JUST SOLD! Historic Julius A. Smith House

JUST SOLD! Historic Julius A. Smith House

We just closed on the sale of this amazing historic home we listed in May.  After six months of heavy renovation the owners asked us to list this property on May 22nd.  Our original list price was $274,900.  Within several days we had received two offers.  The first was for $280,500 and the other was for $300,000.  The agent representing the buyer that offered $300,000 was confident and bold in his presentation.  Their offer also included $5,000 in earnest money and a very short seven day due diligence period.

Unfortunately, trouble struck on day five when the buyer, a 20-something new loan officer who happened to be the preferred lender of this agent (who was also new), had his father show up to do the home inspection.  His father was a handyman who hated old homes.  He blasted the house for its age, despite the quality renovation, and stormed off.  The buyer said he was confident he could buy the home but his face said something different.  I encouraged him to get a formal home inspection and that we would extend the deadlines to allow him to do so.  We wanted him to feel confident about the home he was buying.  His agent on the other hand downplayed the importance of an inspection and encouraged him not to get one. I was shocked.  I think this rattled the buyer enough to bail out of the transaction.  On the deadline, the buyer cancelled the contract.

So, we approached the other offer we had received to see if they wanted to engage in a contract again.  Unfortunately, they had moved on.  So, we put the home back on the market.  At this point, with the home being fresh faced and coming out of contract on the MLS, agents began to suspect a problem.  There are a lot of poor quality renovations on the market and agents are leery of them.  The tell tale sign is when a home goes under contract and comes back on the market multiple times.  So, when this happens, even if its for unprepared buyers like in our case, agents can become needlessly suspicious of a property and steer their clients away from these homes.  In this market, its really important to make sure the first offer sticks.

Time passed and we began to drop our list price.  First to $264,900 and then to $254,900.  At this price point we received a lot of interest.  We received an offer at list price with the buyer asking for $5,000 in closing costs.  We countered at $257,400 and the buyer accepted.   From that point the inspections and appraisal went very smoothly and we now have a new neighbor moving in.

 

Congratulations to our sellers!  If you are thinking of selling your home and need an expert to guide you through today’s frothy market, CONTACT ME, and let’s get top dollar for your property.