I decided to sell my home. I prepped. I painted. Ok, well, I paid someone to paint. Shout out to Bryan!
But I spent a lot of time and money getting my house ready to hit the market. It does cost money and time to prepare your home for sale. However, this doesn’t always result in the price you want. It depends on your market and what’s actually happening in that market.
The Start
Since real estate is my entire career, I knew what to do in order to get ready. And I poured over comparable sales and priced my house WELL. I didn’t want to sit on the market for a long time either.
I knew the price point my house was at would likely lead to people needing closing-cost assistance and then asking for repairs after the inspections. This is also why I had my house pre-inspected and then brought over a contractor before I listed to tidy up any loose ends – like caulking around the tub and repairing a loose outlet. I didn’t want any issues I didn’t already know about.
Fast forward, my house has been on the market for a month. I’ve had showings but no offers. Mainly, it was people coming to see my home, that the listing price was at the top of their budget. My house had a lot of upgrades too, so I didn’t feel like the price was unreasonable, and I just needed the right buyer to come along.
Then I got antsy.
I couldn’t handle sitting on the market, and it was making me anxious. I now understand sellers ten thousand percent in a way I never did before. What else could i do though? We are in a slower real estate market in New Orleans, and I wanted anyone to buy it!
What did I do?
I dropped the price. I didn’t want to do it, but for me, time and reducing my anxiety were worth more than the sales price.
What happened?
I got an offer within a week and a half. And it wasn’t a full-price offer. I had a whole home generator, a reverse osmosis system, amazing landscaping, a new roof, and a new HVAC- all kinds of things, and I STILL didn’t get a full price offer.
My amazing business partner was acting as my Realtor because there are many emotions involved, and I needed someone to act as a buffer. She encouraged me to counter the offer with another price, but not at full price. Which I did, and it was accepted.
When it came time for inspections, they didn’t even ask for anything because I had prepped my house really well.
Next thing you know, I’m packing my bags and signing closing documents. I was ecstatic to be moving on to my new chapter. That was a very freeing day for me. The stress and wait were over.
The End
I listed on September 11 and closed on December 12. In the grand scheme of New Orleans real estate at the time, this was not a bad timeline. Yet it somehow felt like an eternity!
In the end, did I get the sales price I wanted? Nope. But did I get to move on to the new phase of my life on the timeline I wanted? I sure did. And sometimes you’re going to sacrifice $10k to do that.
What would I have changed?
Nothing. I don’t think I could have changed anything anyhow. I got sold. I was still happy with the price, even if it was not my IDEAL scenario. But, we can’t always get what we want…right?
Don’t let your ego or the bullshit idea of “I’m giving my house away” stop you from getting sold. Unless you’re handing it to someone for zero dollars, you’re not giving shit away. Your house is only worth what someone is willing to pay. And you can’t change the location. But you can change the condition and the price.
If you’re on the market right now and have been for some time, should you contemplate one of these two items to help get you sold more quickly? Quit taking your friend’s advice who sold at the top of the market. They don’t know what is going on in our current real estate market.
And if you bought at the top of the market (think 2020-2022), then you likely won’t be making much, if any, money on your home. Many people have to sell at what they paid or even below that. This is just the reality of the current-day New Orleans real estate market. (This will not apply to everyone. But it’s pretty common right now!)
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