10/30/2026
Congratulations to my sellers!
For most of my closings, my buyers/sellers are usually super excited and happy to be sitting at the table getting the long, and at (many) times, stressful process done. I didn’t necessarily feel that on this one w/ my sellers — and that’s ok! I am working on radical acceptance with all things, so that nothing can shake my peace anymore.
However, what most consumers don’t understand is truly how much work goes into a transaction. Because of the home’s condition, being next to a power tower, and having a Duke Energy easement through the entire back yard, we were definitely priced lower than market value, and as such, had a good amount of activity. But those showings did not necessarily translate into offers. In our current market and economy, sellers are competing with a lot more inventory (the highest that it has been here in our market in many years!), interest rates in the 7%, and increased renovation costs. We had the pros of being in a great neighborhood w/ great potential ARV (after repair value), but because of all the things mentioned above, while it fit the first-time homebuyer mold of home, there was just too much work to be done.
We ended up having one out-of-state AirBnb investor who was very persistent, and that’s who we ultimately ended up closing with. He did not have an agent, so I brokered the transaction (meaning, more work on my end - communicating w/ both sides, paperwork for both sides, coordinating for both sides). Because he was without an agent, we went with a more unconventional approach of allowing him to make all inspections before we decided terms and decided to move forward in going under contract. Of course, since I was representing the sellers, I did a lot to protect them contractually.
Prior to going under contract, I asked my seller bottomline what they wanted to net — I was able to get them that. However, it was $30k less than what they were hoping for. This is where probably a lot of Realtors in our industry feel under appreciated — we have to constantly hold the delicate balance of meeting our client’s expectations, while moving the transaction forward with our knowledge of the current state of the market.
We listed on 8/28, sold on 10/29. We got UC in 32 days, well below the market average of 58. I got an email from another agent looking to do a joint broker open house on 9/17 w/ 4 other homes in the subdivision and neighboring neighborhood. I declined, as my goal was to get it UC before the end of September. I was able to do that. Of the 4 other homes, 3 are still on the market -- 115, 125, 49 days -- respectively, and the other withdrew. While I may not be fully appreciated for my work on this transaction, I know I did my best and sold the property as quickly as possible, netting my sellers as much as possible, given the market conditions.
Joshua Chiu, ChuckTown Homes
(864) 477-7701
[email protected]
