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My client Maureen Chao had been living and working in sunny Brazil for several years and renting out her Columbia City Craftsman. She returned to Seattle in early October to prepare to sell it, as her renters had moved out, and the thought of eventually moving back to the rainy Seattle winters was no longer appealing. Who can blame her!
Maureen interviewed several agents, and I was lucky enough to be selected. Her house was in fairly good shape but needed sprucing up. I compiled a list of realistic to do’s (it is easy to go overboard!), and Maureen set about doing a bunch of the work herself, during her two-week vacation! I urged her to stop and get some help, and she soon realized I was right.
We decided to do a pre-inspection so that some issues could be addressed before the house was listed. The house was a 1920’s craftsmen, and we knew some of the electrical and most of the plumbing was original, but those updates would need to be done by the new buyer. However, we were able to do some small fixes that came up in the report that both Maureen and I had been unaware of.
Prospective buyers now had a detailed report they could look at and save money by not doing an inspection, although they could of course still do one if they wanted.
PRO TIP: I always advise my buyers to have their own inspection, as it allows a buyer the opportunity to be in the home for a few hours and learn a lot more about it than with just a typical showing. Also, no inspector is the same, and they will often see different issues. That said, in such a competitive market, it can get expensive if a buyer keeps losing out.
After Maureen was persuaded to take a break and spend some time with her very patient kids, a painter was hired to do interior painting and my band of contractors were able to do some other inside and outside work to get the house market ready. I checked in on the house regularly as it was vacant and made sure the hot tub stayed clean, two big concerns of Maureen’s as she was far away.
We were able to beat the bad weather and get the house listed within two weeks. What’s more, all the hard work paid off, when we received multiple offers and the house sold for $71,000 over the list price.
Maureen was shocked and delighted at the sales price!
Ready to sell your home? Go here to see what you’ll gain by having me by your side during this complex process. Ready to get started? Contact me today, or go here to learn more about me. Want more information? Check out my Top Secret blog post of FAQs for Sellers.
