Timing is Everything when Selling your Home

I wanted to share an experience I just had selling my client’s home. This awesome couple was referred to me by a past client. When they called me, they were nervous because they had a very short time get their home ready to put on the market, attract a buyer and close or they would lose their new home in St. George. They were using the home to store inventory for business so there was a lot of decluttering to do. When I met with them to discuss pricing it was very evident that homes like theirs with an unfinished basement were selling for $20,000 less than homes with a finished basement.

We strategically positioned their home exactly at the price that would attract the most buyers and hopefully get multiple offers. They went to work removing 90% of their furniture and inventory out of the house, installed new carpet, refreshed their lawn with some new sod in areas and bought all new stainless-steel appliances. It took them a month to get the home ready. We were getting tighter on our timeframe because we were getting closer and closer to July.

Why were we so stressed about getting the property on the market before July?

Well, in Utah we have two huge holidays in July. One over the 4th and the other over the 24th. It is a month when many buyers put their house hunting on hold in order to go camping or vacation and spend time with family. The decades of being in this business have afforded me with first-hand knowledge of market trends that help my clients save money. Anyway, back to the story. While they were getting the house ready, I was busy getting all the marketing in place to launch, getting amazing photos and networking with other top agents in the area for a buyer. We hit the ground running on June 19th. Within two days we had three offers on the table. We were able to choose the buyer who not only offered the highest price- $15,000 over asking, but also was the most financially stable, had the best loan program, could close within our timeframe and was willing to remove their contingency of an appraisal.

Remember, there weren’t any sold properties that would substantiate a sale at a higher price so not having an appraisal done was important. We also had a backup offer in place so when the buyer completed their inspections, they didn’t want to risk losing the house, so they were willing to accept the home in “as-is” condition. I am pleased to say that this ended up being one of the smoothest transactions of the year. If you have questions about how I can help you in real estate, please reach out.