Name: Lucille and Willie Williams Jr.
The home: A three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath townhouse built in 2007.
Where: Brookhaven
Why they sold: The Williamses, who live in Birmingham, Ala., purchased the townhouse five years ago as a second home for their daughter, who was attending Emory University School of Medicine. She graduated in May. "When she decided that she was not going to stay in Atlanta, then we knew we wanted to sell it," Lucille Williams said.
Time on market: 6 days
Original price: $175,000
Sale price: $175,000
What it took: The townhouse — near I-85 and Buckhead — already offered desirable features such as granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors. "Basically we just cleaned it up," Lucille said.
Neighbors in the complex saw the couple cleaning the condo and asked them if they had a real estate agent. The Williamses were not working with an agent yet, so the neighbor recommended Paula Heer of Harry Norman, Realtors. “She just gave her praises. I took her at her word because I said otherwise we would just be picking someone out of the blue,” Lucille said.
Two days after they listed the town home, six people viewed the property and they received one offer, for $172,000. The next day, four more offers came in, with the lowest for $160,000. They selected the buyer who made a cash offer for asking price and could close within two weeks. There was an inspection, but the buyers did not require them to make any repairs.
“It was the easiest thing and I was just expecting the worst,” Lucille said. “I was thinking, ‘OK, it’s going to be on the market and we’ll have this mortgage.’”
Potential stumbling block: The Williamses were concerned that nearby foreclosures would require them to sell for much lower than they desired. One townhouse, for example, was pending sale in the $120,000s when they put their unit on the market, while others were priced in the $190,000s. They didn't want to set the price too high and trusted Heer's recommendation, Lucille said.
As values rise and inventory remains low, buyers are willing to pay more even if the comparable sales don’t support it, Heer said. She added that sellers continue to experience issues with appraisals. The cash offer meant the sale wasn’t contingent on the appraisal, which can threaten deals if the property appraises for less than the agreed-upon price.
Before finalizing the offer, the Williamses asked the buyers to show proof within 48 hours that they had the cash to buy the town home, and the buyer asked for 72 hours to fulfill that request, which they did.
“I kept thinking, ‘Something’s wrong. It can’t be.’ I’m thinking there’s got to be some red flags. I was thinking, ‘OK, something is not going to be right with this cash.’ But it happened,” Lucille said. “I kept telling Paula, ‘I can’t believe this. This is unbelievable.’”
Seller's hint: Pricing is key, so trust your agent for pricing the home — and be willing to leave home decorations or supplies, if the buyer asks. They left stools used at the breakfast bar, as well as a rug, a ladder and a step stool that the buyers wanted.
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