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Listed, Staged and SOLD in ONE DAY!

By Chelle Gassan

Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Regency and Staged Homes VA

March 10, 2008 10:22 AM

ATTENTION SELLERS!

If you are not pricing your house correctly and making sure that your home shows like a model, then don’t expect to see the results we just had with our most recent listing in Gainesville, Virginia. Here is the anatomy of a great sale:
Great Listing

Monday: Signed the listing agreement for $300,000. After showing the Seller comparable properties for her neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods, she agreed that this was the right price for her home to get it sold quickly.

Wednesday: We staged this adorable 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath. This house already had great promise with hardwood floors on the entire first floor, not to mention a very realistic seller. We just moved a few pieces of furniture around and added some finishing touches to give it that great first impression.

Thursday: The photos were taken, and brochures ordered. That night the listing and photos were uploaded to the MLS.

Friday: First showing at noon. Phone call soon thereafter asking if we had any offers. Later that night, offer is sent over.

Saturday morning: Speak with Seller about offer in hand, we counter-offer, Purchasers agree, Seller and Purchaser initial everything...contract is ratified. (I need to mention, too, that while the Seller was signing the changes to the contract, there was another agent wanting to write an offer for her clients. Potentially a multiple offer situation, but the Seller is happy.)

family room View to Front Breakfast nook Living Room

Sellers, the market has changed, but that doesn’t mean your house won’t sell. It may mean that you need to change your approach to selling your home. If you are waiting for that one in a million buyer who is going to see past all your clutter and want to pay you $20,000 more than the last house that sold, don’t hold your breath...it’s not going to happen.

There were 395 homes for sale in Gainesville, Virginia last month and only 21 of them sold. You have an approximately 1 in 19 chance of selling your house, and that is just in Gainesville, there are so many other neighborhoods where Buyers are searching:

So, now that you see how it can work, what are you going to do to make sure your home stands out and gets the offer?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like more information about buying or selling in the Gainesville Area, please contact:

CHELLE GASSAN

571-330-6164

chelle@chellegassan.com

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Andrea S

Fredericksburg, VA

Congrats, Chelle - Those kind of statistics are hard to beat and hard to argue!!

Mar 10, 2008 02:47 PM

Chelle Gassan

RE/MAX Regency and Staged Homes VA - Bristow, VA

NOVA Realtor and Stager

Kathy-Success feels good and makes for a happy client

Julie-That's a great idea for a marketing letter..thanks.

Don-thanks for the compliment

Darlene-that should be my new motto, "price it right and stage it right"

Cindy-Good luck with your offers. I don't know about you, but I have seen a huge increase in buyer activity.

Andrea-You are right about the statistics being hard to beat!

Mar 11, 2008 03:28 AM

Chuck Christensen

Your Financial Coach - Bellingham, WA

Chelle I am sure your RE contracts are pretty solid....but you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. Meaning that the loan is not guarenteed to go thru. It hasn't happened to me yet but has to a few of my partners, and friends with other companies. The lender approves the loan, but then adds conditions as the market gets more scary. Lenders are terified right now and underwriters are worried about keeping their jobs. Back in August I was 1 day from closing, and the next morning just before the clients went to sign, the lender closed up and was out of business....no point in signing a contract that can't fund. I called the clients, whom were very upset and blamed it on me....

This market is pretty scary, and any loan officer that guarentees a loan will close is out of touch with reality and the market conditions. Lenders are also changing program guidlines and not always backing up what they previously approved. I am not one for doom and gloom, but it has been a reality for the last 6 months.

Which one of you is Chelle?

Mar 11, 2008 07:39 AM

Chelle Gassan

RE/MAX Regency and Staged Homes VA - Bristow, VA

NOVA Realtor and Stager

Chuck-I agree with you about being careful when it comes to guaranteeing a loan, which is why I have all purchasers approved through my lender whether they use him or not. Needless to say, he has had to step in a few times and "save" the deal. Fortunately, this home is below market value and I don't foresee any issues, plus the buyers have a 20% down payment (which is unheard of these days).

I like you, do try to be cautious and not count my chickens before they hatch, but in a market where the average listing time is 120 days, this story had to be told.

BTW-I'm the younger one on the right. On the left is my partner (aka Mom, too).

