Selling
It starts with a free hour and a list of things not to do.
01
A walk-through, before anything
Free, about an hour
I go through the house and tell you what to fix, what to leave, and what to on no account spend money on. Most people are told to do less than they expected.
02
A price, and the net sheet
Within three days
A pricing opinion with the comparable sales behind it, and the net sheet showing what you would actually walk away with. Before a listing agreement exists.
03
Preparation
Two to four weeks
Repairs, the deep clean, photography. This is the part that moves the price, and it is mostly your contractors rather than mine.
04
On the market
Median around six weeks here
Showings are me, not an assistant. You get a note after every one, including the unflattering ones.
05
Under contract
Thirty to forty-five days
Inspection, appraisal, and the repair negotiation. This is where deals die and where having somebody who answers the phone matters.
06
Closing
One afternoon
The settlement statement should match the net sheet you saw at the start, within a few hundred dollars. If it does not, I got something wrong and I will say so.
What to fix, and what to leave
- Worth doing
- Roof, water intrusion, electrical panel, and anything a buyer will call unsafe. Buyers discount these far beyond what they cost to fix.
- Worth doing cheaply
- Paint in the two rooms that need it, deep clean, and the garden. High return per dollar and nothing else comes close.
- Usually not worth it
- Kitchens and bathrooms. You rarely make the money back, and a dated kitchen in good order sells better than a half-finished new one.
- Never before asking
- Anything over about two thousand dollars. Ring me first — several times a year I talk somebody out of a project that would not have moved the price.