Negotiated price: $102,860 over original offer
The homeowner at 33 Lexington Ave. in Jersey City, NJ was ready to leave for Georgia, to be near her remaining family. But first, she had to handle the probate sale of the family home.
Investors were already lining up, one offered to buy the property for $150,000. The seller was tempted, but probate home specialist Alex Feierman suggested a better, more lucrative way.
He recognized some issues that would call for experience and delicate handling:
- an oil tank decommissioned years ago
- 50 years of accumulated belongings cluttering the home
- deferred maintenance and updates that would run roughly $100,000
Alex tested several renovation scenarios, but none made economic sense, so they decided to sell the home as-is.
No advertising, no open houses
Our client was still living in the home, so she was wary of marketing it publicly and risking coronavirus exposure from a stream of potential buyers. She also couldn’t face nosey neighbors coming through the house. Luckily, this plan worked for us.
Alex contacted his extensive network of agents, finding those who had represented buyers experienced in renovating properties like this. And within two days, we were under contract.
It required a round of spirited negotiations, but the buyer agreed to our terms:
- Complete the purchase without testing the oil tank. Buyer would take responsibility for cleanup if leaks or soil contamination were ever discovered.
- Buyer would remove any possessions the seller left behind. This saved the client thousands of dollars in haul-away fees and simplified her move.
- Buyer accepted the house totally as-is, with no inspections
Without having entered the house, the buyer signed the contract and only viewed the home at the walk-through before closing.
A great price and another biggie
With terms that favored our client, you might think we had to discount the price. But no, we sold at our listed value—$269,000. This was above the appraised price and $102,860 over the original investor offer, even including Alex’s $16,140 commission.
Passing oil tank responsibility to the buyer was the other key achievement. None of the investors who put in an offer directly to the seller were willing to bear responsibility for potential soil contamination clean-up. If leaks were discovered, the sale could have stalled for months and the estate may have been forced to pay for expensive clean-up.
“ Alex made it the easiest”
Alex fought for everything I wanted in the contract. I had heard horror stories concerning selling inherited homes but he made it the easiest—10 out of 10 stars. ~ Mary Stembridge 33 Lexington, Jersey City
Results At a Glance
- In contract for $269,000 within 2 days
- Buyer handled disposal of belongings seller didn’t want
- Seller not responsible for oil tank
- The client happily moved to Georgia with a net payment of $252,860
Learn more
About Alex
Properties two blocks and $155,000 apart