The Holiday Dilemma

I just got off the phone with an investor client of mine.  Today he talked to me about a house that he bought last year that he actually was going to move into.  His plans have changed and now he wants to sell it.  I will be referring it out to a team member.

Missed his Thankgiving deadline

Mark, as I’ll call him for the purpose of this blog post, was hoping to have the house listed by Thankgiving.  Due to unusually severe rain and wind storms that we had this Fall in Ct, he needed to have new carpeting installed on the lower level.  The previous carpet was drenched after the last storm.  Mark had had enough of  the power outages, thus he decided to purchase a high end generator before installing the carpet – actually a wise idea.  Fast foward a few weeks later – after gas lines, electrical work and town inspections – and the house is now just about a week away from being ready to market.  Unfortunately for Mark, Thanksgiving has come and gone.

What about Christmas?

Mark is a brilliant and successful man, and I’d like to think that they are two of the reasons that he trusts my opinion as much as he does.  “Al,” he said with a pause, “Now that it’s December, I’m wondering if we should just wait until the New Year to put the house on the market.”    I quickly recalled a listing that I had a few years back when I was a single agent, and I relayed the scenario to Mark.  It was around noon the day before Christmas and I was getting firewood from our yard, about to start a fire in the living room fireplace.  My phone rang and on the other end was a gentleman who was standing in front of one of my listings; it was new construction.  “I’m standing in front of a house on Catamount Road,” he said in a light, whispy voice.  “Your name is on the sign and I’m wondering if I could get in to see it.”

The exuberance of youth

Back in the day when I was a single agent, no one was going to out-work me or provide their clients with more responsive service.  The house was actually around the corner from where I lived, so I immediately got into my car and met the potential buyer.  The showing went well and he asked if I would be available to show it to his partner later in the afternoon.  I was, the partner loved it and they made an offer right then and there.

Say no more

“Say no more,” Mark replied, “let’s do it!” 

There are some phenomenon in life that just can’t be explained but that you know to be true.  When it comes to real estate, sooner is almost always better than later. 

What say you?  I’d love to hear your comments below.

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