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If anyone can empathize with frustrated sellers, it's Judy Hyers, a real estate agent with William Raveis who works primarily in Norwalk, Darien and Rowayton. For starters, Judy knows exactly how it feels when nobody comes to look at your house. "It was very frustrating," she says. "My home was on the market for a whole month without a single showing." The fact that this was last February, one of the snowiest months in recent history, didn't make Judy feel any better.
Judy recently downsized from her home of 33 years to a condominium, but it wasn't smooth sailing even for this seasoned pro. She says the experience really reinforced the value of hiring professionals to move the process along.
Judy handled the sale of her own home, so she didn't have a real estate agent (other than herself) to use as a sounding board for ideas. When Judy works with clients, she says, "I'm their punching bag, their backstop, a confidante." She boosts egos when things look bad. "By myself, I realized what I was missing -- another me to spread the workload, to bolster my ego and to keep me going."
When Judy realized that she hadn't given herself enough time to clear out the "stuff" from her house, she hired professionals to help. An interior designer assessed her furniture and helped Judy decide what would work in her new home. She hired a service to help coordinate the move, a painter to patch holes in the walls and a cleaning service to put her old home into move-in condition for the buyer.
In her long career as a real estate agent, Judy says she has seen many people who want to do it all themselves. But hiring professionals can ease the transition. "The last two weeks before a move can be intense," Judy says. "Get help."
Judy is working with many downsizers these days. People are anxious to sell the family home and move to something more manageable. Having just been through the process, she's a great resource for clients. "I learned a lot," she says, "And I'm still learning." Judy is now renovating her condo. But that's another story.
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