In Education, the village consists of teachers, parents, administrators, district office personnel, and the students themselves. In real estate, the roles are different, but the team concept remains. It takes a village.
I found this to be so true during my recent listing. It started with the seller making the emotionally challenging decision to sell her home. Once that was decided, it led to so many more questions and answers. Should she sell first or buy first? Should she make repairs or list As Is? Who should she call to help? I had been referred to her by another HomeSmart agent, so she called me.
Once we talked about what she was hoping to accomplish (moving to the state of Washington), we made a list of options. She considered having her son assume her loan and live in her condo, but he is going to school in the midwest and plans to stay there after college. She also thought about becoming a landlord and renting her unit, but she didn’t want to be responsible for a tenant while living in a different state. Eventually, we decided to list her home and exchanged some ideas about preparing the house for sale. At first, listing “As Is” seemed the easiest, but with the possibility of a higher sale price, she decided to invest some savings into making her home look really inviting to a new buyer.
First, we contacted Brian of Horton Renovations & Painting, my brother and favorite general contractor, who walked through the home and gave our seller some great advice of where to spend to really enhance the property value. Next we called Shelby Brush and Danielle Best of B & Co. Design Studio to stage the home in its best possible light. Next on the scene was Kai from Preview First to take those amazing photographs we see on highly desirable MLS properties. And finally, we hosted an open house and invited all the neighbors and buyer’s agents to check it out and see if we could connect our seller with a new buyer. It takes a village.
All of us working together make things possible. Soon we will bring in an escrow company, possibly a lender, and an amazing Transaction Coordinator, like Timothy Bravo who’s already been helping me so much! Everyone has a part to play and in the end, someone is going to get a new place to call home, and our seller will be able to find her new space as well. It is rewarding work. Together we help the dream of homeownership become a reality.
If you would like this team to help you, either buy or sell a home, I would love to contribute. I have a village ready and willing to make it happen. Come visit me over at FirstHomeEd.com and let’s get started.
So many good things to come,
Diana Cohen
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