How a Buyer sees a home is NOT always how a Seller sees the home

It is not a secret a home seller always thinks their home is the best while placing a higher value on improvements they made. The other not so well kept secret, is that home buyers tend to pick apart home trying to get the lowest price for the home.

Some where in the middle is the true value of the home. Getting there can be a rough ride. Take a recent seller who spent a great deal of home to get their home ready to sell. A $20,000 kitchen, adding a bathroom to finished basement area. Painting the inside and replacing the 1st floor carpet with laminate. 

It sounds amazing doesn't it? However when you look at value, what you pay for a repair does not always make your home worth more that upgrade. With some you are lucky to get your money back. In this case they already owed a big mortgage. Being a condo in a large complex of all similar units, value is limited to near what the last 3 highest sales sold for. 

In brief the seller wanted to add the cost of all these repairs to what the last condo sold for as theirs did not have these repairs. I showed them the comps, what they meant and they did not get it, but agreed to a price to list, still higher than any condo in the complex. The day came buyers started seeing the condo. The comments though were similar to what i already warned. 

The upstairs bedrooms had not been touched, they need paint and new carpets. Everyone loves the laminate, loves the new kitchen. The 1st floor though was just painted, but painted a dark color. No one has liked it so far and the money they spent on painting, is really wasted.  The kitchen although quite awesome, is well above what is expected in a condo. Buyers are beating up the home as expected. The seller is holding firm but starting to realize they are too high. Time will tell and i gave them 2 weeks. Getting the seller to see the home through a buyers eyes will be key. 

The moral of the story is pricing a home right from the start is key. Setting a price should be done using real life sold comps, not emotion.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing in real estate for me, is to provide great service. To stand out from the crowd by being there through each step of the buying or selling process. My message that I want to share in Real Estate, is that my philosophy is simple, to provide more personal and professional service to guide clients through each step of the buying or selling process. All Agents are not created equal and every buyer or seller should take the time to hire the BEST not just the biggest.