Timing Is Everything – Taking Care of Real Estate Business in the Age of Covid
“My husband Bill was home working when Andrea popped her head in while showing our property,” said Jan Allaway, owner of 3372 Walnut Lane, in Lafayette, “She told him how much she loved our house, and asked him ‘Why hasn’t it sold?’
“We’d been wondering the same thing.”
After listing the property with another agency in early 2019, the Allaway’s beautifully updated home, located in one of Lafayette’s renowned banana belts, hadn’t moved – almost unheard of in today’s hot market.
“After very little interest, we let the listing expire with plans to try again in 2020,” said Jan. “After the holidays, we were ready, and Bill remembered the Realtor® who was genuinely passionate about our home – but couldn’t recall her name.
“We went digging through text messages, emails, and our collection of Realtor® business cards and luckily found Andrea’s still in the stack.
“After interviewing several of the top Lamorinda agents, we met with Andrea, who was kind of a dark horse in the mix,” added Jan, “and, her presentation was impressive.
“Andrea showed up with marketing samples, a well-defined strategy, and a full assessment of the local and regional market. This showed us immediately that she had all the right tools – and was ready to go from the start,” added Jan. “That’s how she rolls. Andrea is dynamic, enthusiastic – and savvy.
“She marketed our home through a variety of channels to the right clientele and we had over 50 people attend our first open house. After that, we started seeing offers in mid-February and March and decided to go with a cash offer since it would be easy and uncomplicated by bank loans.
“Andrea advised us to accept a small price reduction since we were so close. It was solid advice as we were hours away from shelter in place ordinances taking effect.
“With the Coronavirus scare, we were worried how it would impact the sale, and we were incredibly grateful for Andrea’s superior negotiating skills to make this happen,” said Jan. “I’ve never met anyone in the real estate business with Andrea’s ‘I’m going to make this happen’ attitude.
“We’re so glad we found her card.”
