Our House
Who doesn’t love touring a home with unique character that is updated with the latest and greatest interior design trends? Tom and I love showing homes that appear as if they had just been featured in this month’s article of the Birmingham Home and Garden. However, those types of showings are few and far between. We tour numerous homes weekly and the majority of them need- at minimum- a few things changed before they qualify as “magazine worthy.” I can almost guarantee the majority of homes you see in magazines were not purchased in the condition they were photographed in for the shoot. It took months and even years of change and vision to create the masterpiece you see when flipping through pages.
Many buyers initially expect to find the perfect house that checks every box, but the likelihood of that happening- especially in this kind of market- is slim to none. We believe now is more important than ever to have vision and see the beauty in change. I’ve lost count of how many times we hear “change is hard,” but some of our favorite homes we’ve sold were the ones that needed a little TLC and change. Our clients were able to see past the dark paneled wall, funky kitchen layout, or bad paint job to visualize the transformation it could one day become. We never said the change was easy, but we are saying if you are willing to make a few concessions, your perfect home might not be too far away.
Homeowners always face having to make some sort of concessions like deciding between an outdated kitchen and bathroom to get the location and budget they want or choose to move into a more updated home with a larger budget, or possibly pick a new construction home which usually adds to commute time. In a seller’s market like we are experiencing today, buyers are faced with a whole new set of concessions in order to win contracts. Some buyers are paying crazy amounts over list price, waving inspections, covering amounts over appraised values and even throwing in their dog to win the contract… okay, maybe not the family fur babies. This is why it is so important to have a strategy in place and embrace a little change. You will probably have to get a little uncomfortable, but so many times being uncomfortable is when you see growth and possibly have your “magazine worthy” home. Just remember, people are always buying and selling homes because lives are always changing. Stay educated in today’s market because you might find yourself having to get a little uncomfortable using some unconventional strategies that are required to achieve the desired results.
-Tom and Julie Douglass 
[email protected], [email protected]
205-999-2780, 205-999-4153
