Name: Gil and Ann Candia
The home: A six-bedroom, six-bath home with a basement, built in 2005.
Where: Sandy Springs
Why they sold: To buy a retirement home in Florida.
Time on market: 169 days
Original price: $900,000
Sale price: $825,000
What it took: The couple had purchased the new home about seven years ago and finished the basement, bringing the square footage to more than 7,000 square feet, said Gil, who works for AT&T. The couple started talking about selling in January 2012, but decided to wait until after the spring — especially pollen season — to put the home on the market. Then the strategy was to reduce the price by $25,000 every six weeks, in hopes of generating activity.
Potential stumbling block: A home two doors down had been a short sale, which they expected would impact the offers they received. The Candias worked with Michael Bunch, an agent with Keller Williams Realty First Atlanta, who sold the short sale, hoping his knowledge would help with pricing and negotiations. Initial offers came in around $730,000 — the same price as the short sale. Bunch knew intricate details about the short sale and was able to communicate with the potential buyers the differences between the two homes during the price negotiations. Bunch also worked with the builder, John Willis Homes, to fix some issues found during the inspection (as the home was still under warranty), even asking the builder to rework one of the repairs to the home after it did not turn out very well the first time, Gil said.
Another portion of the negotiations involved the cost of window treatments that the buyer requested the Candias leave. One room alone had 20 panels. The sale price ended at $825,000, and the buyers agreed to pay the couple cash for half of the cost of the window treatments. The Candias closed on the home in December 2012. “It’s a business transaction. You can’t be emotional about it,” Gil said. “We loved the house. We still do. But people tend to forget that you’ve got to look at things more objectively and see what the market conditions are doing.”
Seller’s hint: Make it spotless, then leave the house, before potential buyers arrive. “If I’m buying a house, I like to be able to discuss things with my wife and not have the owners there listening and telling you things you don’t want to hear,” Gil said.
