The Sale
Names: Jon and Whitney Pickens
The home: A three-bedroom, three full and one-half bath townhome built in 2005
Where: Roswell
Why they sold: The Pickens bought the townhome in 2005 as a starter home. Then they had kids, Cooper, 9, and Lyla, 7. The couple wanted to buy a larger house, but the recession caused sales to slow to almost nothing in their neighborhood. They noticed the housing market bouncing back in early 2015 and homes selling in a few days. They wanted to put their home on the market, but decided first to find a new place to live. They put a contract on a Cumming home under construction and listed their home in February 2015, right before the start of the hot spring selling period.
Time on market: Two months (on and off the market)
Original price: $319,000
Sale price: $315,000
What it took
To create a strong first impression, the couple replaced the kid-worn carpet in the den and repainted their master bathroom a neutral color. A home stager suggested removing personal items, especially downstairs.
“When a potential buyer walks in, you want them to envision it being their home. It’s not like someone buying your house is going to love your kids like you do,” Whitney said. “We removed all personal photos.”
Their agent, Jimmy Baron with Keller Williams Realty First Atlanta, participated in caravan tours for real estate agents and held open houses. He placed a “for sale” sign outside the gated community and visible from busy Holcomb Bridge Road. They had multiple showings and got a text during church on a Sunday morning that they had an offer.
Potential stumbling block
The home was under contract in two weeks, but the buyers backed out during the 10-day due diligence period. The home suffered from not being on the market during that brief period, the couple said. The pace of buyers, which had averaged two to three showings a week previously, slowed down. Baron held another open house that drew offers for under asking price, which they did not accept. “We tried not to get too down,” Jon said.
The couple compared their home to others on the market and saw others had granite countertops. They took the house off the market, installed granite countertops and re-listed it. Buyers returned. Two people put an offer on the home the same day. They accepted the offer for below asking price but with no contingency, which gave them more security that the deal would go through. The couple closed on their new five-bedroom, four-bath home by Ashton Woods in March and sold their townhome in June.
Seller’s hint
Present buyers a gallery of pictures taken by a professional and have new photos taken as updates are made. They saw online listings that were missing pictures of the exterior and key rooms, such as the kitchen or master bathroom, Jon said. Other photos, appeared to be taken with smartphones, made the rooms look small and dark. A professional photographer shot their entire home, including the new granite countertops, and the online listing had 25 photos.
