Jennifer, It looks as if it is time to put your preachin' into practice! LOL Good luck with your getting ready and your move.  8-)

I know, I know... it's harder than it looks! (to be objective and practical when it's YOUR deal)

This is so funny. 

I sold a home in Bethesda in 2005.  The timing was my decision because I thought I'd better take the money out while I could, knowing that prices had gotten totally out of hand in that area. 

However, while I had studied the comps and knew what the house should bring, I relied on an experienced listing agent to list and market the house.  We agreed on the price and she got to work.  There was also the matter of risk.  I felt more comfortable with another broker managing the transaction. 

The first thing I did was have a home inspection.  Then my family got to work making all of the little repairs.  My agent did a fabulous job with the brochures, open house, etc and the house was under contract in about 14 days.  We got full price and I was a happy home seller. 

I don't believe that the most experienced real estate practitioner can completely eliminate the emotion when selling their own residential property. 

For many reasons I believe that real estate folks should hire competent real estate folks to sell their personal real estate. 

Good post.  Good luck.

I have bought and sold many times and find that these experiences help us to be better Realtors.  It sure gives us a good taste of what our clients are going through, the emotions involved and often hard work. 

Its a lot like when the doctor becomes the patient.  We all get that way, its human nature.  Good luck with your sell.

Ahh, Jennifer.  LOL!!!

I'm sure it will be gorgeous when it goes on the market.  be sure to post pictures here! 

Jennifer smart idea to hire soemone else to sell your property. I just moved out of one of my homes and I'm thinking of doing the same thing. My problem is that when I negotiate for myself I'm too nice. I think I'm so afraid of taking advantage of the buyer since I'm an experienced broker that I end up giving away the farm. Good luck with your move!

Jennifer,

I LOL and find a bit of myself in this.  I know what I need to do at time, yet doing it w/o being directed to do EXACTLY what I know I should do just blows me away....

Good luck in the sale and in Colorado.

I hired an agent (Cindy Jones here on AR) to sell my condo last year.  It was the best decision I made.  Some of the things that she suggested and the way she negotiated with the other agent was unbelievable.  I would have caved at the first offer as I was so worried about the market.  She stuck with it and I ended up with $8000 more. So I've learned my lesson and won't sell another house myself again.

Jennifer, that is a big move. I sold my son's condo in TN last January with a Realtor. She told me exactly what to do, she is a friend but just told me like it was. So I did it, she and her husband are a  team and she said, we don't take listings that are not ready to sell.

Last year, I sold my condo in Oklahoma through the agent I bought it with. After knowing what it took to sell the house, and pricing it just a couple thousand dollars (buyers are price sensitive) lower than my competitor, it sold in 30days when compared to comps of closer to 180days. It was such a sweet process. I think the agent felt that it was easy since he didnt need to persuade me in doing the normal stuff: repaint the entire condo, change out the carpet, tiling instead of the vinyl flooring and draperies..... I staged it the best I could (without furniture because I didnt want to haul my stuff there and neither did I want to buy more stuff only to throw away later). It was alot of fun. But at that time, I didnt know how long it was going to take me to get a contract. I just did the best I know how and putting myself in the buyer's shoe to feel what they would like to see in the home.

I had spoken to an agent who had used another agent friend to sell her home. When asked, she said that her time was more valuable for her business than for her to sell her own home. There's some truth to that.

Wishing you well ...

Jennifer - It is so nice to sit on your shoulder and peer in your ear and watch your brain work. Now, this line, tho not yours, is very good. I shall steal it and use it today with a client that removed the washer dryer and left a god damn note on the wall....will either replace or give allowance for w/d.

Well, I know this will knock you on your keister, I could not find the words to express my gut feeling that it just won't go over. I even checked out the irreverent naked realtor .Today, my dear sweet nomadic friend gave them to me.

"Buyers want to fall in love. The more maintenance or cosmetic items they notice, the less likely they're going to fall in love. You can't price a home (nor should you want to) to compensate for leaving little things undone. Do you really want to risk losing the few buyers we have in this market because you didn't want to paint a closet?"

kiss kiss, fly safe....

Yes, selling your own home is an eye opener from the other side of the fence.  It's a great refresher course in "detaching yourself from the outcome" and other catch phrases we use with our sellers!

That is so human though...to be on the other side and act just like all the sellers we ever see...I will be interested in your viewpoint through this event.

Vanessa - I'm sure I'll be blogging about the experience thru-out - hopefully with all good things to say!

Norma - I'm always so grateful after I go thru a real estate transaction as a buyer or seller instead of as an agent. I learn SO much!

JMac - Glad I could help!!! Let me know if it works as well for you as it did for my agent. Closet painted? Check. Ceiling Fans replaced? Check. Flower beds raked? Check...

Loreena - It sounds wonderful actually, to hire out the stress to someone else!!!

Missy - I think we all need to adapt that philosophy...

Pat & Bryant - Me too! I'm a terrible negotiator for myself!

Dan - thank you!!

Karen - I'm going to insert a "before" photo into the blog ...I'll definitely have to redeem myself with "afters"

Mary - funny how so many of "us" seem to forget, though.

Renee - AMEN!

Michael - Always good to do preachin' practice!

At least you're taking the advice of your agent. Sounds like she knows what she's doing!

I think you knew what you were doing. You were testing the agent out on how she knew her business. Good for you. You sound like fun.

Thats why we hire someone to do it for us and not do it ourselves.  I would hate to have to put my home on the market.

Wow - I never considered the possibility of hiring it out before (in those cases where I didn't have to). Hmmm. Interesting concept.

Nicholas - LOL!!! Yeah, that's it!!

Lisa - she's very good. When I asked her what the competition for my house looked like, she literally told me about every single one - the pro's, the con's - she'd obviously been in all of them.

One more thing we have in common Jennifer, I placed my home on the market yesterday. I decided not to sale my home myself for other reasons, but I also found myself arguing my sales price with my listing agent. LOL!!! I trust my agent also, so I know things will be good in both our cases.  Good Luck to you and your move.

Jennifer, It's important to practice what we preach:) Good luck in your move. Hope you are going to a place where you can take the doggies!

Thanks Karen! Yes, the doggies will be welcome in Denver. The puppies might be a bit shell-shocked by their new tiny home (going from 4 acres to a 4610 sqft lot!) and the snow (note to self - have the video camera ready!), but my oldest dog, Lizzie, will be thrilled to get back home. Poor thing - she's chewed herself ragged in Alabama from all the unfamiliar allergens. She'll be so pretty when she has a full coat of hair again!

I took a CRS class where the instructor taught all about selling techniques. Then he admitted that when he sold his condo he insisted on being at all of the showings. Finally, a realtor told him to scram and leave it to her. Funny how we don't take our own advice. Hope everything goes well. I'll be following your blog.

I think I may have to take parts of her speech as my own!

Great post ... It is always interesting to see how we react to the sale of our own property.

At least I didn't say: "Well, buyers can always make an offer!" or "I'm not in any hurry!"