){kind=link}
Was out and about this morning showing some homes to long time clients. Just a couple of thoughts worth passing along to readers.
Don’t Stay In Your House For Showings. Ever.
One of the houses, the sellers didn’t leave. Instead, they settled in on the back patio under an inviting looking umbrella. Well, my buyer clients never ventured out to that space. It’s too bad. That part of the home featured an outdoor hot tub, lots of seating, views of a large and immaculate grassy lot. And gardens overflowing with brightly colored flowers and butterfly attracting plants.
In short, that outdoor space was a great feature to the house. Now, to be fair, my clients were already not loving the house. So I don’t think they were going to buy it. But, any house that you skip the outdoor features on is completely out of the running.
Advice to Boulder Home Sellers: get up and leave for a showing. It might be disrupting your day. But we are talking about the sale of your house. It takes a little effort. Go for a coffee, do your grocery shopping, grab a beer at your favorite bar. Okay, 10 am might have been early for a beer. But you get the idea. Leave the house.
Of course, I had to let the sellers know my clients were taking a pass. So I politely let the owners know we were all done with the showing and promised to submit feedback to the listing agent.
Manipulating Zillow Prices
Showed another home, one that was a bit of a midcentury modern project. Conservatively, I think that house would require half a million dollars or more investment to make it up to date. Let’s see, it had patently green carpeting in the primary bedroom. Check out the photo.
But two takeaways here.
First, the listing agent or owner had manipulated Zillow and other automated pricing models. That can be done. The upside is the listing price looks justified. The downside is the seller is hiding the actual price valuation. Zillow will tell you when adjustments were made to a home’s value. Zillow won’t tell you what those adjustments were. Bottom line: this raised my suspicions on the correct value as I was showing this one of a kind home.
Boulder One Of A Kind Homes
Second, there are some really one of a kind homes out there. This property had a big fully enclosed atrium or courtyard look. I have to admit, it was really a neat space. Alas, it was also a dated home. So there was a dead tree that had been cut to a stump remaining in the courtyard. That would have to be ground down and the pavers redone to match. Right now, it was just a tripping hazard and eye sore.
As we left, the buyer’s sharp eyes noticed some tile accents hidden away behind the wild growth of some zealous vines. This house really had some fun features. See a house in passing that you would like to view? Contact Bob Gordon to set a private personalized showing.