#3 in a Multi-Part Series…
A family put their home up for sale and left town. I had advised them to do some touch up painting, and to replace the vinyl flooring and carpet in the home, as it was worn. They agreed to the touch up painting, but did not have the funds to replace the flooring. Over the next 4 months, that home had at least a dozen showings each month, and 2 offers. The price was $149,000. Both offers were around $125,000. When we countered them to get the price up, both Buyers had walked away, rather than negotiating further.
I finally found a way to finance the flooring for my clients, and they agreed to have it put in. We spent $2800 to do the entire home. Within 10 days of the new flooring going in, we received another offer. It was for $140,000, and after negotiations, we settled on $145,000!
During the inspections I asked the Buyer what had attracted them to the home. Her response was that on the day she first saw it, it was the last home on a tour with 15 others, and when she walked into it, “it was like a breath of fresh air” compared to all the others. She “could tell that the prior owners had taken great care of it.” Little did she know that the prior owners had actually “ridden the home hard, and put it away wet”. Her reaction to what we had done was exactly what we were striving for.
Next: Another example of the effect of Preparing a Home For Sale…