A Seller Success Story

The Wilson family lived in their Cumming, Georgia home for 12 years. Their swim/tennis community, located 34 miles north of Atlanta, is a popular area for those in the Information Technology industry. They loved their home and community but decided it was time to move because their children were now grown and out of the house. They were unsure how much their home was worth, how much money they could get for it and how long it would take to sell. Their plan was to rent for a few years while searching for their  “forever home.” Mary Ellen Vanaken suggested listing the home during the winter. With few homes on the market in their price range, she believed it would result in a quick sale. The home went under contract within 30 days for $58,000 more than when the Wilson’s purchased it in 2008.

Since purchasing the home, the Wilson’s put a few thousand dollars into home improvements that included an upgrade to the first floor office with a custom built in desk and bookcase. They also partially finished the basement with a large open room, built in bookcase/TV unit and a bedroom/exercise room. Other improvements to the home included a new roof, new HVAC unit and an electric dog fence.

To prepare for listing, the Wilson’s did a lot of decluttering, depersonalizing, cleaning, repairing small items, and painting. For showings, they played soft jazz music, turned on all lights and made sure it was 100% neat and tidy.

The Buyer visited the property twice. They immediately fell in love with the home as it was similar in layout to their current home and close to the wife's work and daughter’s school. The buyer quickly made a low priced offer.  But, because the buyers offer included a 60 day closing date (basically taking the home off the market for 2 months) The Mary Ellen Vanaken Team negotiated a sales price of $2000 less than the listing price and $8000 in earnest money to cover any loss to the Wilson’s if the buyers pulled out of the deal. The Buyers were a little bit picky on the inspection, but with the advice of Mary Ellen Vanaken, the sellers ended up giving the buyers $4,000 at closing to go towards repairs.

The home closed successfully with the Wilson’s using the profits to pay for their daughter's wedding and save for their “forever home”.  

“We chose The Mary Ellen Vanaken Team to list our home because of their knowledge on how to market our home, what makes local buyers tick, a history of sales/listing success and their skill in negotiations. They served as our real estate counselor and confidante every step of the way. We highly recommend using The Mary Ellen Vanaken Team when listing a home!”

We love working with families like the Wilson’s. It was such a pleasure to know they received the most money on the sale of their home and are now set to find their “forever home”. If you know of others like the Wilson’s, we would love to help them too. Just call us at 678-665-2887 or go to our website at https://www.northatlantaluxury.com and join our community so we can stay in touch.