10/01/2026
🚨 WE NEVER DROPPED THE PRICE AND THIS HOUSE IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHY EVERY SELLER SHOULD KNOW THEIR FOUR NUMBERS BEFORE THEY EVER LIST. 🚨
363 W Lakeview Drive went pending inside seven days. We accepted a full price offer contingent on the buyers selling their current home, with a 72 hour first right of refusal, and from the beginning the market gave us every reason to believe the house was positioned exactly where it needed to be.
A couple of months have passed while we have patiently waited for that contingency to work itself out. We genuinely hope it does, but patience does not mean sitting around doing nothing. Over the last couple of weeks, we have quietly started putting the property back in front of people again, and showing activity is beginning to pick back up.
One of the latest agents to walk through the home sent us some pretty awesome feedback. Their buyers loved the house, loved the view, rated the showing excellent, gave the property a 5 out of 5 and felt the price was right where it should be. Apparently, the only thing working against us was that their boat is too big for Lake Dale. 😂
That kind of feedback matters because this home already proved the strategy worked. It went pending at full price inside seven days, and months later the people walking through it are still telling us the same thing. There has been no reason to panic, and there has been no reason to start chasing buyers downward with unnecessary price reductions.
Lakeview is also a perfect example of why Fix First or Sell As-Is? exists in the first place.
Every house has four numbers.
It does not matter whether the home is worth $50,000, $500,000 or $5 million. Every property has a Cash number, an As-Is MLS number, a Fix First number and a Fully Remodeled number. Each one can produce a completely different financial outcome for the same homeowner.
The Cash number shows what speed and certainty look like when somebody needs to sell now. The As-Is MLS number shows what the open market may pay for the property exactly as it sits. A Fix First number helps determine whether addressing the right repairs or improvements before listing could put more money back in the seller’s pocket, while the Fully Remodeled number shows what the property may be capable of when taken to the highest level the market will reasonably support.
Most homeowners never get shown all four.
Instead, somebody gives them a suggested list price, puts a sign in the yard and waits to see what happens. That is when sellers can quickly find themselves trapped in one of two games.
The price drop game starts when the home does not move as quickly as expected and everybody begins chasing the market downward. Five thousand comes off, then another ten thousand, and before long the homeowner is giving away money trying to solve a problem that might have been identified before the listing ever went live.
The concession game can hurt just as much. Buyers get through inspections, deferred maintenance starts showing up, financing gets tighter, and suddenly the seller is negotiating repair credits, closing costs, rate buy downs or money off the price after the buyer already has leverage.
You see versions of both situations almost every day right now.
What makes that frustrating is how much of it can be addressed before the first buyer ever walks through the door. A pre listing inspection can uncover potential problems before a buyer uses them in negotiations. Real remodeling numbers can show what is actually worth fixing and what is not. Understanding the As-Is value gives the homeowner a realistic baseline, while knowing the Cash option creates another path when timing and certainty matter most.
The purpose of Fix First or Sell As-Is? is not to convince every homeowner to remodel before selling. Sometimes selling exactly as the house sits is the smartest decision. Sometimes fixing a handful of things first can completely change the outcome. Other homeowners may need the certainty of a cash sale, while another property may have enough upside to justify taking it all the way.
The mistake is making any of those decisions without knowing the numbers first.
Once your house is on the market, buyers get a much bigger say in what happens next. Before it ever goes live, you still have the opportunity to understand the options, deal with the surprises and make those decisions on your terms.
If you were getting ready to sell the biggest asset your family owns, wouldn’t you want to learn all four of your numbers before the market starts deciding for you?
