Yesterday I met with a Seller. Her house very nice and in great condition considering it was built in 1971. With about $5,000 in updates I am certain the house would be modernized and most likely sell for top dollar. When I first met with the seller I asked the question I always ask when meeting with a seller, “So why are you selling such a nice house?” and her realtor stepped in and said that she is having health issues. The seller also added that she wants to move to Texas in be with family so as soon as she sells her house she will leave (waiting for her house to sell is the only reason she is still in Georgia). The woman is probably is her 70’s and is currently on dialysis.
So after building some rapport and inspecting the property now we come to the price. Prior to me checking the house the Realtor informed me that she must sell and was willing to negotiate the price. I informed them that although the house is in great shape I would need to spend some money to update the house, because as an Investor I need a deep enough discount to allow for Fixing up and being able to resale the house and still make a profit. They currently had the house listed at full retail price, and the Realtor said they would be willing to drop the price down $5,000. In my head I was like “What?, I thought you guys needed to sell, and was willing to negotiate the price?” The Realtor continued on saying that right now there are more buyers than homes available and they are willing to wait 2 or 3 years if they have to in order to get a full asking price. What pissed me off about the situation was the pain in his clients eyes as I could tell she was upset. I am willing to bet she would be willing to sell for much less so she could spend her last remaining years with loved ones in Texas instead of in this 1800 sqft house alone.
Although the Realtor had a point in that it is a Sellers market what he didn’t take into consideration was that homes for the same asking price as this house ($140,000) are much nicer and newer than this house, and home buyers look at a lot of houses before they settle on the home they will ultimately start a family in,etc. It just kills me how some Realtor’s think they are doing what is best for their clients by holding out for the full asking price when money isn’t always the priority. Sometimes what is most important is the seller moving on with their life so they can spend the most amount of what little time they have left with those they love.
Remember folks time is the asset you can never get back…time is so very precious.
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