The Sale
Name: Dave and Johnette Crum. Dave is retired from the state of Georgia and prior to that, worked in mortgage lending; Johnette worked as a graphic artist.
The home: A three-bedroom, two-bath home built in 1934 with an unfinished attic.
Where: Virginia-Highland
Why they sold: The couple, who had lived in the home for 34 years, saw a 1-inch ad in the AJC for a home with an extensive garden in Atlanta’s Druid Hills neighborhood and wanted to buy that home. “It was the garden. It had a couple of very beautiful ponds that the previous owners had built themselves that was appealing,” Johnette said.
Time on market: 1 day
Original price: $400,000
Sale price: $395,000
What it took: Over the years, they had replaced the plumbing, wiring, systems and windows, and made updates to the kitchen and bathrooms. They focused on cleaning out the clutter and touching up paint. The Tudor architecture and unfinished attic, with 14-foot ceilings and about 800 square feet that could be converted to living space, made the home stand out.
Potential stumbling block: The timing. They wanted to buy the Druid Hills home, then list their existing home. “We agreed that until the house was ready for showing, that it would not be put on the market,” Dave said. Their agent, Peggy Hibbert with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty, knew starting in November that she would have the listing, but it wasn’t officially for sale until March. Still, the Crums envisioned having to wait for at least a couple of months before it sold.
“For Peggy to come in with a contract within a day of putting up the sign to me was unbelievable. We felt extremely fortunate,” Johnette said. “She had been working behind the scenes for us, even during the period we were still getting the house ready for a possible sale.”
Hibbert said she was able to “pre-market” the home, by telling prospective buyers it was coming on the market, and the Crums followed her advice to get it in showing condition. “We were able to make it the ultimate success,” she said.
Seller’s hint: Have the home’s systems up to date and in working order, and have a fresh coat of paint, Dave said. “When somebody comes in and looks around, they’re not thinking about what they have to do, they’re just thinking about where to place their furniture.”
