LaTisha Grant: Sold in 1 Day

LaTisha Grant
Energetic, Electric, Excellent… Meet Celebrity Real Estate Broker, LaTisha Grant.  A proven authority in the art of leading a team of fearless and dedicated entrepreneurs in the world of Real Estate. She explains how she got a Sunnyside home multiple offers and an ultimate contract in only one day after staging.
DOM: 1
Sale/List: 95%
Neighborhood: Greater OST
Style of Home: Contemporary
Type of Stage: Vacant
Listing Price: $229,999

“The whole buying process is frustrating enough- do your part to make it easy for buyers and they will buy.”


What challenges did you face before listing?

Everyone loved the property, but they just couldn’t imagine the dining area. The comment we kept getting was “Where do we eat?”

 The area is also up and coming, so people could have been deterred by the area if they didn’t absolutely love the home.  But more than anything it was the questionable dining area.


The home was on the market for over 3 months before staging.  What happened after it was staged?  

Initially there were tons of showings (about 5 to 7 every weekend) but no offers.  The day it was staged we got multiple offers, one of which we accepted!  It also increased our online activity.  


Everyone who came in loved the property, but now no one was complaining  about the dining area.   They went from having “no place to eat” to having a bar and two places to eat!


Did you consider virtual staging?

We did virtual staging, but it didn’t get us any offers.  People still couldn’t visualize the dining area even with the pictures.  It was so frustrating to hear the same comments over and over.  They needed to see it in real life to believe it. 

Don’t create a frustrating environment for your buyers. The whole buying process is frustrating enough- do your part to make it easy for buyers and they will buy.


How did the pandemic affect your process? 


This particular property is an affordable home so our main objective was to let the buyer know there was assistance available to them.  This home was also in a market where buyers didn’t have to compete with investors.

The pandemic also affected the minimum credit score to qualify buyers. For example: The pre-pandemic minimum score was 620, but after the pandemic it was raised to 660.  Some clients were no longer qualified which reduced the number of available buyers.  But once the minimum went back down, we were able to resubmit and move forward. 

Of course we also made sure to sanitize the property before and after a showing, and allowed our buyers to visit the property alone while Facetiming us as they went through.

How did you acquire the buyer?

They were searching on MLS and when they toured the property, they immediately brought an offer.  It was very traditional, and just perfect timing.  


What advice do you give your sellers to manage their expectations in uncertain times?  

Agents:  Look at who is in the market.  For example, the healthcare market is working more and has more money to work with than, say, someone who lost their job in the oil and gas industry.  Agents should research their target market and think about who isn’t being affected negatively at this time.   Keep in mind, things are always changing. Even though there are markets being affected negatively, Houston comes back Houston Strong!

Sellers:  Stay patient and don’t single out a target market because you may go through multiple contracts.  In uncertain times, contracts can fall through due to job situations.

Regardless of the market, staging is a worthwhile investment- especially if the home layout is not easily understood.   If the buyer can’t easily identify certain areas then staging is a requirement, not an option.  

Connect with LaTisha
713-898-8439
Broker/Owner at TAS Realty Group
latisha@tasrealtygroup.com

READ NEXT: Sold in 19 Days (Cathy Crawford)


Want to receive success stories directly to your email? 

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://bit.ly/subscribe-to-showhomes-houston