There is a point that when you decide to sell your house, prior to contacting a Realtor ®, that you are pluming like a peacock on the assumed value of your home.

You invite a Realtor ® into your house and question this person on their ability and means. You are returned a CMA (comparative market analysis) of the house's present market value. You proceed to think this person is trying to rob you of your assumed value as if a gun was pulled to force you to sell at such a low price.

You decide you have a better method on price but still hire the agent because of their reputation and marketing prowess. You disregard the price factor suggested in the CMA and proceed to price it too high. (against the agent's advise)

So the home lingers, and lingers, and lingers. You ultimately feel that the agent is not doing enough because of the countless showings and no offer is given.

Your life is an endless array of jumping in the car to let strangers stomp on your turf and fondle your precious home without your supervision. Your agent urges you to lower the price to garnish an offer. Your stubbornness refuses you to comply

 Four months into this dance to the car, your patience is waning. You are looking for an alternative. Thoughts turn Gnarly and visions of the gun re-emerge.

Who do you shoot ?

Remember, you want to sell this house and move on with your life. So you lower the price and Voila...The anticipated offer finally comes in.

The plumes of your peacock past are raised because you have a ratified contract. You celebrate (against the advise of your Realtor ®).

In the hangover that ensues, your deaf ear hears nothing as your agent continues to tell you that this house is not sold yet. More urgings are directed at you to finish your checklist and listen carefully while completing the list.

All you see are lips moving.

Your peacock plumes are out again as you decide you will not complete this list on the house. You puff and state that, in it's present condition, it is good enough for me,why isn't it good enough for the buyer? Besides, you think that because you lowered  the price that the buyer is getting a steal. My loss is his gain. 

You spin yourself again into the fact you were robbed at gunpoint by the Realtor ® to accept this offer.

Your Realtor's ® lips are moving faster at this point. You still can't hear the words and complain you are being pressured. Dates and time-lines are a blur. You are consumed about moving out and packing up all your stuff , including the Whopper-Chopper you thought was long lost but is now found. 

Time is becoming of the essence and the sale is in jeopardy because of your "repair non-compliance".

Finally the AM channel that your Realtor was speaking on comes into tune and the lips have meaningful words. "The house is not going to close and the buyer wants to pull out". You have been plucked of all your peacock feathers and doom surrounds you as you blink at your belongings in the POD on the driveway.

The Realtor ® says you can close this if you just finish what needs to be done.

You nod in agreement.

The next day a bevy of contractors swarm the house to fix your neglects. Everybody is moving at warp speed to close escrow (they are now also charging you top dollar for the speed at which they must move.)

Within a few days, professionals from every corner of the real estate industry have made the your malaise fade away. A fire drill orchestrated by your Realtor ® to save you .

And today is the day. Closing happens and the Pod moves away.

Never put off check list items that are essential for closing.  All I can say is put away the gun , fold your peacock feathers, and make sure you have your A$$$ ready to move and do. Sometimes this tale has had unhappy endings. Not all sellers tune in and many times find they are out of time when they finally do!

Don't let your sale get away. Listen to your Realtor ® to ensure you won't walk away empty handed.