There is the conventional wisdom that it is better to wait until the Spring before you put your home on the market.  There are lots of reasons for doing that but the biggest one is “Just Because”.  That’s right.  It’s better to wait until Spring “Just Because” everyone says so or it’s the tradition.

If you can’t wait until Spring or you don’t want to wait until Spring, you’re in luck. There are lots of good reasons to sell in the Winter and this blog post and the next two will detail how three homes that were put on the market in the Winter sold…and sold quickly.

9100 Bridgewater Street | College Park, MD

The owner of this home decided he wanted to sell and move on. There were things going on in his life that made selling his home a priority. He didn’t want to wait until Spring.

So we talked about what needed to be done.  A little decluttering, a little touch up here and there.  Luckily, the house was in pretty good condition. It has a nice, updated kitchen with a new counter, newer appliances and nice cabinets.

The rest of the house was roomy. Lots of space.  It also had a couple of custom touches. A stone fireplace hearth instead of the standard brick common to the neighborhood. It had a spacious stone patio and a large shed that looked like it had been converted from a one-car garage.

The house was also was at the end of the street.  He had a neighbor on one side and woods on the other. It was really kind of private.

Yet, it still had some areas that needed some attention.  The bathrooms hadn’t been updated. Some of the hardwood floors in some of the rooms looked a little worn and in need of refinishing.  All in all, though, it is a nice place, in a nice neighborhood.

Selling The House

Once the owner had made the decision to sell, he set the price appropriate to the market and competitive to other homes that were selling in the area.  To be honest, it wasn’t super low but it was definitely not high. As Goldilocks would say, “It was juuuust right!”.

In fact, the house was on the market about a week when it received it’s first offer. While we were negotiating terms for that offer, a second offer came in.  You don’t hear about that very often.  After some back and forth, the owner decided on the offer he liked best and signed off and moved forward.  The inspection was completed. The appraisal came in. The title work was completed.

In fact, all the work of the financing and title work was finished early enough that the buyers wanted to move the settlement date sooner than the contract settlement date – by two weeks.

The house is now sold and settled at 96.5% of the list price. 9 days to complete a ratified contract and 42 days from the time the house went on the market to the time everyone was sitting at the settlement table.

In December. Winter.

It can be done. If you’re thinking of selling your home, drop me an e-mail or
give me a call at 240-417-9100