“In Search of Excellence” …To Sell a Home

“In Search of Excellence” …To Sell a Home

My friend was excited to tell me the main reason why he got a “Full Asking Price, No Contingency Offer”, the day Before he was going to “List it For Sale”.

The Above YouTube Music Video Teaches the Importance of Doing All the hard Things to Get Something Done, like Below:

Before he told the “Secret of his Success”, he first told me all of the things that he did in preparation to sell his home:

• My friend spent months “De-Cluttering” his home. Every item was examined to “Keep”, “Donate”, or “Throw-Out”. He rented a Storage Unit near his new home for items that he wanted to “Keep”, but move out of his garage or downstairs storage room.
• Rather than try to hide defects from a “Prospect” or Home Inspector, my friend hired a Home Inspector to do a thorough examination of his home, and provide a Report of everything that needs to be repaired or replaced.
• He then hired a “Handyman” to fix everything requiring repair according to the “Inspection Report”.
• He also hired Professionals to inspect, repair, and replace anything for the Furnace, A/C, and Hot Water Heater.
• When all the repairs were made, my friend hired an Appraiser to determine the home’s “Asking Price”, based upon recent sales of comparable homes in the area.
• He then hired a Professional Cleaning Service to thoroughly clean every room in his home, plus wash the windows & clean the carpets.
• My friend then hired a professional photographer to take pictures of every room, from different angles.
• My friend paid a Real Estate Agent to educate him about selling his home, himself. The Agent provided him with a valuable “To-Do” List – “For Sale by Owner”:

1. 1. In addition to everything that he previously did. he prepared a 1-page “Information Sheet” of room sizes, unique features & up-grades, etc. which would be used for posting on “Zillow”.
   2. The “Information Sheet” would also be used as a “Flyer” to be delivered to the newspaper boxes of other homes in area subdivisions and nearby apartment renters.
   3. The “Information Sheet”  also contained the phrase “Buyers Agents Welcome”. (Most homes Sold by Owners are through “Buyer’s Agents”, who normally charge 2.4%.)
   4. He would place an Ad in the Community Newspapers touting “New Listing”, “Original Owner”, and “Buyer Agents Welcome”.
   5. Placed a “For Sale by Owner” Sign prominently seen in his front yard.

My friend did ALL of those things listed above. But None of them, in whole, or in part, were the reason(s) WHY he SOLD his home for Full Asking Price, One Day Before he listed it “For Sale” on the market. The Reason is Below:

My friend is permanently disabled in both of his legs. He uses a wheelchair at home. He can stand, but only briefly. After all of the things above were done, my friend did an “Inspection” of his home. It was in pristine, “Turn-Key” condition. However, when he went into the garage, Horrors. While the garage floor glistened from the recently applied Epoxy floor application. And the storage shelving was better organized than a Library. There were cobwebs dangling at the junction of the ceiling & walls, all around the inside perimeter of the garage.

Then, my friend recalled the sage advice of an Airline Executive, quoted decades earlier in the book, “In Search of Excellence”, “If we don’t clean the coffee stains from the back of the seat drop-lids, customers will think that we don’t do engine maintenance.”

Little Things Mean a Lot in Romance, Selling a Home, or Whatever You Do

My friend realized that if he didn’t take a broom, and sweep away all of those cob webs, Prospects will think that he didn’t do regular maintenance of his home. Prospects would ignore all of the incredible, wonderful work done to make his home shine like a jewel. They will only remember the cob webs, when they leave. And Nothing Else.

So, my friend got a broom. He stood up for moments at a time to sweep a 4-foot section of cobwebs away. He then sat down, moved his wheelchair 4-feet to the right, stood up, and swept away another 4-foot section of cobwebs. My friend repeated that process around the entire perimeter inside his garage, for over an hour, until ALL the cobwebs were GONE. Then, the Prospects would NOTICE All the Other Things That He Did.

The 1^st Person to “Walk Through” made the “Full Price Offer, with No Contingencies, and allowed him 14 days After Closing, to move his personal property to his New Home”.

Cleaning the cobwebs (“coffee stains”) was the game-changer.