Sold Home In Bessemer, Alabama

Sunday 8/17/2008

How to sell a home in the depressed real estate market

First, it takes some hard work and lots of imagination. You have to be patient but use all your inheriant skills in selling anything. I tried doing the FSBO thing, but admittedly I don't know the ins and outs and details in reaching the sale.

I listed the house with about 4 agencies before I found the one that really worked on this and had some real imagination in selling the home. Curb appeal is first, so we took it off the market while we installed 5 new double pane windows in the living room and dining room to help the appearance from the street.

We than cleaned it through out, removed any paint spots off the floors, polished the hardwoods and had drains replaced in the kitchen and both bathrooms plumbing renewed removing any chance of this going wrong.

When we then listed the home, we went up 4,900 dollars to cover these added improvements. The home does not have Central heat and air so we had an estimate of $7,000 on this and put this in as 'negioable'. This we felt would be something to intice a new owner and a discount we could play with.

The clincher was for my brother and I to agree to put up $500 each if a multiple lising agent sells the house, not our listing agent! This $1,000 cash created a lot of interest and the agent really trying to make that extra $1,000 bucks.

The seller found a 'first time home owner' and used the $7,000 for the central heat and air as part of their down payment to qualify for a bank loan. We then got a possible buyer with an 'APPROVED BANK LOAN' AND EARNEST MONEY ON THE HOUSE.

We now have had the home inspection and the house passed with only two repairs needed and they are about done. We now have a closing date of August 27, 10 days from now and brother and I should get about $65,000 out of this with expenses taken out. A good but hard job.

jeff the knutt in the ham