The Insider's Guide To Selling Your Home By Owner- Rocio Fausto I | Page 22

Staging Report from my Realtor Friend Dear Reader, I wanted to give you the most convincing proof possible. It's very hard for people to believe that one home will sell for more than another home. I did some research and looked for similar homes that had sold for different amounts of money. The clearest example I could find was in the neighborhood I live in. It's in Jacksonville, Florida. I live in a development of about 200 similar townhomes. Every single townhome in my neighborhood is 3 stories with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Every single one has the exact same layout. I looked for two sales there. Here is what I found.  4438 Capital Dome Drive in Jacksonville, Florida sold on August 26th, 2013 for $202,000.  4456 Capital Dome Drive (5 doors down) sold on July 26th, 2013 for $188,000. I live in this neighborhood so I am familiar with these properties. You could not ask for a better example of two identical properties that sold for different prices. Here is why the two homes were basically identical:  The lot they sit on is identical as far as how desirable it is to a buyer.  They both had the same kitchen with the same cabinets and tile floor.  They both had nice hardwood floors in the living room. 21