This is the first of a monthly series of true stories of my experiences of property aspirations (I have not included identifying details and have changed the names of my customers to protect their privacy).
I met Geoff and Christine after they had tried to sell their home with another agent. I noticed that their home (in a suburb in the North West of Sydney) had come off the market and I paid them a personal visit because I had always liked their home. When they answered the door and I introduced myself I was honoured to be invited in and that they both remembered the letters that I had sent them over the previous few weeks in which I had wished them well with the sale of their home.
Their home was the one they had lived in all their married life and had raised their kids in and it was well maintained and totally suited to a family of five just like them. Now that the kids had moved out and were settled into their adult lives, Geoff and Christine had both dreamed of for some time to downsize into a waterfront apartment in Cabarita (a waterside suburb 16 km west of central Sydney) that was closer to family and to their grandchildren.
During our discussion Geoff revealed he had been unwell with a heart condition and that he was feeling stressed about selling the home because, as someone with a building background, Geoff was proud of the improvements he had made to the home to get it just the way he and Christine liked it.
As Geoff explained what he had done to improve the home I took notes and asked the sort of questions a prospective buyer might ask. As he answered all my questions, Geoff was expressing how much work he had done on the place and how much he’d like a growing family like theirs had been to enjoy the benefits of his work and to maintain the home in the way it deserved to be maintained. Clarifying the picture of why they were selling and who they would like to buy their home renewed Geoff and Christine’s resolve to sell their home. This settled, I told Geoff and Christine that I’d have a look at all the information they had provided and come back to them in a few days with a comprehensive plan for how we could manage the sale of their home within a fixed time frame so that they could transition to the waterfront apartment they wanted with a minimum of stress.
During our next meeting, I explained to Geoff and Christine that the best way to sell their home was to Auction the property. The reason for this was that a standard Auction time frame is 4 weeks and that I was confident that I would have a result for them before or on Auction day and so this would provide the closure they were seeking. That is one of the many advantages of the Auction process. A time frame is attached and a result occurs within the set time frame. It provides a seller with a definite date or call to action and this call to action is also equally relevant for buyers. When done correctly with the right home it’s really the best way to sell. With all this explained, Geoff and Christine agreed to Auction their home and decided that they would be happy with the standard 4 week time frame.
During our 4 week Auction campaign I coached Geoff and Christine through the process. It’s normal for home owners to be nervous and often stressed during a campaign and I minimise the stress by providing regular and detailed reports of the progress being made in terms of the people that have expressed interest in the house, the offers made, the sort of questions being asked and describing the parties that have expressed an interest and what they liked about the home. These discussions kept Geoff and Christine involved in the process and satisfied that everything was open and transparent.
The marketing campaign emphasised the pictures of the home, captured by my professional photographer, that highlighted the huge main bedroom and the extensive sun filled living area that overlooked the pool and really captured the essence of what makes this home a great place to live.
The presentation of the 5 bedroom, 5 bathroom, double garage property was bordering on flawless and, after having all the features that Geoff and Christine had so lovingly built into it over the years explained, many parties expressed interest in buying the home. As expected, all had families with three or four kids and fit the picture of the ideal buyer that Geoff and Christine had in mind.
On Auction day we had a substantial crowd of some 60 people and 6 bidder registrations on the day. We were lucky with the weather as sunlight filled the home and I thought this was a fitting reward for the work we had put in to give ourselves the very best opportunity to achieve a result on the day.
When the hammer fell we had reached a price of $1,280,000: $200,000 more than the reserve price for which Geoff and Christine had hoped. A fantastic result! To see the relief and joy on Geoff and Christine’s face was an absolute buzz and firm handshakes, led to tears and then hugs-all-round. It’s moments like these that always make me enormously happy for my customers. Quite simply, it’s why I do what I do.
Geoff and Christine were able to buy their water front apartment in Cabarita and regained their love for life. They see their grandkids most days and enjoy their time in Cabarita and their holiday apartment on the Gold Coast.
The new owners of Geoff and Christine’s former home love watching their young children swimming with friends in the pool. They now enjoy the home just as much as Geoff and Christine did.
John Priddy
Fulfilling Property Aspirations
33 Alexandra St
Hunters Hill NSW 2110
Ph: 02 9879 6955
M: +61 4 11 33 10 43
john.priddy@raywhite.com