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The sellers at 53 Warren Avenue in Northfield had a problem. They were selling their parents’ house, and even though they had offers, they hadn’t been able to see a buyer all the way to a closing.
After being on the market for six months with another brokerage, they came to me asking if Green Light Real could help. I was happy to!
First, I wanted to know what had prevented the earlier sales. I suggested a couple ways that they might be able to go back to those buyers and move it forward, but by that time, both sets of buyers had moved on.
Next, I performed a very detailed pre-listing walkthrough. This was a grand old house, and there was a lot to get through. My goal was to identify anything that could either prevent a buyer from making an offer, or anything that would prevent a closing once an offer was accepted.
Although there were no huge issues with the house, the list of small items was pretty extensive. In conversations with the sellers, they decided to get out ahead of many of the smaller items, including some electrical and plumbing work, and leave some other items alone.
While that was going on, I took on the task of repositioning the property on the MLS. I wanted the message to be about the quality of the house and about the easily achievable potential. Also, it was important to consider the reactions of potential buyers. For example, although the town records showed it as a five bedroom house, to access the fifth bedroom, one had to walk through the unheated attic. And then, the bedroom wasn’t really what most would consider a bedroom. So, instead of disappointing people who wanted five good bedrooms, we shifted the message, and shifted buyer perceptions.
Our professional photographer came through and made the visual marketing piece top notch. That included high definition photography as well as drone photography.
In the lead up to the listing, I collaborated with another Green Light team member to get her thoughts on different features, things to highlight, and to anticipate questions that might come up. We even brought along a senior from U32’s Community Based Learning program to get her thoughts and to show her some of the listing, marketing, and selling process..
We went live with all of our marketing assets, and with all of our communication channels open. We received multiple offers, and after carefully reviewing the terms of the different offers (price, contingencies, timeframe, probability of closing, etc.) the sellers selected the offer that was the best for them. Six days after listing, we were under contract. The property sold for above the asking price, and above the previous asking price as well. Clearly, the pre-listing walk through and upfront work had removed obstacles to buyers making offers.
The sellers and I had regular communication throughout the pre-listing process, the listing process, and the escrow period. And, we easily navigated our way through some surprises that came up on the way to the closing table. Which meant that the pre-listing work also helped eliminate “deal killers” even after an offer was accepted.
In the end, we were even able to successfully negotiate that the basement safe would stay with the property! Now that was a successful sale!
So, thank you to Rick, Andrew, and Sarah for selecting Green Light Real Estate to help you sell the family home. I know that it was an emotional experience, and our aim was to make it as smooth and hassle free as we possibly could.
Take care,
Ray Mikus, Principal Broker, ABR, PSA, SRE, AHWD, Realtor
Who do you know who’s thinking of selling? Someone selling this summer? This coming fall? Sometime within the next year?
Have them be part of the Green Light Real Estate vision, which is to make buying and selling real estate easy by being the most loved and most professional real estate brokerage in Vermont.