Dreaming of Selling Your Home.
Dream it!
Dreaming has become my favorite pass time during the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020. I’m sure it’s something you’ve been doing as well. I’m sure you’ve had many different dreams throughout the year. Maybe you’ve been dreaming about what it will be like when this is all over? Dreaming of a day when your kids can go back to school? Has one of those dreams been to sell your home? Have things dramatically changed since the pandemic that has you dreaming of a bigger home? Maybe a smaller home because you’ve realized your huge home isn’t necessary anymore. Maybe your job situation has changed since the pandemic started and you need to know what to do next?
Since the beginning of the pandemic we have helped several homeowners sell their homes without delays for all of the reasons stated above.
Here is one of those stories…
I first met the sellers of this home 5 years ago. They contacted me through one of my Facebook ad’s. When we met at their home they weren’t sure if they were ready to sell. They had lived in their home for 10 years. They updated the home, putting their love, sweat, and tears into their labor of love. The word “memories” came up often and I smiled as they went on.
As we went through each room, I watched as hubby pointed out all the things he had done over the years with that twinkle of pride in his eyes. Updating the kitchen was his biggest accomplishment. The thought behind the details were brilliant and you soon felt that the kitchen was the heart of this home. They told me that when they first looked at their home, before purchasing it, they fell in love within a minute of walking through the door. They were even more convinced, when they saw the water and Mt. Rainier view. We laughed as they shared memories and their love of their neighborhood.
While out on the deck, on this gorgeous sunny day, they pointed out Blake Island and Downtown Seattle views. And we couldn’t forget Mt. Rainier that seemed to almost smack you in the face! The sun glistened off of the water and made it almost hard to look at. This home was a basic starter home that happened to have a great view and vibe to it. When you entered this home, you felt the love that was inside.
After telling them about the housing market at that time (2015), they decided to stay in their home and refinance. Over the years, I continued to keep them informed via email, social media, and snail mail. If you’re not ready to sell after we first meet, we understand, and do all we can to keep you informed until you.
Fast forward 5 years, we get an email from them asking if we would be interested in selling their home. Of course we were excited to have the opportunity to work with them. We immediately set up a time for us to come back out and take a look at their home. It had been 5 years since we last stepped foot inside. A lot can change in that time frame.
When we met with them we realized quickly their biggest concern was being able to sell during a global pandemic. We talked about how we were to conduct showings in person or digital. That has been on everyone’s mind since this all started at the beginning of 2020. We talked about how to protect them and their home during this time, their homes value, and their custom marketing plan for them and their home.
Their reason for selling was to be able to move closer to their family. The Covid-19 crisis had them reevaluating their priorities and decided to sell their home to get closer to their goal. They loved their home so much and hated to part ways, but the draw of being closer to family took precedence.
Decision was made and we went to work getting their home ready for sale and working on their custom marketing plan. They had one room downstairs which could have been a 4th bedroom or a bonus room. We talked in length on how to market that space and we all agreed that a 4th bedroom was more valuable. Unfortunately, the homeowners didn’t have any extra bedroom furniture to really send it home that this was a bedroom. Luckily, they chose us to help them sell their home. We offer so many services to our clients based on their personal needs while selling. One of those services is providing virtual staging.
Over the years we have always provided Home Staging when it was necessary. It’s always been hard in our area to find Home Stagers. If we’re lucky enough to find one, the cost is very high! We believe a Staged Home sells faster! We wanted to find a more cost effective, less evasive way to stage a home. Virtual Staging has become more readily available and the technology has improved so it doesn’t look cheesy.
The day was finally here and we listed their home for $395,000. Within 5 days we had several showings and 3 offers. All the offers were over asking price and my clients couldn’t believe it. Two of the three offers included escalation clauses, which means, they would pay a certain amount over the last highest offer, not to exceed a certain amount. When you receive more than one of the escalation clauses, it can get tricky figuring out which one is actually highest. We pride ourselves on being top notch negotiators and staying educated on all of the options Sellers have when receiving multiple offers. Our original list price was $395,000 and our final sold price was $412,500! My clients were happy that they could start their next chapter. They began their home search right away closer to their family.
We had a very successful closing even during the pandemic. My Seller had to repair a few things from the inspection. The contractors were on time and got the job done quickly. We didn’t experience any delays due to Covid-19. We were able to keep everyone safe during showings all the way through to the move out process.
We have stayed up to date on the Covid-19 pandemic and how to safely navigate a successful home sale. We are updated daily from our NWMLS, the State of Washington and the Governors Office. If anything changes we have also been keeping you notified if you are on our mailing list.
If you’ve thought about selling your home, contact us today! Now is a great time. We are still in a Seller’s Market and predictions for the first quarter of 2021 are looking even better. Don’t be too late to the party, if you’re ready, let’s chat!
