The Sale
Names: Mark Heindl, 48, who works for SunTrust's commercial investment banking division, and John Lynch, 48, director of bands at the University of Georgia.
The home: A four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath Craftsman-style home built in 2006.
Where: Atlanta's Kirkwood neighborhood
Why they sold: "We loved our house, but we were wanting to get more in the middle of the city," Lynch said. Before seeing a movie at Atlantic Station, they toured The Atlantic, a high-rise with new condos. The building's amenities, high-end finishes and views from their corner unit's floor-to-ceiling windows and two balconies, won them over, but they still needed to sell their home. "We were like, 'We're not going to sell our house in Kirkwood. The economy is so bad. It's never going to happen.' Famous last words. A week later, we had an offer," Lynch said.
Time on market: 10 days
Original price: $380,000
Sale price: $367,000
What it took: Decluttering, by removing personal items, while staging the home to help potential buyers envision themselves there. "When we showed the house, we made sure there were fresh flowers out. We did the lighting just right. We tried to make it look really cozy," Lynch said.
To set the asking price, their agent, Butch Whitfield of Harry Norman, Realtors, showed them comparable Kirkwood sales, focusing on the price per square foot. Small updates included touching up the exterior trim and staining the deck and fences. They also shared with potential buyers how much they liked living in the neighborhood by filling out a form that listed their favorite restaurants, parks, coffee shops and other spots.
Potential stumbling block: The inspection turned up some repairs related to the trim and windows, which they had to negotiate with the buyers. They also agreed to include their outdoor furniture and some rugs in the sale. They closed on the home in October.
Seller's hint: Don't be dogmatic about your price. "We knew that the price would be driven by the market and not by what we felt like we had to get for the house," Heindel said. "We were willing to take a small loss for the house because we knew we were getting such a great deal in moving into the neighborhood that we wanted to get into."
