Names: Mark and Paul Sandifer, brothers
The home: A five-bedroom, three-bath, split-level ranch built in 1955
Where: Atlanta's Chastain Park neighborhood
Why they sold: The brothers were raised in the home, which their father, an architectural designer and builder, had added on to over the years. The original home, with a flat roof, had two bedrooms and one bath. Their parents lived there for 60 years, and after their mother died in 2014, they decided to put it on the market.
Time on market: 5 days
Original price: $650,000
Sale price: $668,000
What it took
The brothers say it took finding the right agent, Samantha Jones with Engel & Volkers Buckhead Atlanta, who had experience helping seniors move and sell family homes in the Chastain Park area. They knew the home would likely be torn down because of the value of the property, on nearly three-quarters of an acre, and the construction of multi-million dollar homes in Chastain Park. The house next door had been bulldozed for a new, larger home.
“We saw that was going to be somewhat of the case,” Paul said.
Before the listing officially went on the market, Jones said she had three people ready to make offers. A bidding war resulted on the home, which still contained their parents’ furniture and belongings. They agreed with a buyer on an all-cash offer, even though it wasn’t the offer with the highest price. They closed on the home in November 2014.
“It moved very quickly,” Paul said.
Potential stumbling block
Their father, who passed away this summer, wanted someone to buy the home and not tear it down, but because of the home’s age and need to bring it up to code, the brothers had to convince him the land and location were more important when selling. The property is on a plateau in the hilly neighborhood. They appreciated that the buyer was an individual, instead of a builder interested it putting a spec home to sell to a buyer.
“They were going to have a custom house built that took into account the landscape of the yard,” Mark said. “For me, it’s someone that would appreciate that it was a very interesting kind of terrain. They weren’t going to slap on a standard traditional McMansion.”
Seller’s hint
If selling a home that will be torn down, make sure you know if the buyer is willing to remove items in the home. They were told two days before closing that the home needed to be empty. “We had a weekend to be able to get the house empty,” Paul said. Jones helped them find businesses that could haul furniture and negotiate pricing.
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