Having started the month of July off this morning with the closing of a sale makes me all the more confident this month will be a repeat of last. I looked at some of the sales that were reported these past weeks from other offices and I thought to myself, “Wow! There must have been a feeding frenzy going on with several of them due to the final prices those properties brought!” I certainly don’t mean to bash sales, but several of them I’m personally familiar with and as far as I’m concerned the buyers paid way too much. I only hope those same buyers don’t call me any time soon to list them for sale because it will be very disappointing when I tell them they paid too much even in our current market conditions. I’m a great believer in fair market value where a buyer pays a fair price along with the seller being equitably compensated, and if a buyer should happen to have purchased something at a discount due to seller motivation, then that’s OK too. I’m working with a seller right now who is getting her home ready for sale and the one thing she keeps telling me is, “I’m not making these improvements for a killing in the sale price but rather preparing it to be priced with your help Mr. Chodur in a range where it will sell quickly.” I wish all sellers would have the same mindset when preparing their homes for sale as it would likely create a shorter time on the market for many of our listings. Location, price and condition are the three key determining factors to consider when selling. Not long ago I overheard someone bashing one of their family members for spending money on the home another was readying to list. I thought, “Boy! You really aren’t familiar with the real world of selling homes!” People with that mindset are the ones who talk others into listing at fire sale prices and end up leaving thousands of dollars on the table for the new buyer. They are the very same ones who years later chide those innocent people for selling too cheap. It’s almost like a dual set-up—they set others up for failure in this time and then again in the future.
I’m getting excited about the public open house I’m having on my new listing tomorrow at 15 N. Ohio from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. I’ve even received several calls today on it regarding how nice the photos look online along with other questions about it. I told them to be sure and stop by and have a good look. The more I’ve been in the home, the more I like the open living/dining/kitchen area. Those three rooms will always have light no matter what time of day it is. That’s likely why the owners lived there so long. Click on the following link to see for yourselves.
One of the people I sold a home to several months ago stopped in to show me some photos of several of the rooms she’s now completed. She took my advice and finished her bedroom first so that she’ll be encouraged to continue on with her project. I said at the time, “Make the room you sleep in your top priority so that you’ll have your “sanctuary” away from all the work in progress.” She’s finished her bedroom and bath and showed me photos of both. I was impressed. One thing she said of which I didn’t dis-agree because everyone has their own reasons, and that is she’s taking before and after photos of each project. With me, there are never before, but always after photos.
