Into the Weekend 11.08.24

Earlier this year, a couple approached me to sell their property - a modest frame two-flat with an additional garden in-law apartment just south of Andersonville. They bought the property decades ago, lived in the owner’s duplex, and rented out the other units. When they moved to their current home 18 years ago, they also began renting out the duplex.

Because they were eager to bring the property on the market, we promptly took photos, reviewed the comparable sales, and - based on those comps - came up with an asking price of $700k. 

However, when I reviewed the photos, I came to the conclusion that the property would not come close to reaching its maximum potential because of the way it showed. With no personal stake, the tenants did not keep their apartments in order - and the duplex, in particular, did not seem suitable for a live-in owner.

I conveyed these sentiments to my clients, and I proposed the following: 1) we postpone bringing the property to the market until the lease of the duplex tenants expired two months later; 2) with those tenants out, we paint, carpet, and stage that apartment; 3) we then re-photograph the property and bring it to market.

These were not easy words for eager sellers to digest. But they did what I wish everyone in the world would do (especially my kids): they listened to me. 

With a modest investment, they won. Big Time.

We brought the property to the market and held two open houses in a single weekend to maximize a strategic frenzy. With hoards of buyers coming through, we ended up with 15 offers and the sellers accepted the best one: $851,000. You do the math.

That, my friends, is where experience and market savvy comes to play. Happy to help you out too.

Have a nice weekend.