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Janis and Steve Lush found me in two ways: Janis via my monthly postcard mailing and Steve by an internet search. We met in the spring and hit it off, straight away. They were both retired and had lived in their super cute Columbia City craftsman bungalow for 15 years, and now they were ready for a change. Given the hot local housing market, they realized it was a good time to sell.
They planned to move down to Tacoma with their two cats and rent an apartment for a year to see if that is where they wanted to settle.
We planned to have their house listed by early June, which gave them a couple of months to get rid of stuff they no longer needed plus get some minor work done. We had an inspection ahead of time, so there were no surprises and we were able to deal with some electrical issues that may have alarmed a prospective buyer. Once they moved out, my painter came in and spruced up the kitchen cabinets and other areas that needed painting, then the cleaning crew and stagers, so we were ready to list on-schedule.
However, the real estate market slowed down at the beginning of June, as a lot more houses came on the market and many buyers seemed to have disappeared, partly due to fatigue. So despite many showings and interest in the property by several agents and their buyers, we did not receive any offers on the review date. This was odd and disconcerting, as the house was in such great shape and in a lovely location.
I had my marketing specialist boost the listing on social media sites, contacted a lot of agents to alert them to what a great house this was, and held more open houses for the public. After three weeks of no offers, we decided to drop the price, but that morning we received a good offer.
However, the buyer wanted to have their own inspection, which of course they had the right to do. There were some things on their inspection that they wanted to address, and we decided to work with them and after some negotiating, came to a final price that my sellers and the buyers could agree to.
In real estate, you never really know when an offer is going to come in. The outcome was good, as we did not have to drop the price.
Janis and Steve were remarkably calm and pragmatic during the entire process, and I really appreciated their total trust in me. Congratulations, you two!
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.
