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.

“Serena was an essential part of supporting me in this major move in my life.” –Diane Saint Marie

I find that I am often inspired and humbled by my client’s strength and tenacity. Moving is never easy. My client Diane was in her late 70’s with some major health issues, so it was so much harder.

Diane had lived in her house for more than 20 years, and we had met and talked for a few years about her plan to eventually move to an independent living residence, as living alone was getting to be too much.

“Two years before selling my house, I had Serena and two other brokers do a walk through,” said Diane. “Serena noticed details such as a retrofit, and other details the other two brokers missed. Her preparation in coming to my house with comparisons of nearby sales were thorough and skillful, totally outshining the other brokers. So when the time came, she was my first choice.”

Understandably, it was not an easy decision to make, plus the logistics of down-sizing from a three-bedroom house to a small one-bedroom apartment was overwhelming. However, she finally decided it was time to make that hard transition.

Luckily Diane had a great support system of friends and family, and several months to prepare. Her house was full to the gills, including 70 collector’s dolls that had sentimental value and needed to be re-homed.

She admitted that clearing the house out was quite an undertaking.

“It was stressful downsizing, leaving a house after 20 years and moving into a retirement home,” she said. “But Serena was consistently steady and calm. She worked with other brokers, and did all kinds of behind the scenes work that simplified my life.”

Initially plans were to put the house on the market while Diane was still living there. It soon became evident, though, that it would be easier for her to move out, as the house really needed an interior paint job and I suggested we stage the house, get the yard cleaned up, and generally spruce up the place.

I hired my team of contractors and the house was ready to list within two weeks of Diane moving out.

“The people she hired to paint, stage, and repair were affordable and did a fabulous job,” said Diane.

By this time it was late October, and not the best time to list, however the house looked great and we received multiple offers.

“Serena asked potential buyers to write about why they wanted to buy the house,” said Diane. “Giving me a wonderful sense of the new owners who were going to become the new caretakers of this 100-plus year old house, including a display cupboard that couldn’t leave!”

Diane was very relieved and very happy that the house sold for way more than she had expected with a 20% price increase.

“Serena knew the market; and honed her viewpoints with other skilled brokers,” commented Diane. “My house sold in a week for $173,000 over asking price!”

It really was a pleasure working with Diane. We had a lot of laughs as well as some tears, during the process.

“Serena was an essential part of supporting me in this major move in my life,” concluded Diane.

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.