Not Every Seller Chooses to Market Their Homes Publicly
Listing property is not always as easy as snapping pictures and putting a listing in the MLS. When you meet with sellers, there are different reasons for the choices they make. And sometimes, choices made change as new circumstances emerge.
When I met with the seller of the Springfield home pictured above, I was dealing with a Power of Attorney (POA.) The owner was in assisted living in an adjacent state and his spouse had passed away just months before. It was too much for this owner to handle the process of selling, so his POA stepped up.
The decision to list publicly was made, but only after an estate sale. The estate salesperson asked for my contact information for anyone who may have questions about when the property would hit the market. Two called that weekend.
I talked to the POA post estate sale, who was now experiencing her own health issues and was completely overwhelmed. The estate sale had not gone as well as expected and there were still mountains of items in the home. The estate salesperson had given the POA the impression the items left would be removed quickly, but that was not the case. There would an attempt to sell more items online after a vacation the salesperson was taking and they they would “bid”figure out” trashing out the rest. The trash out date was lingering in the future. The POA was fuming. This estate salesperson had told her to remove a dumpster she had already paid for because it was not needed. So here she was with mountains of stuff, in poor health herself, waning motivation and feeling hopeless.
At this point in time, I offered a change of plan – switching the listing to an Office Exclusive. The interested estate sale attendees turned buyers had been partnered with agents within my firm and were chomping at the bit to see the entire home. If we allowed them to see it and make their offers, we could flip back to the original plan and list publicly when the trash out was done if the offers were not worth entertaining.
Low and behold, one of the buyers rose to near savior status by offering $55,000 over asking price and agreeing to take ALL the items in the home. He would handle the trash out. And there was no appraisal to worry about or financing to potentially fall through. It was a verified cash offer.
The POA and I conferred with the owner. When the options were laid out and a look at comparable sales examined again, the determination was made that to make more money, the trash out would need to be handled by the POA, costing more time and money. The potential for more gain was simply not worth the additional time and money they would have to spend. They took the cash offer and never had to lift another finger.
Congratulations to both the POA and the seller on a quick and easy transaction that worked perfectly for their desired outcome.
When circumstances change, plans should be re-examined. Sometimes staying the course is best and other times, it makes more sense to change things up. With over twenty-one years of experience in our Northern Virginia market, I am here to walk you through all your options, every step of the way. Great outcomes start with excellent representation.
Chris Ann Cleland
Associate Broker
VA License #0225089470
Long & Foster Real Estate
Call or Text: 703-402-0037
Email: ChrisAnn@LNF.com
www.UncompromisingValues.com
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of Chris Ann Cleland, not Long & Foster. All content is written by Chris Ann Cleland without the aid of artificial intelligence.