Now that escrow is closed ? gotta give credit where credit is due. A big thanks to Martin for killing it on our listing. We originally wanted to list at 800k for a sure thing, and Martin was adamant that we were crazy. He said we had to go at least 850k and he put his money where his mouth was by setting the target price at that price. Those who have listed with Martin know this meant he was willing to put his commission at risk. This was a huge vote of confidence for us, but we were still pretty tentative prior to the property hitting the MLS. We listed on a Sunday night and set the first showings to begin on Wednesday. Needless to say, we were shocked when we received our first offer even before the buyer had seen the home in person. After a ton of private showings and the 2 open houses, we eventually got 7 offers and sent out the counters. I remember exchanging texts with Martin, and we were joking about the insanity that would have ensued had we gone with my idea to list at 800k. ?If we had listed at 800k there?d be FCB?s climbing the yard walls or using ladders to get a look into the house?. Couple days later, he boldly said ?I?m feeling it we have the velocity to get to 900k.? Since we would never even dream of coming close to that number, I quietly laughed it off, while my wife mumbled ?he must be smoking the good stuff?. But when we finally received the highest counter of 905k via email, we were absolutely speechless. And the rest is history.
For those who are numbers driven, we bought that property for $412/sq ft and sold it for $488/sq ft after 1 year 2 months. Yes there was some post close upgrades, but raw numbers are right around 18.5% appreciation and this is 2018, not the crazy days of 2013. $488/sq ft is pretty damn close to Petaluma/San Mateo/Jasmine numbers ? that?s for people who keep track of detached condos throughout the newer, more ?desirable? side of Irvine (EW, SG, and CV). I know this debate about PS appreciation potential will continue on TI ad naseum, but results speak for themselves. If we?re gonna use car analogies a la BTB - sure we bought the Hyundai Genesis, but comparing figures I sure can?t see the difference had we bought the BMW (yes, I was also signed up concurrently at Petaluma so I have a pretty good idea what the appreciation in EW would have been based on the few resales they've had).
In all seriousness, if you want to sell your property for top dollar, look no further than USCTrojan. The stunning photos, his sage advice, and the performance during multiple offer negotiations were all above and beyond our wildest expectations. If all you care about is low commissions and try to preach using Redfin/PurpleBricks?err ok go ahead. Because I can attest that Martin earned every red cent of his commission and gave back so much more. He has saved us way more than we paid him in commissions already since we started using him as an agent 2 years ago. Don?t obsess over commissions ? that?s just a tip of the iceberg?ask anyone who has really used him to sell/buy a property in Irvine. I remember in the past when I would admire various board members (most notably ScubaSteve) getting bidding wars and enjoying way over list closings when they listed with him. Now I know how that feels first hand using him as our listing agent. So to answer BTB?s Michael Mei post ? YES, you better believe ?MM is killing it in PS? ? Martin Mania that is and he does it without those ridiculous flyers.
