They're Not All Hard — What It Looks Like When Everything Is Done Right

They're Not All Hard — What It Looks Like When Everything Is Done Right

The last few weeks I have been sharing some of the harder stories from this job. The deal that fell apart. The agent who sent a cancellation without a phone call. The transactions that take everything you have to get across the finish line.

Those stories are real and they are worth telling. But they are not the whole picture.

This week I want to talk about what it looks like when everything is done right.

A Home That Sat for Six Months

A few months ago one of our friends referred us to a seller — a condo that had previously been listed with another agent for six months. In six months it had three showings. Three.

There are usually a few reasons a home sits that long. In this case it came down to two things: the home was priced too high from the start and it was vacant with no staging, making it difficult for buyers to connect with the space.

When we took it on we addressed both. We priced it correctly based on what the market was actually supporting — not what the seller hoped it would stretch to. And because the home was vacant we virtually staged it so buyers could walk in, or scroll through photos online, and actually see themselves living there.

Price and positioning. That is where it always starts.

What Happened Next

First week on the market — three showings. We were under contract in 28 days.

To put that in perspective, comparable units of the same square footage in this complex averaged 118 days on market. Two units were cancelled after sitting for 182 and 351 days without ever selling. One unit has been active for 339 days. The average days on market in this complex across all sizes over the last six months is 102.

Our listing went under contract in 28.

The difference was not luck. It was strategy — applied correctly from day one.

When the Right People Are on Both Sides

Here is the part worth talking about just as much as the numbers.

The buyer's agent on this transaction was excellent from the start. Communicative, responsive, and professional throughout. The BINSR — the inspection repair request — was the easiest I have seen in probably two years. Reasonable, fair, and resolved quickly. The lender had everything wrapped up ahead of schedule and we were able to move the closing up 14 days earlier than originally planned.

Fourteen days early.

When the right people are on both sides of a transaction — a great agent, a communicative lender, a reasonable buyer — the whole process just works. There is no drama, no scrambling, no going dark. Everyone is focused on the same outcome and they get there together.

That is what this one felt like. And it is a good reminder of what this process is supposed to look like.

What This Means for Sellers

The story of this condo is not unique. Homes sit all the time because they were launched without a real strategy. Priced too high, presented poorly, or both. And once a listing goes stale it is very hard to recover — buyers notice days on market and they draw conclusions from it.

The sellers who do well are the ones who go in with a plan. Priced right from day one. Presented in a way that removes hesitation before it starts. Launched at the right time and to the right audience.

When that foundation is in place, the rest of the process has a much better chance of feeling the way this one did.

If you have been thinking about a move and want to talk through what that process actually looks like for your situation, let's sit down and figure it out together.

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