Val almost sold her home to her neighbour..
Our Brief
Val was living alone in her family home of 50 years and unfortunately had no family close by. The house was too large, required too much maintenance and she wanted to live closer to her daughter and grandchildren on the Central Coast. The thought of moving filled her with dread but she knew it was time.
Val’s daughter contacted us to see if we could help as there was so much to do and her mum was feeling overwhelmed. The fact that engaging our services wouldn’t cost Val anything made this partnership a dream come true for them. We sat down with Val and formulated a strategy that broke everything down into small steps. This helped to alleviate her stress as she didn’t know where to start.
Val’s neighbour had been showing interest in buying the house for some time and had made her an offer. She would have accepted the offer had we not intervened – we knew the property was worth much more.
Our goal was to ensure Val had as much money as possible to purchase her next home on the Central Coast and enough left over to feel financially secure. Even though she hadn’t found a place to live just yet, we worked out the various options available to her so she felt comfortable to move forward.
Our Recommendation
We helped Val with organising a few tradespeople to tidy up the yard and gave her tips on what to do inside the home to maximise her sale price.
We then interviewed a number of real estate agents and together we made a decision on who would be best suited to sell her home. We chose an agent who had recently sold a number of similar style properties in the area. Val was nervous about having people in her home, so we decided to go with an ‘off market’ campaign.
This is not a strategy we recommend in a strong market, however it suited the market conditions at the time and based on our research, we were confident the agent already had the right buyer on their database
The Property
Our Result
After just 2 open homes, we were able to negotiate with 2-3 buyers to achieve a sale price $130,000 above what the ‘friendly’ neighbour had offered. We negotiated a long settlement with the purchaser so Val had 3 months to pack and locate her next home.
We then assisted Val with her research and provided our advice on various properties she had found for herself. When the time came to negotiate, we were able to provide Val with a strategy that ensured her offer would be accepted. There was a minimal overlap of just 1 week during which time she was able to stay with her daughter until the new property settled and she was able to move in.
What Our Client & Her Daughter Had to Say.....
“As a single lady of a certain age, the prospect of selling my home of 50 years filled me with dread. A family friend suggested the Seller’s Advocate he had used and I was introduced to Kathryn Fantov of Innovative Property Advocates.
Kathryn has been my advocate between agents and the various services used in the sale of my home, and her knowledge and advice has been both reassuring and invaluable. She kept me fully informed of proceedings, and has been thoughtful and kind during this most stressful exercise. She negotiated a very good sale price for my home and I am very pleased to recommend her services to anyone contemplating the sale of their property.” – Val
“I’d never heard of a seller’s advocate before Kathryn’s services were recommended to my Mum & I by a trusted friend, when Mum was thinking about selling her home of over 50 years. I live in a different city & was unsure of how to support my Mum at a stressful time when I couldn’t be around & had no real market understanding or expertise.
Kathryn met with us to explain the service and run through her approach & we were left with the feeling that it sounded almost too good to be true! I’m pleased to say that her support, local market expertise, selection of the right agency team & the ongoing advice provided to Mum facilitated the sale her house “off-market” for a better price than was expected after only one open house.
All of this gave me such a sense of comfort & confidence that Mum & the sale of her home were in good hands. Kathryn was very kind & supportive but also definite about what was required to prepare the house for sale & was always very responsive to any questions & concerns that, left unanswered, could have made this process incredibly stressful for Mum. As a result, I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending the services of Kathryn & the Innovative Property Advocates team.” – Lauren – Val’s daughter
