Names: Kristin Cowart Pierce, founder and CEO, Brave Public Relations, and Jeff Pierce, works for Invesco
The home: A one-bedroom, one-bath loft built in 1951
Where: Midtown Atlanta's 805 Peachtree building
Why they sold: Cowart Pierce had bought the loft in 1999, and after she married Pierce, the couple rented it out as an investment property. "We had thought about selling it, off and on, over the years. Our current renter's lease was up. We were buying a new home as our permanent residence," she said. "We thought, 'You know what? Now is the time.'"
Time on market: 95 days
Original price: $209,000
Sale price: $198,000
What it took
The loft boasted new hardwood floors and popular features such as stainless-steel appliances in the kitchen and updated bathroom fixtures.
Their agent, Jimmy Baron with Keller Williams Realty First Atlanta, formerly with the Morning X radio team on 99X, also suggested they make minor changes such as improving the lighting with different watt bulbs.
“It’s amazing how something as simple as light could make a difference in how it showed,” she said.
Their original price was ambitious and other units came on the market at the same time. “We ended up lowering the price,” she said. That week, they received an offer.
Potential stumbling block
The buyer fell through, though.
“It wasn’t until a good ways through the process that we realized there was some issue with their financing. It was disheartening because we were really excited,” she said.
She remembers Baron assuring them that the situation was not out of the ordinary and they shouldn’t get discouraged. They moved forward with trying to sell the loft again and with the full understanding that a sale is not complete until all the paperwork is done and signed.
“Then we got a second offer. That was the one that ended up working out,” she said.
Seller’s hint
If you have a renter in the unit, discuss with them how the unit should look when potential buyers visit. Their renter was a medical student with overnight shifts and an unpredictable schedule. Baron told the couple that sometimes, the renter’s dirty laundry would be in the living room when buyers visited. In order to make a strong first impression, they asked him to contain the laundry in a closet.
Cowart Pierce was thankful Baron had brought it up to them. “For us, so much of it boiled down to trust,” she said. “We knew and trusted that he would monitor the situation and showings. He let us know what we needed to do.”
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