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Living on a Lake in the Country - Advice from a Realtor
By Gayle Rich-Boxman
Sellers and would be sellers: If you’re going
to build or remodel take pictures--this could save you
thousands of dollars in an offer!
As a seller or potential seller, if you have
done an add-on, rehabbed part of your home, are
having a new home built or even ARE BUILDING IT
YOURSELF (good for you!) then, by all means take
copious amounts of pictures. Start to finish. It will not
only make for a wonderful photo album for your real
estate agent to share with prospective buyers, but could
keep you from having to “take it in the shorts” because
of assumptions being made by prospective buyers that
may not necessarily be true—and can be proven by
having pictures as “evidence”.
This will also prove to be beneficial if you have
property that has flooded. Before you start your repairs,
remodeling, be sure to snap photos of what the damage
looks like and the “Before” as well as the “After”
pictures. As they say, a picture IS worth a thousand
words and can save you down the road, should you
decide to sell your home.
Here are two cases:
Case One: Brand new home, with an unfinished
basement for sale. Heavy rains, some water in basement.
Prospective cash buyer comes along. Makes low offer
based on thoughts that a $20,000 drain system needs
to be installed around the perimeter of the foundation.
Agent (me!) calls seller with low-ball offer and
mentions water and what buyer is assuming needs to be
done. Aha! Drain system was put in, exactly the same
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kind that the prospective buyer says needs to be put in
AND the seller has lots of pictures to prove it!! The
seller also has many many photos of the whole building
process. Prospective cash buyer is THRILLED. This
will also give the seller an opportunity to make a
possible counter offer handling this objection with
some nominal fixes.
Case Two: One owner home, custom built by owners,
for sale with unusual architectural accoutrements
This home is one-of-a-kind and the photos show how
structurally sound the home is and the type of wood
used, the interesting angles as well as giving a sense
has questions about a repair or a remodel that was done
that is behind walls, for example, this can clear up a
mystery of what was or wasn’t done.
These are examples of ways to support a
certain listed price or coming back with a counter-offer
because potential add-ons that the buyer thinks may not
be there can be proven to already exist and then the
owner/seller has better leverage in countering a low-
ball offer. It can also save the future buyer headaches
down the road.
of history for the new owners to relish as if they were
part of it from the
beginning. It gives
this home more of a
personal touch, as well
as allowing would-be
buyers a peek at the
underpinnings of the
structure as well as
the finished product.
Pictures can
help
tremendously
when having a home
inspection, too. Often,
the seller isn’t there,
and if the inspector
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You can reach Gayle Rich-Boxman, Broker with
Vernonia Realty for all of your real estate needs by
calling (503) 755-2905 or visit her website: http://
www.lakehomehomesatfishhawk.com