But the Neighbor Said…
As a Top Producing Bristow Real Estate Agent, I can’t tell you how many times I have been involved in giving professional advice when my seller-client has let me know that the neighbor has graciously offered another opinion. These things happen out of a neighborly desire to help and to be the one “in the know.”
Real estate sales are always the source of natural curiosity. The comings and goings of neighbors often spark conversation. And just like the game of telephone we all played as children, the original message can be very distorted when handed down.
A great example is a seller I had counseled to take on some updates before listing his home. The neighbors saw him meeting contractors at the home, pulled him aside and advised him his agent may not be aware of the seller market conditions. They purported to KNOW that a neighbor on the next street over, with the same kind of home, had sold theirs”as-is” and for a higher price than the one my seller was likely to be hitting the market with. Needless to say, my seller got spun up about the situation and had a moment of second guessing my advice.
Over the years, I’ve learned that sellers aren’t going to absorb a word I say until I investigate the property in question, so I did. Turns out, the sales price was right on target. And the sellers in question did sell “as-is.” However, as the agent representing the transaction told me, “They sold as is because they had renovated the entire home in the last five years.” Getting into more detail, the updates these sellers did vastly outweighed what my seller was willing to do. Once the facts behind the neighboring property were presented, my seller was able to get back on track with what we had discussed.
Advertising a home in “as-is” condition is not a great plan if you want to get the highest price the market has to offer. As-is brings to mind a property with issues that makes people think nothing was done to the home and the next owner will need to deal with multiple issues.
Even in a seller’s market, the way to top dollar is building buyer enthusiasm. That still means preparing your home to be move-in ready for the next owners. You don’t have to renovate everything in your home, but you do need buyers to feel excited about your home when they see it online and in person. In general terms, new carpet and fresh paint go a long way to helping just about every home I have encountered. Of course, specific problem areas that could mean immediate expenditures for buyers should also be addressed for the highest level of buyer enthusiasm.
Combined with professional photography and top notch marketing that only an experienced agent in the marketplace can offer, a well prepared listing finds that that creating buyer enthusiasm is a breeze. Hitting the market is always in the best interest of getting the highest possible sales price. In the case of the neighbor’s property, they didn’t hit the market. The agent handling the transaction brought the buyers to the sellers. She told me if the sellers had hit the market, they would have made at least twenty thousand more.
The moral here is to take the neighborhood real estate gab with a grain of salt. When you hire me, I’ll track down the truth behind the neighborhood talk and help you set the course to pulling down the max the market will bear. Get in touch with me when you are ready to investigate the sale of your Bristow home.
Chris Ann Cleland
Associate Broker
VA License #0225089470
Long & Foster Real Estate
Call or Text: 703-402-0037
Email: ChrisAnn@LNF.com
www.UncompromisingValues.com
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of Chris Ann Cleland, not Long & Foster. All content is written by Chris Ann Cleland without the aid of artificial intelligence.