Team Ellis - Atlanta Fine Homes | Sotheby's International Realty

Simple Staging Suggestions Close Deal
“Bill” knew his home wasn’t as flattering as it could be, but he didn’t have the money to make
major renovations. We told him he didn’t need to. He needed tweaks not overhauls. We
recommended just a few superficial changes: pull up the dead shrubs, paint the front door, plant
flowers around the mailbox and paint the over-wallpapered house. Bill did it all, but wouldn’t
budge on the wallpaper—he loved it too much. After 29 years in the business, I knew his beloved
wallpaper would be a deal-breaker for most families. Sure enough, we went six weeks with
steady traffic but no offers. We tactfully re-suggested a re-paint. He agreed. And wouldn’t you
know it, the first buyer who saw the house after the re-paint bought the house!

Frustrated Internet Realtor-Seeker Gets Offer in 7 Days
One night I received an email from “Steve.” He was moving from Atlanta to New York with his
family and was looking for a real estate agent to sell his house. He went to Realtor.com to shop
for realtors. He sent the same email to 8 different agents. “Not only were you the only one to
respond,” he told me. “You did it within 20 minutes of me having sent it!” He listed the house
with us and within 7 days we had an offer on it. A buyer had found it on one of our sites and that
was the end of that. We closed Steve’s house in less than 3 weeks from start to finish.

For sale by owner: Does it save you money or cost you the sale?
Everybody wants to save money by eliminating the real estate agent¹s commission. Even me,
and I¹m a realtor! When I moved recently I put a FSBO sign in the yard, thinking if anyone could
sell my house I could. After all, I¹ve sold over $170 million in residential real estate over the last
30 years. All agents have to pay their brokers a percent of their commission and I wanted to save
that money for moving expenses. Sound familiar? So the FSBO sign went up and I waited for the
calls. And I waited and waited. And waited. Nothing rang‹not the phone, not the doorbell, not the
Palm Pilot. After three weeks of silence I gave up and listed my house with Re/Max (under Team
Ellis of course!). The very next day I got a call from a prospective buyer. She said, I'm so glad the
owner¹s decided to list the house.