Move-Up Buyers – Agnes 4 Homes

Family expanding? Need to spread your wings? You want to buy something larger but need to sell your current home first?

Planning ahead is important. I work with my clients to make improvements that will impress buyers. Making the most basic upgrades will impact how quickly you will sell your house. I guide you and give you a list of trusted contractors that can help. Planning early is critical so you can get on their schedule.

If you need to improve your current home, get current with what buyers are looking for. Go to open houses of homes comparable to yours. Whether you agree with HGTV or not, buyers watch Property Brothers and Flip or Flop and are expecting these looks!

Educate yourself on how to buy first, then sell. Inventories are very low so you will have to find the home you want first. Before approaching a lender, establish an equity line of credit using your current home as collateral. I can suggest a few lenders who will advise, educate, and guide you through the buy-then-sell process.

In this market, sellers don’t like to take an offer with a buyer-to-sell existing home contingency. Sometimes a post-occupancy agreement (rent back) or coinciding settlements can be negotiated. I can help you through this process!

I have guided many clients through this situation successfully. One of my transactions was a three-way: My seller sold their house and bought another at the same time. The person buying my seller’s house was selling their home. All were veterans and had loans. It took quite a bit of maneuvering but it all settled on time.

Percent of home buyers age 39–53, who tend to be move-up buyers

Source: National Association of Realtors (NAR)

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There is not enough space to say what a great job Agnes did on selling my house, and then on the new purchase of my new place.

Agnes’ service covered the full spectrum – from counseling if/when to sell; preparing the house for sale, including great contractor referrals; always mindful of my budget; how to price the house; cautioning what to expect in a buyer’s market, presenting/staging the house; very adroit, careful negotiations with the buyer; steering me through the acceptance of the contract, the inspection, the walkthrough – all of which were stressful for me, and finally to closing.

Agnes had not just a tool kit but a bag of tricks – how to polish my maple cabinets, how to fix a faulty stove burner light, an electric kit to test a light fixture, how to clean vents (she did it herself!). In the final countdown, after Reston Association dinged me on the peeling fence paint, she spent 8 hours just 2 days before closing painting the fence and then had energy to spare helping me in the last throes of moving everything out! Personalized service cum laude!

And onward to the purchase of my new condo: many months of patient searching with Agnes – the right place came up at the right time – and Agnes has gotten me a great price plus a credit that I would not have thought to ask for. She’s watching out for my interest every step of the way.

I could not have done this – move on from the home I loved – without Agnes. With her help, I’ve come to realize there’s another happy home ahead for me.”

Johanna G.
Reston, VA