When the Real Estate Agent Has to Take His Own Advice

As I, Tyler Davis Jones, write this, it’s been two days since we accepted an offer on our family's Seattle home we bought in 2016.

I’ve experienced just about every emotion imaginable over the past month.

To catch you up, my wife Jenn and I moved east of Seattle to Sammamish in 2023. At the time, we decided to keep our Seattle home as a rental rather than sell it. The market had softened, we had an incredible interest rate, and the property was going to cash flow well.

For the past two years and eleven months, it has been a fantastic investment property. 

So why sell now?  The answer is taxes.

The federal government allows married couples to exclude up to $500,000 of capital gains from the sale of a primary residence, provided they’ve lived in the home for at least two of the previous five years. Single homeowners can exclude up to $250,000. (Watch our previous webinar about this.)

As we approached the deadline, we ran the numbers with our financial advisor. By selling before our residency exclusion window expired, we preserved our ability to exclude our gain from federal capital gains taxes. 

Missing that deadline could have cost us a six figure number worth of capital gains tax.  That got our attention.

So we made the decision to let go of a home we loved and get it ready for market.

Here’s where it got tricky: We had just about 6 weeks between our tenant’s move out date and our residency exclusion expiration to get the house prepped, listed and sold.

That meant less than two weeks to prepare the home for the market in the “RISE Group Way.”

For our clients, we typically recommend investing around $30,000 in preparation before listing. This can be paid by the seller out of pocket or by using our Compass Concierge program to front the cost of home improvement services with zero due until closing. Prep costs often include paint, flooring, landscaping, staging, handyman repairs, pressure washing, and other improvements that help a home stand out online and in person.

After being a rental property for nearly three years, our home needed more than the standard prep. There was over $40,000 worth of deferred maintenance and improvements staring us in the face.

Did we really need to spend nearly $8,000 on attic cleanup and insulation replacement?

Did we need to repaint portions of the exterior where the siding had begun to show wear from years of Seattle weather?

Did we really need to spend $7,500 to replace the old interior slider with French doors and install a new Craftsman-style aluminum railing?

The fiscally conservative side of me wanted to slow down the rapid spending. Writing multiple checks for improvements without a guaranteed return is uncomfortable, even for someone who does this for a living.

But experience kept reminding me of something I’ve seen over and over again:

The best-presented homes almost always sell faster and for more money.

So we trusted the process like we ask our clients to and we moved forward.  Our team lined up all the work with our preferred vendors in quick succession. We trusted our contrators and they delivered with excellence. Within less than two weeks, all the work was complete and we were able to list by our target date.

This was a true team effort.  Michael Smythies kept the prep work on track with no margin for error. Lisa Kissinger brought her clients through.  Adam Hestad helped us keep our sellers bias in check with pricing. 

Here’s what happened:

• We listed our Wedgwood home on Thursday, May 28.

• Over 100 buyers toured the property in 5 days.

• By Tuesday, we had received three competitive offers.

• The final sale price landed at 13.5% over our list price, and we’ll close a full week before our capital gains deadline.

What I Learned

1. Trust the process: The headlines may talk about longer market times, more inventory, and softer prices, but the best-looking home in its price range still commands attention.
2. Trust the data: Just because your neighbor sold for a certain number in 2022 doesn’t mean that’s where today’s market is. Price for where the market is now, not where it used to be.
3. Trust your instincts: Walk through your home as if you’re the buyer. If something would concern you, chances are it will concern them too.
4. Trust your eyes: The number one way buyers decide whether to visit your home is through the photos they see online. Spend money on improvements that create visual impact.

In today’s market, buyers are cautious. Interest rates remain elevated. Inventory is still limited, but buyers have become more selective. They are sometimes looking for reasons to say no.  Your job as a seller is to remove as many objections as possible before they ever walk through the front door.

For us, that meant making investments that felt a little uncomfortable in the moment but ultimately paid off.

Curious What We Actually Spent?

Below is the complete breakdown of the improvements and preparation costs that went into getting our home ready for market.

Was spending more than $40,000 preparing the home uncomfortable? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Without hesitation.

As both a homeowner and a real estate professional, this experience reinforced something I’ve believed for years:

The market rewards homes that are thoughtfully prepared, strategically priced, and beautifully presented.

When buyers are nervous, presentation matters more, not less. The homes that feel move-in ready, well-maintained, and cared for are the ones that command attention, create competition, and ultimately produce the strongest results.

If you’re thinking about selling and want to know what preparation steps will help your home seller faster and for more, reach out today.  We’re here to help.