Sherpas On Mt Everest🧗‍♀️🗻-Real Estate Blog

I love the property and the sale of 450 N Sycamore #4.  Everything about it is just right. The inner courtyard at the Il Borghese is charming + beautiful, the common area rooftop deck has mesmerizing views, and the condo has amazing character + personality.  The best part of all is the private outdoor deck that is huge and defines the whole living space.  Justin and Lisa, the lovely sellers, had 2 real estate experiences in their past that made them set out this time with intention to create the real estate experience they always craved.  They made lists of questions to ask potential agents, candidates to interview, and they set out to find a real estate experience that would be just right. In general, my favorite clients are those who are discriminating, organized, intentional, thoughtful, and deliberate about everything.  People like Justin and Lisa always have the best properties.  It’s no surprise that this condo is selling way over the asking price with multiple offers and it’s a total joy to represent the sellers and the space.

As someone who is predominantly a listing agent, I’ve been super busy doing something a little different and representing buyers!!!!  It’s an honor and a treat to work with the uber cool people we have the privilege to represent!  Shepherding the buyers through the process of buying their home, in this market, at times feels like being a sherpa accompanying the adventurous brave climbers on their trek up Mount Everest.  It’s rewarding to get the buyers to SOLD. The exhilaration is real handing over keys and partaking in the fulfillment of a hard won dream!

Studying several recent sales where we represented the buyer side of the transaction, it’s interesting to see all the similarities.  On all the properties, the sellers set out to sell their property for a higher price, and the listings were on the market for some time before they sold.  Only one of the properties was said to have had a backup offer in place.  Every seller wished to sell their property in “as is” condition.  Even without a backup buyer in place, more sellers than not responded with 0 to the buyer’s legitimate + reasonable request for repairs.  One seller, whose house is on the market since June 2024 and fell out of escrow right before our accepted offer, initially agreed to credit the buyer $10,000 to cover mold remediation and then she rescinded the $10,000 credit and changed it to 0, even with no other buyer on the horizon.  All our buyers moved forward to remove all contingencies, even when there was no contribution toward repairs from the sellers.  All our buyers were influenced and propelled forward by appraisals that came in over the price they are paying for their properties.

It’s fascinating how most sellers and agents attempt to minimize or will away obvious conditions needing repair on the property.  At the house that fell out of escrow before our offer was accepted, the agent stood in a laundry room with a starkly discolored black tinged wall and spoke effusively of how ridiculous it was for the previous buyers to label it mold, because “all laundry rooms look that way.”  A seller whose AC condenser is duct taped to the pad on her roof is sure that’s fine because an AC vendor did it.  A seller whose spa jets don’t work responded to a question asking if the jets work, that he used the spa every weekend without jets and he much prefers spas without jets.  A seller whose pool lights don’t work wrote they must be on some sort of timer that he must have never figured out in the 10 years he lived at the property.  A proposal shared by a listing agent to fix obviously uneven + sloped floors didn’t specify a scope of work; with a phone call, the bid only covered 1 floor of a 2 story house, so the bid was half the actual cost.  Our goal is for each buyer to fully understand everything about the discoverable condition so that when they move forward and buy the house they know exactly what they’re buying and they can budget for necessary repairs.

Buyers are saying it’s a buyer’s market when they see houses with many days on market, price reductions, and appraisals for more than the purchase price.  Buyers legitimately face high interest rates and an uncertain economy.  However many days on market, sellers mostly don’t HAVE to sell. Many sellers have a low interest rate under 3% that they forego if they sell, and it’s legitimately hard for sellers to go down from the price they initially thought they’d get.  Some sellers are losing money if they bought a short time ago, and yet they would still sell for their bottom line price. And so jumping into this market as a guide is being a sherpa accompanying determined souls up Mount Everest. Sometimes the air is thin at that altitude, but we persevere and climb to reach SOLD!  The exhilaration on both sides when the property sells is real, perhaps more so in this market given the harsh climate.

Next week is Shavuot, which means our most favorite time with the kids and grandkids!!!!  Eliyahu, age 4, called me to share that he mastered riding a 2 wheel bike!!  While we were on the phone, he noticed a colony of swarming ants on the sidewalk and he cried, “Grandma, it’s a wedding celebration!!  I need to be careful not to disturb their party!!”  Gavriel + Rika and I read National Geographic Stage 1 books every night over Facetime and we learn about all kinds of phenomena.  Gavriel, age 3, was doing an “under the sea” puzzle yesterday and he asked his Mom if the streaks of color in the picture might possibly be the Northern Lights.  Rika, age 1, loves the little dolls and strollers at her playgroup…we need to go shopping and pick out a very first doll of her own!  The holiday can’t come soon enough…I already feel all those squishy hugs, cuddles and kisses!!!!

Wishing all an awesome week ahead!

Xoxoxo,

Sheri

Xoxoxo,

Sheri