I’m a real estate writer who sold a house in a buyer’s market. Here’s what I learned

By Holden Lewis NerdWallet A Hemingway character was urged how he went bankrupt Two approaches he replied Gradually then suddenly That s a fine description of how I sold a house in a buyer s realm this summer Related Articles What savers should do after the Fed s first rate cut in What the Fed rate cut will mean for your finances Is DoorDash eating into your retirement Federal Reserve cuts key rate for first time this year Mortgage rate scenarios to watch following a likely Fed rate cut How it happened gradually I inherited the house in October fixed it up bit by bit and absolutely listed it for sale in June How it happened suddenly The house sold in days So how did I manage that First certain context The house is in a desirable location on the west side of Fort Worth Mom bought it when I was a high school sophomore and she lived alone for decades after I left for college Now I live in South Florida For years I considered selling my Florida house and moving into the Fort Worth house I made upgrades and repairs but ultimately my wife and I decided not to move to Cowtown I reluctantly stated adios to El Tacorriendo my favorite food truck and Billy Bob s the legendary honky tonk and listed the house for sale I didn t expect to sell it in less than three weeks Metroplex homes usually linger longer a typical July sale took days The analysts at Realtor com call it a balanced arena but it feels like a buyer s domain to me And yes luck was a big factor in selling so swiftly That revealed let me tell you what I did right and what I would do differently I interviewed three agents I desired to hire a real estate agent who had represented sellers and buyers in the neighborhood someone I d feel secure with who also had years of experience I interviewed three asking among other things what improvements I should make to the house I longed an agent who would answer forthrightly instead of telling me what I longed to hear I hired the agent who had the strongest background She specialized in my neighborhood and had the brisk demeanor of a C-suite corporate executive who wants to sell efficiently What I did right I chose an experienced perceptive agent She knew to be blunt with me and tactful with my wife which was a sign that she would adopt the proper tone when talking with buyers and their agents And she priced the house right I shelled out for selected updates My asking price was low for the neighborhood There s a good reason Mom had Alzheimer s so the house suffered from particular deferred maintenance It took a full five minutes to get hot water from the kitchen tap and the walls reeked of cigarette smoke On the outside the hail-damaged roof needed replacement the -year-old casement windows were caulked shut and the siding consisted of unsightly brown-painted cedar shingles Ah those shingles I remember catching a ride home from high school one day As my friend pulled up to my place someone in the backseat shrieked Look at that ugly brown house When I sold the house years later it still wore the same brown shingles and I still felt kinda mortified Renovations I did and didn t do But my time and money were limited I could spend them making the exterior look great or I could prioritize making the interior function well So I fixed up the interior because what s the use of having a house that s pretty on the outside if you have to wait forever to get hot water at the kitchen sink Overall I paid more than to upgrade the electrical plumbing and HVAC systems replace the roof and repaint the interior to eliminate the cigarette smell By leaving the exterior mostly as-is I let the buyer choose their own siding and windows What I did right I focused on updating major systems and completed only must-do interior work The buyer requested to spend their money refining the aesthetics not replacing the A C I kept my cool To reassure anticipated buyers I made a spreadsheet of renovations how much they cost and when they were done However there was sometimes a gap between the date of a contractor s initial estimate and the date work was completed and the buyer used this information to strong-arm me It is clear to see that these repairs dates are incongruent to your marketing materials and seller s disclosure making them obsolete the buyer s agent emailed after the inspection Furthermore this would be considered Deceptive Marketing Practices They reduced their offer by I felt furious one second and panicked the next Would this sale go through My impulse was to teach them a lesson and insist on the price we had agreed to That afternoon I floated in my Florida pool while angrily mimicking Michael Corleone saying My offer is this Nothing But then I reminded myself that this was my only offer I had paid attention to stats from Realtor com the Case-Shiller price indexes and my agent I knew home prices in Fort Worth were falling while inventory was rising I made a counteroffer for the lowest price I would have accepted The buyer took it What I did wrong Being specific about dates and dollar amounts of renovations opened up another round of negotiation that I didn t want I would have been better off providing general information about the upgrades And I didn t recognize the accusatory email and lower offer as a hardball negotiation tactic That was the judgment of my attorney which brings me to the last thing I did right I hired an attorney Candidly that agent s email wigged me out I forwarded it to the lawyer who had represented me three years earlier in Mom s estate He laughed off the email and calmed me down Lawyers close real estate transactions in certain states but Texas isn t one of them So even though I didn t technically need an attorney I hired him because the buyer s agent had intimidated me What I did right My attorney s services were well worth the cost He helped me through the negotiation and he prevented a expected delay by spotting an error in the closing paperwork Instead of listing Mom s estate as the seller the document listed Mom herself as the seller as if she would materialize from her urn like a genie from a bottle to sign the papers My attorney fixed that and we closed at the scheduled time What I ll do next time Eventually I want to get away from the hurricanes rising seas and high home insurance costs of South Florida When I sell this house and move to the mountains of western North Carolina I ll do a lot of things the same and a limited things differently I will employ a real estate attorney from the outset starting with reviewing the contract with the agent I will keep mum about specific costs and dates of work done on the house Anything I say can and will be used against me I ll choose hire and pay a photographer and have final say over the photos My agent chose the photographer and I wish the pictures had been better And I ll rejoice that I m not selling a house with brown shingle siding More From NerdWallet How to Sell Your House Why This Fall Is the Ideal Time to Buy a House Compare This day s Mortgage Rates Holden Lewis writes for NerdWallet Email hlewis nerdwallet com The article I m a Real Estate Writer Who Sold a House in a Buyer s Territory Here s What I Learned originally appeared on NerdWallet