Name: Ben and Angela Chase
The home: A four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath home built in 1991.
Where: Johns Creek
Why they sold: Putting the home on the market was a "lifestyle decision," said Ben, 32, a software developer. The couple, who bought the home in 2009 and now have a 3-year-old and 1-year-old, desired to move to a home with acreage.
Time on market: 77 days
Original price: $255,000
Sale price: $236,000
What it took: The couple bought the home as a foreclosure and had to repair the plumbing and appliances. But now they faced an ongoing to-do list. Before putting the home on the market, they knocked odds and ends off the list, such as replacing the builder-grade, brass hinges and doorknobs with ones made of oil-rubbed bronze, putting a new chandelier in the foyer and replacing other lighting, Ben said. De-cluttering and staging the house (removing most of the furniture and every family photo) and repainting the entire house added to the appeal.
The Chases chose the for-sale-by-owner route, listing the home through Total Choice Realty (the broker is Carolyn West). For the majority of the showings, Ben was on site while people toured the house and he available to answer questions. He watched as people looked everywhere, even opening bathroom and kitchen drawers. One potential buyer opened the blinds on a window in the master bathroom and saw the windowsill outside was dirty. “That was a deal-breaker for her,” he said.
Potential stumbling block: A couple offers fell through due to the buyers' difficulty in getting financing and the Chases knew there was nothing they could do in those cases. Another contract didn't go through after the inspector made remarks about the state of the yard and the roof. They got price quotes to fix the roof and also dropped the asking price. "When we sold the house, we were right on the verge of taking it off the market. We were going to do the repairs over the next six months … to put some distance between us and that bad inspection and come back on the market," Ben said.
When he got calls to view the property that weekend, Ben was reluctant to show the home. Two people came out that weekend and one was the buyer. “It came down to timing, really, what was the right time for us and the buyer,” he said.
After closing on the home in April, the couple purchased another foreclosure, a three-bedroom, one-bath home on five acres in Canton. They gutted and renovated the home. During the search, he saw foreclosures in good condition and priced aggressively going off the market in two to three days. “If you find a deal, it’s not going to last long,” he said.
Seller's hint: Ask a friend or family member to look at the house through fresh eyes and point out potential repairs or changes that you may have overlooked. Unfinished work in the house, for example, could be a deal-killer, he said.
