NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS

Emotionally distance yourself from the home you are selling

Last week I entered into a contract with an impossible client. This is literally the first time I have had an impossible client, and that client is myself. Seriously, if I were not myself, I would fire myself as a client. Myself has continually violated the first rule of real estate that any seller would greatly benefit from abiding by; that is, emotionally distance yourself from your home. Oops.

I followed the other rules.

I made needed repairs before putting my home on the market. I specifically reinstalled the smoke alarms that I knocked off the ceilings with a broom handle in the middle of the night — several months ago (possibly years) — when one of them was beeping and I couldn’t figure out which one. I had my daughter pony up to pay for the repair of the hole in the wall behind the doorknob in her room. I finally replaced the burnedout light bulbs in both the cold storage room (which I forgot I had) and the laundry room (which I frequently also forgot I had).

Finally, I replaced the missing strike plate on the door between my bathroom and bedroom. I then cleaned the home meticulously. I even vacuumed the back deck and the garage, which I don’t recommend doing with an indoor Dyson vacuum (sadly, it became a casualty of the process). I kept my home staged with my nicest pieces of furniture. I had professional photos taken. I have been incredibly flexible with showing requests. I had an open house and advertised heavily for it. I even reluctantly priced it accurately.

Any realtor in the industry can relate to a seller who thinks that their new $4,500 furnace immediately adds no less than $10,000 in value to the price of their home. We have all heard that story more times than we can count. Part of our job is to educate sellers about the true value of such upgrades. Upgrades such as HVAC systems, new roofs, fences, upgraded sprinkling system, and so forth, add convenience and sellability to a home, but bring little in actual value. Thus, when I brought my own home into a recent sales meeting so newer agents could practice market valuations and I started touting the many upgrades in an attempt to increase value, I was pelted.

If there had been a basket of overripe tomatoes in the room, I would have had homemade salsa all over me. I know better. Yet, this is different, this is my house (Another common misconception is that MY house is worth more than anyone else’s because it’s MINE).

Finally, I threw up my arms and priced it at market value and walked away, a symbolic gesture of my emotional detachment. This was now just business — until I received not one, but three offers on my beloved home.

Two came with photos of the family as well as letters describing how perfect my house was going to be for their specific family. The other was a phone call from the father of a young couple.

He was going to help them with a cash offer to get into this home, which would be perfect for his son’s growing family. I met them as they had asked me to show them my home the day before.

Frankly, any one of these families would be a good fit for my home. Most people don’t get the luxury of picking the buyer of their home.

I didn’t really want this luxury. Once again, I had to remove myself from the emotion of the transaction.

I asked for the highest and best from all three parties by a specific date and time, and then I did the same thing I do for all my clients who end up receiving multiple offers. I sat down at my computer and input all the numbers side by side on a net sheet. I verified funds with the lenders and the ability to pay cash with the father of the couple. The difference in deadline dates for all three were negligible.

Without the pictures, the stories, the people behind it, I decided. I picked the highest and best offer. For the record, it wasn’t the cash offer either. That particular offer would not have netted me what the others would.

Although I wouldn’t have to worry about an appraisal with a cash offer, it really didn’t matter. With the help of the proverbial tomatoes, I had priced my home correctly. I was confident it would appraise.

Now if I can just leave myself out of the due diligence process, where inspections are done and, more often than not, repairs are requested (on my perfectly maintained home), then I can get this impossible client out of my hair.

Jen Fischer is an associate broker and Realtor. She can be reached at 801-645-2134 or [email protected]

Jen Fischer

Guest columnist