Selling During the Pandemic

When Camille began the process of selling her house in 2020, she had concerns about COVID. After a vaccine had become available, she finally felt safe enough to sell.

“What does ice cream have to do with real estate?”

That’s what was on Camille’s mind when she found Sundae.

To her surprise, she quickly learned that ice cream and real estate have nothing to do with each other. Our mission hit home. Changing the industry for the better was something that resonated with her. It ultimately led her to our marketplace.

With so many buyers to choose from, Camille had a hard time sorting out who to set appointments with. She wanted to work with people who put her first.

Here is Camille’s story.

Related: How Sundae Came to Be: A Love Story

Waiting for things to settle down

When Camille initially began to consider selling her home, the pandemic was nearing its peak in 2020. Although the market was performing well, Camille decided to hold off for health reasons.

If she had decided to sell, Camille would have had to leave her home in order to host showings. This didn’t make much sense, as she felt this would unnecessarily expose her to the virus. Additionally, the thought of having random people touching items in her home was out of the question in her mind.

A full year had passed since Camille first thought about selling her home. By this point in 2021, the COVID vaccines had been widely distributed. The initial shock of fear that struck many Americans had subsided to manageable levels. Camille decided now was the time to sell.

Read more: How to Get Your House Ready to Sell

Examining her options

With a plethora of options at her disposal, Camille decided to narrow down her search to find a buyer.When Camille started the process back in 2020, she ruled out selling conventionally. She wanted to maximize the amount she would get for her home, and felt that she could net a larger offer through a different buyer. In her words:

“I decided that I wouldn’t pay a commission if I didn’t have to.”

Eliminating a traditional sale on the MLS from her available options opened the door to new buyers. Camille felt she had many opportunities to capitalize on with the rise in popularity of cash buyers. At first, she researched several iBuyers that operate in her area, but ruled them out as they charge the seller a commission.

Another opportunity presented itself in the form of an all-cash buyer. Camille had seen a TV ad that touted “cash for your home, today.” Although this seemed like a good option at first, it soon fell apart. She had set an appointment with this buyer, but was disappointed when the offer she received was lower than she thought her home was worth. Camille would later find out that“their offer was about 10% lower than the offer I accepted on Sundae’s marketplace.”

She decided to keep looking for a buyer who would provide a fair offer.In the midst of this process, Camille remembered that her next door neighbor worked for a company whose slogan was “ homebuyers with heart.” It seemed like a perfect match.

Also see: Should You Use an Agent to Sell Your House?

The solution was just next door

Camille decided to walk over to her neighbor’s house and had an informal conversation about who Sundae was and what benefits we would offer her.

“I kept seeing the Sundae car, so I decided to look you guys up,” said Camille.

After a brief conversation with her neighbor, Camille determined that Sundae could give her the best outcome. A huge selling point was that she wouldn’t have to risk getting exposed to the virus after an open house. Instead, our team takes pictures and uploads them to the marketplace where investors can view properties from home. No showings required!

While other options provided speedy closings, that wasn’t a concern for her. It all came down to price. Our Sundae representative explained how Sundae’s marketplace is unique from other cash buyers. “I really liked that you guys put the house out to your network of investors. It was really cool to see a pool of buyers bid on my home, I thought that was amazing,” recounts Camille.

Early on in her search for a buyer, Camille looked into using a home investor to sell her house. Her biggest concern was that she didn’t know how to find a trustworthy one. When she learned about the abundance of investors placing offers on Sundae’s marketplace, her concerns were at-ease.

Receiving multiple offers, the ability to choose which one, on top of Sundae’s transparent pricing model where homeowners see their bottom line with no surprises, made Sundae the clear choice for Camille. We asked about her experience, and she had this to say:

“Having the ability to see all of the offers from investors on your marketplace made this a truly unique selling experience for me. You guys did exactly what you said you were going to do, and I’m excited to officially close and say, with confidence, that Sundae truly is exactly what they say they are.”

Selling with confidence

With her house sold, Camille could finally rest knowing that she got the best price for her home.

“Everything went according to plan: I was pleasantly surprised with how things turned out.”

She took a risk when she decided to hold off a few months to sell, as the market is often unpredictable. But, her decision paid off in the end. Although her path to finding the right buyer took some time, Camille felt relieved knowing that the answer was just next door.