The Last

Last night I was looking forward to a night with absolutely no attention paid to anything house related, I just wanted to chill.  I made my dinner and then enjoyed it while watching the new HBO series, The Last of Us which features Pedro Pascal, the actor that plays the Mandalorian.  The series is a new spin on a zombie apocalypse.  I watched the first two episodes that have been released and am hooked.  It seems like a great series as long as images of creepy fungus zombie don’t keep you up at night.

One space in the house that really feels refreshed in the house since the painting is the master bedroom.  It just feels good in there.  Since this picture was taken I put two matching 100 watt equivalent Hue smart bulbs in there which makes the space feel even warmer and brighter.  The combination of improvements made over the last few weeks really make a difference.

Even though I am pleased with my space yesterday I still made arrangements to have my realtor come out so we can get the ball officially rolling on listing it for sale.  She has seen pictures of the improvements and seems to like them.  I want to talk to her more about potentially listing the house for more than the range she initially mentioned for a few reasons.

When she did the initial presentation she showed other homes in the area to determine a suitable price range.  A common mindset potential home sellers fall into is they look at other current listings around them and use them to gauge their home’s worth.  However what is really crucial are the homes that have actually sold as those sale prices are what actually dictate the market, not prices that sellers HOPE to get.  I understand that completely, but….

When my range was established it was prior to thousands of dollars of painting and other smaller improvements.  I also don’t think that the value of a full house solar system was being factored in at all, something no houses for sale in my area have.  From a realtor perspective it is to your advantage to have a client price a house very attractively to get it turned over quickly but for a seller that is my position where the need to sell is not pressing, I think I would like to ask for more.

I think I mentioned this realtor is someone I know from the running club.  She also was the realtor when Ali sold her townhouse.  During that transaction she recommended Ali list her house for almost 100k less than Ali wanted to.  Ali insisted on the higher asking price and in the end she netted 50k more than the realtors suggestion.  Granted the market was more aggressive then but still I am selling my house to benefit me first and nobody else.

I plan to have a good discussion with the realtor on Saturday where I will express my thoughts and see what she has to say about it.  With the opening of the new county park only a mile from my house and other conveniences being put in place over the last several years I think I can stretch a little bit and still find a suitable buyer, someone with a family that appreciates the opportunity a property like mine offers.