I looked in my customer's eyes and realized he saw something different from what anyone else would see and had priced it accordingly (an FSBO). His father built the house himself with the help of a friend. He and his sisters were born into this home and stayed until they married out. He saw the home he grew up in. He saw the memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas. He saw a living vibrant home. A home he and his sisters valued. There was a second home they owned next door that needed to be scraped.
I felt a bit sad and told him he would not like what I had to say. I told him the price he was asking for the properties was too high for the condition they were in. I showed him my numbers and data. I took a deep breath and told him where we could list the home to hopefully get interest. There is no money to fix it up. Perhaps there is to clean it up. I had ideas on marketing them and could sell them but I didn't need my new company's slick system. The houses would not benefit from cool pictures. They would benefit from good marketing in the right places. Information on a rehab loan. We seemed to have a good rapport. He had a conference call with his sisters on Sunday. We would speak on Monday. I want the listing. I can sell the houses. Not for what they wanted but for what they were worth.
I felt bad to tell him that while his memories were to be cherished, the new buyer would see the house as it is, not with overlays of a life spent there.
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