I’ve spent a lot of time writing here about selling New Orleans West Bank homes. How to get them ready, how to get them staged, how to price them right and how to be sure that, as a seller, you are appealing to the broadest home buying audience possible.
Sometimes I feel like I’m talking to the wall, especially when I meet with home sellers who want a sign in their front yard right now, but they are no where near ready to go on the market and put their best foot forward.
Recently, one of my listings (which was perfectly prepared, by the way) had an issue with the air conditioner. While at the house, I realized that it just wasn’t cooling correctly. So, I let the owner know that it needed to be checked out. Within 2 days I had an email telling me that the repairs had been completed and everything was working properly. I responded to the owner, thanking her for taking care of the issue so quickly.
Here was her response:
Your job is to get it sold but it is my responsibility to make sure it is in the right condition to sell.
Ta da! The heavens opened, the sun shined down on me and I did a little happy dance because I have a home seller that gets it!! There is hope yet…
I love those sellers. I have had a few. They wanted to make sure that they were presenting their property in its best light. I've had others that would wonder if they could just throw ice in the ducts and get by...
So nice when folks just want to do the right thing! Woo hoo!
Oh, what a dream of a client! Congrats and good luck - your time with her will probably be short.
LOL @ Lane..."throw ice in the ducts"...yeah, I've had a couple of those too.
Susan, it's wonderful! That is the most direct I've ever had a seller be in taking responsibility for the condition of their home.
Kathryn, she is a dream! It's not often that we find clients that are so willing to work hard to make their home competitive. Thanks for the good wishes.
Wow, you have done a great job with this client. I'm duking it out with a seller right now who is in confrontational denial. After all the suggestions, the professional staging consultation, my personal work....they are not the seller "get's it". I'm glad that you have a seller that wants to sell and most likely will!
Lisa, you got to love those types of sellers. With that type of commitment the property wont last long.
Lisa: A red letter day for you! Congratulations! Clients who are that on top of things are rare indeed.
Leslie, believe it or not, she had a list of things to do when we first met - all based on my blog posts! Amazing.
Frank, come to the West Bank and sell it for me :)
Michelle, definite a red letter day! She's fantastic and so is the house. Now...to find the right buyer...
Lisa it's hard enough to sell anything in this market especially if the sellers won't do their part.
Yeah Lisa!! We tell our clients it's a price war and a beauty contest out there these days. GET READY! Or don't play. Period. Now if there was a way to convince those sellers that think they should turn down the AC during the day since they aren't home to please don't do that?!?!?!?!? If they only knew how buyers weren't taking the time to even look at their home because they were sweating to death!!!
Lisa - I do my best to make sure everything is really ready for the market debut! And I have to say my sellers all get that part - I'm fortunate they do.
I found this post on Leslie's reblog, but I had to come here and comment too. This is well-written and makes a wonderful point. Thank you for sharing your seller's positive attitude.
BTW - I know exactly what the happy dance looks like. People who don't understand it, confuse it with the pee pee dance, but true practitioners know the difference, don't we Lisa?
lol. May we all find more sellers like that!
Congrats, isn't it so much fun to work in this business when your expertise and experience are valued and listened to? Love working with those kind of people, best of luck to you in getting a great offer for them!!!
Cheers, Kim
John, she is a perfect seller who took the time to make sure everything was ready for the market before we listed it. She knows that there is a lot of competition out there!
Pamela, yep...that feeling of melting is not exactly conducive to house buying, is it?
Susan, every one of them? Wow. You are very, very good :)
Vic, LOL!!
Jeff, from your lips...
Kim, thank you! My main criteria for clients is that they need to be fun. If we aren't having fun, then something is wrong.
Hey there, I love this and it perfectly to the point! I also have a similar criteria regarding clients and the process as having at least a modicum of FUN!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who does a happy dance. Although your probably looks better than mine. LOL. You are right, a seller or buyer who gets it can feel like a god-send. It is important to always educate the consumer about the best way forward, but it's really nice when they are great students of the game! Congrats.
Russell, there are too many fun people to work with to spend time with those that just make you gnash your teeth!
Nathan, LOL! I'm sure your happy dance is just right :)
Lisa, you just gotta love sellers like that!
I had a more difficult situation recently with one of my listings, someone had broken into the cellar door and, thank goodness, only removed one peice of copper piping..I called the owner as soon as I was aware of it, and he told me, he world replace the door and repair the piping...just that quickly, good as done. Whew!
William, that means your seller gets it too!