Recently I put another fixer property on the market at 232 Orris Terrace in Terra Linda. I followed the same marketing strategy as I did on Terra Linda’s 88 Wallace Way earlier this fall. Both properties were priced attractively low at $999,000. On both I set up offer dates and as expected received multiple offers. In the case of Wallace, we got 6. On Orris we got 4. Both were competitive bidding processes. Wallace went $150,000 over the asking price. We went over on Orris, but not as high and that might have been due to timing. Earlier in the fall we likely would have fared better.
On Orris we came on the market the week before Thanksgiving, and looked at offers on Tuesday before the holiday. With both properties I did not feel like we had the time to do painting (1 week), refinishing floors (another week) and staging (a few more days). However, we did remove the worn out and ancient carpets in both houses, which made the properties look significantly better. Timing can be crucial in real estate and life in general.
On both properties we got the inspections up front. Home, pest, sewer and city inspections are all pretty much standard these days. It’s not a small investment either, all told the inspections run about $2,000 and you can even get more inspections and spend more money if needed. For example, if there is a pool it’s highly advisable to get a pool inspection from any other company than one in Marin. That one company, which shall go unnamed for purposes of this blog but I will divulge via DM if you want to know, is notorious for coming and basically suggesting everything be replaced. If a buyer uses that company, the inspection can create a lot of negotiating leverage for lots of non-issues.
We are in escrow currently on Orris Terrace and the buyer lifted all contingencies with their offer. Because we had all our inspections up front, that wasn’t the only offer we received with no contingencies. My sellers have been very pleased on Orris, as they were on Wallace. When they said they were happy while reviewing offers, I told them that’s because they followed my advice. The moral of the story is to follow the recommended strategy of your Realtor. We sell properties all the time, it’s what we do for a living. I’ve been doing it for 21 years, mostly in San Rafael but throughout Marin and the North Bay. If you are considering selling your house in 2026, please feel free to contact me.