!
Thanks Gary-- all the owners of these houses had a clear goal-- to sell and move on. I was glad to help!
Great success stories Michele -- they prove that what's needed is a smart agent, motivated sellers, and just the right touches depending on the particular house and its target market.
Nice post. A bit of a trick question but I knew that already. Getting a place ready and working with reasonable and motivated sellers are the right ingredients. Congrats.
Thanks Maureen and Frank! I love those motivated sellers! Such a joy to work with!
Great success story, Michele! Congratulations...your clients are lucky they have you!
Thanks Nancy! I felt lucky having sellers who are so motivated-- what a joy that was!