In Part I of this 2-part post, we met John and Jane and heard the tale of the house they ultimately want to sell… but which I advised them to hold off on listing.
What the heck did I do that for?
Because, as you’ll recall:
- Their house is currently rented by a messy tenant;
- The lease won’t be up until winter;
- The house will need upgrades and major cleaning for the sellers to get top dollar, and;
- They don’t NEED to sell right now.
Since the day I talked with them and advised them to hold off on listing, another house just two doors down came on the market in the EXACT price range they want to be in. I went and previewed it, and had a look at theirs while I was at it.
The new house has them beat, unfortunatley. It is:
- Brighter, as in not nearly as shaded by trees;
- Has better curb appeal;
- Backs up to a greenbelt area just like theirs does;
- Is well staged, because the owners pulled most of their belongings and gave it an “open” feel, and;
- Is owner-occupied rather than tenant-occupied. This is HUGE.
You recall during the first post I also mentioned there was another listing in the ‘hood listed at $325K. Well that one’s still for sale, and is priced at $300K even now. Not good for Jane and John, because buyers would have their pick of 3 houses priced basically the same, and in my opinion Jane and John’s doesn’t win right now.
Come spring we can give it a facelift and make it the winner in the beauty contest and the price war. But for now, if I told these sellers to get it listed and on the market just so I could get a sign in another yard… I’d be wasting their time and mine, and ticking off their tenants.
