Category Archives: Sellers
Note from the Trenches (of a seller in Charlottesville)
If memory serves …
I was marketing a house in Albemarle County. We received an offer which my clients accepted, but it was contingent on the sale of that buyer’s house. Another offer came in, and my sellers “kicked out” the first contract to accept the second contract.
We bought a house from some of your clients about 5 years ago, the (removed), at (removed)., Charlottesville, 22902. We have loved the house, but have had to move this summer for work, so it is currently on the market, with no luck as of yet. We did remember that there was a kickout clause on the house when we made our offer.
We were wondering if you would contact the potential buyers with the clause or their agent on the off chance that they might still be interested. The market is not great currently so the price of the house is much lower than they offered way back then, so if they were interested it would be a better deal for them now. Obviously, if they do not have an agent you could be their agent, but if they do, and actually purchase the house, we could figure out some sort of finders fee for you.
I can’t advertise their house as it’s not my listing, but if you’re interested in a nice house under $250k in eastern Albemarle on a couple acres, I know a good one.
Contingent Offers – Better than Nothing. And Maybe All You’ll Get
A simple tweet from a client sums up what sellers need to know.
“A house we liked wouldn’t accept contingency. We moved on, found better house, moved in today. They’re still on market. Dropped price again.”
Sellers: If you get an offer, replace the word “someone” and replace it with “offer.“… Continue reading…
Prepping to Sell a House in Charlottesville
It’s Winter, the first week of December here in Charlottesville and I’m starting to get the e-mails and the queries from people who are thinking about putting their houses on the market in Spring. Now, in my mind, the Spring real estate market really starts now and ramps up late January, early February and March is high time in the Charlottesville area match day when the medical residents find out where they’re going to be. It is a huge component of our market. Now is the time to start thinking about it. – Start looking at what your mortgage payoff may be. – Start looking at the projects that you’ve meant to do for the last few years that if you’re going to be selling your house in the Spring really need to be done. – Houses need to be in the closest state of perfection as possible in this market because it’s going to become super competitive come Spring. So if you’re thinking about putting your house on the market in the Spring, start looking at how realtors are marketing homes. … But really it’s a time when you need good, sound, professional advice to help you develop a pricing strategy and a project strategy of things that will bring you the best return on your investment if you’re getting your house ready for the market. Continue reading
Sellers, Don’t Have Stinky Houses
Sellers – try to avoid pungent odors (unless you’ve baked chocolate chip cookies – I love cookies) – smells matter.
Transcription:
Hey, Jim Duncan with Nest Realty and RealCentralVA.com here.
I’ve been showing a lot of houses in Charlottesville recently and one thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of houses stink. I don’t mean their condition or the quality of construction, I mean their houses stink. The “dog” house, the “smoke” house, the “moldy” house, the “Renuzit air freshener in every room” house.
Recently the California Scents, the cherry coronado house. It was God awful and that’s … Continue reading…
More and Better Pictures, Please
I received this note last week:
“Jim,
Can I just complain about the horrible photos on the Cville MLS? There is a listing with 25 photos and 11 of them are of the kitchen. This house has 3 bedrooms, and there are NO photos of any of them. Am I expected to sleep in the refrigerator? I think it is time for a photo article again. There are some repeat offenders out there. Help them Jim. Help them.”
And then a Realtor friend (and remarkable photographer) posted this:
One would think that taking quality photos for marketing a home … Continue reading…
Times have Changed – Telling a Story
PR has changed; so has real estate marketing. A simple sign in the yard, an ad in the weekly paper … none of this is new to buyers, but it seems to take time to make its way to the full
Print advertising doesn’t work to sell homes. Advertising real estate in print accomplishes two things:
1 – Placates a seller who wants to see their house in print because they want tangible evidence that their Realtor is doing something. I’m all for satisfying clients, but I’d rather not be condescending to them, and that’s just what I believe advertising … Continue reading…
