Dumb Smart People

Why is it that smart people become so dumb when they try to sell their house?
 
I work with people from all industries - Chemists, Attorneys, School Teachers etc.  They are all smart people.  However, just because they are very smart, does not qualify them to be able to sell their house efficiently and for the best price possible.

I worked with an attorney who came to me in the spring of 2013 and wanted to sell an investment property.  I had a look at the property and said "Great - let's get it on the market".  He didn't want to put it on the market at that time, because he wanted to "upgrade" it to get the best price.  He asked me if he should put tile in the kitchen over the linoleum - I said no, and he did it anyway.  He asked if he should put in granite counters - I said no, and he did it anyway.  He decided to paint things himself (to save on painter's costs) and took 4 months to paint a 1200 sq ft house.  He asked if he should replace the carpet - I said no, and he had it cleaned (YAY for me!).  However, that was the only advice that he took from me.  He also did lots of other dumb stuff.

So, to make a long story short, he did about $8,000 worth of "fix up", and created a house that he would like for himself.  The only problem is, nobody else likes it, and he priced it way too high.  If he had put it on the market immediately in its original condition, it is likely that he would have been able to sell it within a couple weeks.  Since he waited and "upgraded" the house past what the local standards are, and put it on the market too high, he is now entering the 4th month on the market with no offers, and has decided to reduce the price to what he should have made it in the first place.

Net Result?  He is losing the amount that he is paying on the mortgage every month - it took him 6 months to get it on the market, plus the 4 months that it has been on the market, and he is losing all the money that he used for "upgrades".

A very smart man doing dumb stuff, because he thought he knew better than his Realtor.


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