Selling One of Guelph’s Smallest Homes
CASE STUDY
In 2016, I helped a young woman buy a small home for herself and her dog. It was just under 600 square feet—smaller than most condos—with a large yard for her to garden in. Coming from a farm, she was in heaven. As life would have it, 4 years later she decided to relocate north to be closer to her new man and work in her chosen profession, forestry. She called me the day she got laid off from her factory job, ready to sell.
She had made many improvements to her tiny abode, such as rebuilding the living room from the studs, adding new shingles and insulation for the roof, and gutting the basement to redo the plumbing and wiring and to create a beautiful master bedroom with a huge, walk-in closet. The home was very sweet and with a few tweaks, it became cute as a button.
The first thing to do to prepare it for sale was to declutter the closets and repurpose the TV room on the main floor into a bedroom. I knew we would get many more showings if we showed it as a two-bedroom home. My client moved the couch and TV into what had served as a mud room inside the main door and turned it into a small, but functional living room. We added a bed and end table in the freshly decluttered second bedroom. Next, the client borrowed a shelving unit and tidied up the laundry room. Then she converted the general storage closet into a beautiful, airy, walk-in closet.
After a fresh coat of paint upstairs, we were ready to tackle the outside. There was a patio area for which I loaned her some outdoor furniture but the yard was so large, she could create a second sitting area under the trees and with some potted flowers.
We were finally ready to list her home at what we considered to be a fair market price of $340,000. Because there was nothing in detached housing in Guelph under $400,000 (and nothing detached as small as 600 sq. ft.), I suggested we hold off on offers for 6 days. We listed during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, so I recommended that she move out and live up north for a week. It was a good thing, too, because there were 22 showings, with showings sometimes stretching back-to-back over 6 hours. With coffee shops and restaurants closed and severe restrictions on access to other public places, where would she and her dog go during showings for up to 6 hours if she were still living in the home? Better still, moving out for a few days was the best way to keep her safe and meant she didn’t have to disinfect the house every time she came home and before she left again.
On offer day, we received 5 offers. She chose one that had only one simple condition, which needed to be met within 2 days. I always wish for a firm offer for my clients, but this was still a pretty solid deal. Two days later, the deal firmed up; she sold her home for $372,000 (over $30,000 above our asking price) and prepared to move to Northern Ontario within a month.
The keys to the successful sale of this unique home were to:
upgrade important home features
maximize the small footprint with as much practical living space as possible
declutter and freshen up the look and feel
make it safe, convenient, and easy for buyers to view the home while also keeping my seller safe and comfortable
list at a fair market price
Every home is unique and the market changes regularly. It’s very gratifying for me to work with my sellers to explore creative ways to prepare and market each home I sell.