The Sale
Name: Bill and Staci Bailey. Bill, 49, works for SunTrust; Staci, 42, works as a preschool teacher.
The home: A four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath home built in 1996.
Where: Cumming's Plantation at Brookwood neighborhood.
Why they sold: The couple purchased the new home in 1997, prior to starting a family. With four children -- 4-year-old twins Lauren and Owen, 9-year-old Evan and 11-year-old Ryan -- they had outgrown the home and needed more space.
Time on market: 53 days
Original price: $259,900
Sale price: $248,000
What it took: With it being a nerve-wracking time to sell a home, Staci said it was imperative they did everything in their power and budget to stand out from the competition. "If we were going to do this, we were going to do this with 100 percent effort on our part," she said. "We wanted to make sure we had the great first impression. We wanted the home to be move-in ready."
Before meeting with their agent, Julie Barnes with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, they walked through each room and the exterior to make a three-page list of possible improvements, from bent blinds to the outdated bathroom floor. “By having this list, we were able to quickly create a to-do list and get started as quickly as possible; that was a huge help,” Staci said.
They spent about $3,500 to update the master bathroom floor with porcelain tile and to add fresh coats of neutral paint inside the home and update the exterior paint. Small changes included removing all personal photos.
Even as the home was on the market, the couple listened to feedback. A potential buyer had remarked to an agent about bare spots in the backyard, so they spent about $800 to lay new sod in those spots. “We believe that action could have helped the buyer come to their final decision,” Staci said.
They closed on the home in June, and purchased a five-bedroom home with a basement in the same Forsyth County school district.
Potential stumbling block: The daily challenge of trying to sell a home when four children are living and playing in it. Barnes recommended they convert a playroom visible from the foyer back to its original purpose -- a dining room. "In the beginning we thought, 'Are you kidding me? Really?'" Staci said. But after they boxed up most of the toys and moved a few favorites to the kids' bedrooms and closets, plus borrowed a table and accessories, it improved the appeal of the first floor. "Not was it only inviting walking in, but it brought that room back to its intended use," she said.
The family made it a routine to straighten up the house before walking out the door and going to bed. “We had to make a point of saying, ‘Today could be the day the buyer is going to walk in the front door,’” Staci said.
Seller's hint: View the competition. They toured about seven nearby homes for sale that helped them price the home in the middle of the market. "We actually wanted to make sure we saw these homes through the eyes of a buyer for presentation purposes as well as helping us determine our best list price," Staci said.
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