Mar 11, 2008 07:58 AM

n d

Naoma Doriguzzi - Virginia Beach, VA

WOW! that is amazing and congrats on your quick sale! You should be able to get a few referrals from the happy sellers for that one! :)

Mar 11, 2008 08:07 AM

Kathy Riggle

STAGING SMART N SOLD - Houston, TX

Houston Home Staging

Congrats, Chelle on the staging and quick sale. I hope the market picks up in my area.

Kathy

Mar 11, 2008 08:12 AM

Kathleen Garvey

HomeSmart Cherry Creek - Denver - Denver, CO

Denver's Neighborhood Expert - Listings & Sales

KEY: Priced BELOW market value....now that was SURE TO SELL QUICK! Good for you....looks like you did a great job! Congrats! Regards-Kathleen

Mar 11, 2008 11:20 AM

Stella Barbour

NoVa Brokers LLC - Vienna, VA

Principal Broker, Serving Virginia and Maryland

Great story. I love to hear about this type of success. I bet you couldn't wait to tell your sellers.

Mar 13, 2008 02:35 PM

Patty Hill, Broker Associate

Local Homes and Land, Inc - Summerville, SC

Local Homes and Land, Inc

Chelle, awesome job!

Mar 13, 2008 03:02 PM

Kristina Leone

Lionheart Home Staging, LLC - Minneapolis, MN

Testimonials like this are always inspiring! Thanks for sharing the good news!

Mar 13, 2008 03:55 PM

Chuck Christensen

Your Financial Coach - Bellingham, WA

THAT'S YOUR MOM!

120 days on the market is alot...that skrotemless Realtor on Tv that renues his homes on the MLS every 2 weeks to dishonestly make them seem like their new and get another look....is obviously not in your area.

Naoma I used Wachovia for the first time in January...went pretty smooth...good lender...I will use them again when the time arises.

Mar 13, 2008 05:40 PM

Chelle Gassan

RE/MAX Regency and Staged Homes VA - Bristow, VA

NOVA Realtor and Stager

Naoma- Yes, I will be looking for those referrals from my very happy clients.

Kathy-I thought things were good in TX?

Kathleen- Yes, the pricing is the definitely the key, and then when it looks great on top of that, call it SOLD!

Stella-No kidding about telling the seller. She was in shock to say the least.

Patty-Thank you!

Kristina-We all need some good news to compound the negative media.

Chuck-That's my Mom! I don't run across those kind of agents around here. Our MLS will fine you for tactics like that.

Mar 14, 2008 01:19 AM

Clint Miller

Real Estate Pipeline, Inc. - Missoula, MT

Chelle -- Awesome work! And very nice photos to show what a great home this really is...fantastic job!

Mar 14, 2008 01:21 AM

Chelle Gassan

RE/MAX Regency and Staged Homes VA - Bristow, VA

NOVA Realtor and Stager

Clint-It really is a nice house and the pictures do give it justice. Thanks!

Mar 14, 2008 09:08 AM

Cynthia Tilghman, Realtor® Onslow County NC Home Specialist

Kingsbridge Realty, Inc - Hubert, NC

Chelle,
Now that's the way I like to do business, a dream deal for sure!

Mar 16, 2008 06:10 AM

DeAndrea "Dee Dee" Jones

Samson Properties - Manassas, VA

DMVRealEstateChick

Quick sales are always a great thing. Thanks for sharing your success.

Mar 16, 2008 06:13 AM

Chelle Gassan

RE/MAX Regency and Staged Homes VA - Bristow, VA

NOVA Realtor and Stager

Cynthia-If all deals with this dreamy, there would be a lot more agents in business. But it's nice to have the good ones!

Dee Dee-We use to have quick sales all the time, so it is a pleasant surprise with today's current market.

Mar 17, 2008 02:29 AM

Heather Chotard

In Style - Edmonton, AB

Well done! Gotta love when its a quick sell!

Heather

Mar 17, 2008 03:00 AM

Cindy Bryant

Redesign Etc. Home Staging - Houston, TX

"Houston Home Staging Pros"

Thats fantastic...congrats, is that a Texas star above that fireplace!

Mar 17, 2008 04:59 PM

Justin Williams

Independent - Virginia Beach, VA

Loan Officer

Chelle - Thats AWESOME and Congrats!! Love to hear these stories from stagers guess thats why I somehow get addicted to watching the hgtv channel so much! Kudos!

Mar 17, 2008 05:17 PM