OWNERS GO EXTRA MILE TO MEET BUYER'S NEEDS

Kathleen Lynn
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
06-12-2011
OWNERS GO EXTRA MILE TO MEET BUYER'S NEEDS
Byline: Kathleen Lynn
Section: REAL ESTATE
Type: News

The listing: Four-bedroom town house

Location: Old Tappan
Listed by: Beth Shiffman of Coldwell Banker in Tenafly

On the market: Two weeks

Asking price: $685,000

The game plan: Shiffman listed the home on the multiple listing service and advertised it in print and on the Internet. She also held open houses for real estate agents and the public.

The property was an estate sale, and the heirs worked hard to prepare it for the market, Shiffman said. They removed excess furniture and artwork and had interiors painted. "They kept it meticulously clean," Shiffman said.

Only one similar home had sold in the town house community in the past two years. Shiffman took that sale as a starting point, but added the value of this home's upgrades -- an extra bedroom, bathroom and family room on the lower level -- to come up with the asking price.

A buyer made an offer, and after negotiations, the sellers and buyer were $5,000 apart, Shiffman said. She advised the sellers to accept the buyer's offer rather than lose the deal over a relatively small amount, and they agreed. They also agreed to the buyer's request to close within two weeks, and moved all the furniture out on that timetable.

"They did what they had to do to satisfy the buyer's needs," Shiffman said.

The result: Another agent brought in the buyer and the home sold for $656,000.

-- Kathleen Lynn

Sellers and real estate agents: Have a recently closed transaction you'd like to tell us about? Please e-mail Kathleen Lynn at lynn@northjersey.com

2011