Modern Day Two Bedroom Cottage in Dunbarton–Just Sold for $350,000
On October 15th, I had the privilege of becoming the second Listing Agent to 13243 Ormond Drive in Dunbarton. It is always an honor to be chosen as the second agent, when the sellers have had no success with a previous agent. In this case, their listing had been active for 125 days before I listed it on October 15, 2015.
When I first spoke with the Sellers, it was obvious to me that part of the problem with their 
not having any traffic through the home was the list price. They had been listed at $374,900, and lowered their price to $369,900. Even at that lower price, I had to show them at larger homes were selling for less than they were asking. And there was a home exactly like theirs in terms of location and floor plan that was listed for $349,900. No buyer was likely to be willing to pay $20,000 more for their home. Thankfully, the market conditions resonated with the Sellers as did my recommendations to price at a more reasonable $358,000.
Not letting the dissatisfaction of the previous agent carry over to me, I set myself apart with my service and abilities. I made multiple trips to the property to make sure the east and west facing rooms were all photographed with an abundance of light. And since the property was now vacant, I made sure to add some fluff in the form of light 
staging. Towels, flowers, dishes, coffee mugs all helped warm up the vacant space. Communicating with the Sellers on a regular basis, never letting them feel abandoned is another hallmark of how I do business. .And when daylight savings time came to an end and natural light was gone at 5pm, I placed white holiday lights to brighten up the otherwise dark spaces. The home welcomed anyone who couldn’t find a light switch in those dark winter evenings.
It worked! Sixty-four days after listing with me, about the half the time they had invested with their previous agent, this Dunbarton home had an offer on December 16th.
While the home most like their that has listed for $349,900 had closed recently for $340,000, the appraisal did become a point of concern. Showing what made me different than their previous agent, I met the appraiser at the property with comps and information about the property to make sure we weren’t immediately pigeon-holed as $340,000. Again, it worked.
This Patuxent III model by US Homes sold for its contracted price of $350,000 on January 29th, 2016.
If you want to avoid wasting valuable time with the wrong listing agent, give me a call for a free market analysis of your home’s specific value and make the right choice from the start.
Chris Ann Cleland, Associate Broker-Licensed in VA
Long & Foster REALTORS®, Manassas VA
703-402-0037, ChrisAnn@LNF.com
Selling Braemar 