JUST SOLD – 167 Starlight Ln., West Hewett Rd., Santa Rosa Beach FL 32459
Case Study:
The home at 167 Starlight Ln. was in excellent condition. Features included trendy décor, bamboo floors, upscale light fixtures, and substantial outdoor living areas. The Florida room was 30 x 15, with wood ceilings, screens, shades, ceiling fans and an outdoor fireplace.
The price point was going to be attractive for Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, because the property was a manufactured home. That would place it on the more reasonable end of available offerings and likely contribute to a faster sale.
Marketing Challenges:
The property was located on a dirt portion of a road off West Hewett. The lot for the subject property began just after the paved road ended. It was red clay and in bad condition, with a few large pot holes you had to maneuver your car around. It was a mess. I called Walton County and confirmed that the portion of the road where this property began was not county maintained.
I emphasized to the seller that the property would be more marketable, i.e. we could head off objections about the road, if it were smoothed out and the holes filled in. This was not an easy task, as my seller contacted numerous contractors and everyone was backed up. I researched what could be done and found out that Walton County has a “Pay to Grade” program offered by Public Works. With “Pay to Grade”, a road that’s not county maintained can be graded for $50 per half-hour. The property owner had to supply the dirt.
This process of fixing the road took two months due to contractor delays, but only cost few hundred dollars. I feel the work probably reaped the seller an 8-10% higher sales price.
Comparable Sales: The best comparables were sales of about $250,000. Given that those sales were a couple of months old, we were initially going to price around $289,000. The delay in putting the home on the market to re-surface the dirt road was serendipitous, though, because prices had gone up further. We listed for $299,000.
The property sold in one day with a cash, “as is” offer for $295,000.
It’s Wendy… It’s Sold!
Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.
Call 850-259-0422
Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com
Wendy Rulnick, Broker, lists and sells real estate in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, 30A, Miramar Beach, Crestview, Sandestin, Seaside, Rosemary Beach, Okaloosa Island, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Freeport, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Florida.
Parlo italiano.
Comments (14)Subscribe to CommentsComment