06/07/2022
It Pays To Be Cute and Scrappy. tl;dr Probate court established the house value at $175,000, after 3 weeks of improvements (mostly delayed by heavy winds for painting), listed for $250,000 – ratified at $270,000. Closed for $95,000 more than the initial court value. Oh, and you can smell a corporate investor coming even when they disguise themselves as regular folk.
If you’re ever feeling lonely, post about looking for a real estate agent. Your inbox will be flooded shortly. The seller posted on my neighborhood page looking for help. She heard from dozens of self-important sales bot-type agents on auto-pilot. She met with me and hired me because she trusted me. This well-read, smart lady sensed vultures circling for this sale. She had a myriad of improvements to complete before the sale and joked I’d taken on The Grapes of Wrath. Also, probate can be fraught with danger in the wrong hands and she knew this.
Built by the venerable Ben Weingart from Los Angeles, the seller agreed we should retain the character including pink tile, original cabinetry, interior light fixtures, etc. Because of the low valuation by the probate court (highly recommend a will to avoid probate weirdness), improvements were necessary.
With the help of Kurt (hi!) and trusty Von, we went into a whirlwind of dizzying improvements over 3 weeks. Probate court delayed the sale for months during Covid. However, I pushed daily to get the property out of probate. As an agent, you fight battles your clients never know about. In this case, dealing with the court, the attorneys, their assistants, and a heavy load of legalities/red tape.
Meanwhile, I visited the home daily for 9 months to safeguard against squatters/vandalism. Improvements were on a continuous basis. My policy has always been to simply handle it. A giant tree fell over the backyard from the next-door neighbor’s house during heavy winds. So, I had it chopped into neat stacks of firewood logs. No sense in getting all tit-for-tat with the neighbor over whose responsibility it was.
Once the house went live for sale, lines of buyers and their agents formed with scores of cars parked on Canosa Ave and Bruce Street. Seller had too many offers to choose from. Crypto bros drove in from L.A. to see it, went on a bender, and are probably still at a dayclub as we speak.
Another investor posing as a regular person came to see it. He told me this would make the perfect home for himself. They will say ANYTHING to shark a sale. I asked him how the move would go from The Paseos. ;)
These guys tend to be smarmy. The first thing they do is tell you how long they’ve been in the business (Nobody.Cares.) and their sales volume (also, snooze). Demonstrate how you actually helped someone and then I’m impressed.
Buyers fell in love with this sweet home. The preservation efforts gave them an alternative to the greywash flips. Notably, they loved the vignettes in the staging. Nearly every single offer named staging items they specifically wanted in the sale. “It’s soooooo cute!” and sometimes, they’d ask silly questions like “Is the mailbox staying?” Small is memorable. This home touched buyers and agents on an emotional level – they could sense the care and warmth poured into it.
The seller makes the final decision. She chose a local teacher’s offer with an FHA loan (FHA only requires a 3.5% down payment, hi hi!). My client’s parting gift to her neighbors was to replace herself with another good neighbor.:)
Ultimately, the home sold for $270,000 because the seller trusted the 3 weeks of work required to net $95,000 more than the super low court-established value. It’s one of my favorite sales ever and these are the type of stats I am most proud of.
