Good morning valuable ifagalz followers, guests and visitors. Glad to say, we are still enjoying the greenery of the state of Washington. We have not relocated yet. Have not gotten me a boat, and I have not gone fishing yet. We are staying put at our beautiful home in Washington. Still feeding my Koi fishes every morning. So yes, after all that moves, nothing panned out.
Put the house on the market and got several offers, but nothing that we can accept. We went in with a goal and unfortunately that goal wasn’t met so we decided to stay put for now. The experience though was fascinating and worthwhile. Next time, I will be selling my house instead of having someone to do it for me. That is probably the best take away from all that is that now I am totally confident I can do the selling on my own.
I want total control of the whole process, from listing to closing. Having a realtor feels like someone is playing tricks on you all the time. At least, that’s how I felt. How many offers fell through because your realtor didn’t see them? Did they do a good job marketing your house? Did they pick the right photos? Did they scare away potential buyers? Were they wrong not to stage the house? What’s the point of having an open house? Blah blah blah. It was just too many factors, too many questions, too stressful and no right or correct answers.
I may end up using a realtor again. That is a possibility. Here are things I will do and that is to make sure I laid out all of my requirements ahead of time. First question, do you have a Social Media Presence? Let me see it. Do you have a website and does it have all the homes you’re selling? Let me see it. How many houses are you currently selling? At what price point? How many homes have you sold in the past 3 months? What company you use for photo/video shoots? And I will not hire anyone that binds me to a “SELLING CONTRACT” for more than A MONTH. This is a key to me hiring anyone. They cannot force me to keep them if they cannot sell my house within a month.
Get ready for your phone to be blown up with realtors trying to get you hired them to sell your house. Lots and lots of them! It would be nice if they’re calling to bring you potential buyers. lol. Felt like these people are just waiting to attack you at your most vulnerable moment. The minute your house is off the market is the minute you start getting calls. And lots of them including cash buyers. They’ll ask you all sorts of questions, like what happened to your realtor. Why can’t she sold your house? I can sell it in 3 days time. Blah Blah Blah. The cash buyers would really love it if you tell them your behind on your mortgage, owed the government tax on your property, the inspector found the foundation was off balance, etc… They want to use these information against you. They’ll try to play to your emotions.
To be in control, please do not share your private information with these people. I shut them down by saying, I will only sell my house to you if you are buying it for this price or better! No less, no negotiations, no nothing. Nada. Buy at my price or get pushed off the canoe! Can you please tell me a little bit about your house? How much you owe on your mortgage? How much behind are you? How was the inspection? Did they find anything wrong with the house? To shut them up, say nothing is wrong with my house, it is in the best of conditions and I am 2 months ahead on my mortgage payment. Nothing owed, Nothing wrong! Now, go jump on another canoe! Oh, and before they say anything, tell them you’re not hiring nor looking for sellers of your house. You are only looking for potential buyers! If they insist which they will, remind them again and again and shut them up.
Well, thanks for listening in on me chanting away. But that was my experience and I did hold the line successfully without sacrificing anything, but time. Didn’t give in to the pressure of selling at a lower point than my stated goal. Yes, people called me crazy for not accepting a humongous profit, but I have my own reasons. I set a goal and I had to stick to it or regretting it for the rest of my life. Felt like it was a success, even if I didn’t sell the house. The experience was just awesome! I am now more confident than ever that I can do equally as good or even better than a licensed realtor can. That is important and satisfying to me.
Fishing and farming are still on my mind, but it was not the right time yet.
