Closing Down a Fairfield, CT. Estate. I know I am not the first to point this out but here in Connecticut the cost of driving is getting dangerously high. And to think the seasonal price hikes have yet to be reflected in the current number.
Thankfully, AR Realtors can help prospective buyers narrow their search online before taking to the road.
We met with a woman from upstate CT. a few months back. Her father had recently passed away and she was faced with closing down his Fairfield, CT. estate and clearing out the home to prepare it to be sold. We did a walk through and found we needed to pack and ship everything to her upstate barn and, repair deferred maintenance issues such as: peeling paint, rotted exterior trim, dingy, dark, dirty, dated interior...you get the picture. The grounds and gardens however, looked very well manicured and cared for even though it was not yet spring. We learned that the father’s only passion in his final years was gardening. Come springtime all manner of perennials and bulbs would burst forth making the yard a showplace.
At our next meeting, we gave the woman a fair proposal to repair and prepare the house for sale. We told her the place could ready for listing by April. The house would match the curb appeal of the grounds and gardens and surely catch a buyer’s eye and heart. When she told us she was going to do it herself I thought her husband was going to fall over. It very clearly came out of left field for this poor guy. It looked like he was going to cry.
We frequently meet with potential clients who must close out an estate but often live a great distance away. I am always surprised by how many initially plan to do it on their own. Given the escalating cost to drive back and forth for months of Saturdays and Sundays, not to mention the value of their own time, I think we are a pretty good deal.
The house needed many thousands of dollars in work to get it ready for it's close up. But we could have the whole project done in no time and have it ready to coincide with the spring buying season. In an attempt to save money she failed to take into account the carrying costs: the mortgage, taxes, insurance and maintenance that add up with each passing month. Add to that the cost of the two-hour round trip and the value of her and her families time. We are a pretty great deal. Often our work pays for itself by increasing the asking price of the property and expediting the time to market thereby reducing the aforementioned carrying costs.
I drove by the house en-route to a meeting yesterday and was not surprised to see that nothing had been done yet, NOT A THING. The gardens however, were looking fabulous. You can lead a horse to water..........
I should give her a call.
Closing Down a Fairfield, CT. Estate
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