When a family sells a home they’ve lived in and cherished for decades, it can be a tough process in many different ways. Over the past 20 years in the business, we've helped more than a few families settle out of estates. We have refined our processes around this type of sale to guide our clients gracefully through this often-challenging time. Selling an estate is so much more than “just” preparing and listing a home for sale—there's much more to help the family navigate as everyone goes through a major life transition.

We wanted to share an example of our processes with you. One of our recent listings was an estate home in the family for over 30 years. A previous client referred our team to these sellers, and after competing against three other agents, the sellers chose to hire us!

How to Begin the Selling Process
Once we've spoken with the sellers and learned more about the family's home and real estate goals, we schedule an in-person walkthrough. Our process is to show up with specific market data highlighting a price range and other comparable sales. We also use this time to work with the sellers to create a financially advantageous and comfortable timeline for the parties involved.

With this listing, the seller wanted to sell the family home and move into an assisted living community. Packaging up a home you have lived in for many years is a tough process. There are lots of special things and memories. Packing can be overwhelming for our elderly clients, so it was important to be delicate with this process and connect our sellers with the right resources.

Preparing this Gig Harbor Estate Home for Sale
After we toured the home and discussed their concierge listing program with the sellers, their clients handed over their keys and let us work our magic. Estate sale or not, once we have your approval, we schedule all of their pre-listing recommendations so you don’t have to worry about doing it all yourself.

For this property, we arranged an estate sale, siding repair, landscaping, a dump removal service, fresh paint, professional cleaning, staging, and, of course, media. All of this work helped us reach for top dollar in the market, and we also work with professionals who get paid out of escrow. So, there is little to no upfront cost to the seller.

Our team believes in pre-inspection benefits on the property, especially for estate sales. This helps mitigate any surprises once we are under contract with the potential buyer. This decision has pros and cons, and it's something that we talk through with our clients. The service is something that we've experienced as a major win. We believe so strongly in this step that we cover the cost for the inspection with our Gold level plan.

High-Level Marketing
We are marketing experts, and as we prepared the home for the listing day, we posted behind-the-scenes photos to build up anticipation among other REALTORS® who sell in the area. Once the home had necessary repairs, was sparkling clean, and professionally staged, they had professional photography done and a video tour created.

It's important to highlight the uniqueness of the home and lot. We focus on lifestyle marketing--what does your buyer feel when living in the house? This helps set the listing and experience stand out above the rest. We also include special feature cards in the home to showcase the property's intricacies and updates.

Social media and brand recognition are huge benefits for our sellers. We have a large following on Facebook and Instagram, including other agents in the area. Our listings get the full attention they deserve!

Sold for 17% Over Asking
On the first day this home was listed, we received offers. And even though we already had offers to present their sellers, it was important for us (and our sellers) to “properly ventilate” it on the market so as many people as possible would have a chance to see it. After four days of the home being on the market, we had seven offers to present to the seller. The home’s original list price was $1,295,000, which sold for $1,515,000—17% over asking!

This is just one of the many success stories we've had while working with estates and clients who are downsizing out of necessity. We are professionals with heart and those who work with us value these traits. 

Regina and Madison

RM Home Specialists
Licensed Managing Brokers | Realtors®
Windermere North Narrows

VIDEO: How to Sell an Estate Home

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🏡Link to property mentioned above: 224 Pt. Fosdick