184 Vista Verde Case Study

A Long History and a Quick Sale

Once they decide to put their homes on the market, many sellers encounter the same dilemma—do you give the listing to a friend who’s in real estate, or do you hire the best agent you can find? Luckily for Jim and Loren Archer, they could have it both ways. When they signed on with their son’s longtime friend Peter Giovannotto to sell their family home, they never could have dreamed how well he would work out. Peter handled everything and got them a great price in record time.

An Impromptu Purchase and a Time to Sell

The Archers hadn’t planned to put their family home in the Vista Verde neighborhood of Portola Valley on the market any time soon. But their only son was stationed in San Diego finishing medical school and, on a visit to see him, they happened upon their dream home. They knew they wanted to be in San Diego long-term, so they took the plunge and bought the house. Now, all they needed to do was to sell their Portola Valley home.

The “Friends in Real Estate” Problem

Most people who decide to sell a home know somebody in the real estate business. These homeowners then confront the challenge of going with the best realtor possible, without ruffling the feathers of those who aren’t chosen.

This was the issue the Archers were facing since their son’s best friend was a local real estate agent. “We’ve known Peter since he was a kid,” Loren said. They had followed Peter’s real estate career, but also knew that he was relatively new in the business. Other local agents cautioned against hiring Peter because of his youth. But the Archers knew they had to at least give Peter a shot at the business, so they scheduled a meeting with him.

Trust, Backed up with Brains and Experience

“When we started talking, I said, ‘Do you trust me enough?,’” said Peter. “Then they asked me if I had sold anything at their price point before, and I had just put a $1.9 million dollar house in Portola Valley in contract less than 24 hours before. That did it.” Peter was hired.

“Peter is young, but he is very smart and very motivated, and when it comes to money, he is terrific,” said Loren. The Archers also appreciated Peter’s overall approach to selling the house. “He had more of a marketing focus on the house than the other agents,” said Jim. “He could present the capabilities that Dreyfus Sotheby’s had to be able to get to the right demographic segment as opposed to just putting it on the market with signs.”

Preparing the House for Sale—in a Hurry

Because the Archers had purchased their house in San Diego so suddenly, with no contingencies, they needed to get their Portola Valley home on the market as quickly as possible. The challenge was that there were years of their belongings to sort through, and repairs and staging to be done.

Peter recommended move-managing specialists to handle the packing, donations and selling what could be sold. He also brought in someone to go through the house and identify what needed to be fixed, then provided referrals for dependable people to do the work. “Peter recommended people to refinish the floors and paint the house. The person who staged the house was terrific,” said Jim. “He had quite a list. In addition to doing a full-press marketing job, he did a full-press support job.”

“They gave over all control to me to make the decisions about preparing the house,” said Peter. “They were very level-headed about everything that needed to be done. From the time they decided to sell, we got the house ready in three weeks.”

Top Quality Marketing and Materials

Once the house was staged and ready to go, Peter brought in a professional photographer to take gorgeous, high-resolution photos. Peter’s copywriter wrote the descriptions of the home and his graphic designer crafted the brochure and custom website for the property.

“Peter decided that we were going for a higher-end buyer. He had very definite types of people in mind and ideas about how we could reach them,” said Loren. “His literature was beautiful and it did appeal to that audience. We showed one of them to our son and he said, ‘I’d like to live in that house. Wait a minute, I know that house.’ We knew it would be good when a photographer came out with a drone to get a distance shot from the back yard. The materials Peter put out were world class.”

Strategic Pricing and a Speedy Sale

Even though the Archers wanted to sell quickly, Peter didn’t want to price the property too low and leave money on the table. He suggested a list price of $2,795,000 and waiting for the right buyer. They put the house on the market at the beginning of June. Peter prepared the Archers for a sales cycle that could go into August or September, knowing that homes of that nature in Portola Valley could take a very long time to sell.

Peter created a major marketing campaign, including newspaper ads and postcards to neighbors and targeted buyers. There was an extraordinary amount of interest, with more than 20 groups a day going through the open houses held on the weekend. All that hard work paid off fast. The very next week they had a non-contingent offer and went into contract four days later for a sales price of $2,725,000.

“We were prepared to be very realistic about how long it would take to sell,” said Loren. “Then four days after going on the market, we got the offer. A sale in four days up here was unheard of!”

A Great Decision and Great Advice

“We made a great decision in going with Peter,” said Loren. “He was there with support and people to help all along the way.

“I would advise anyone else in our situation to start planning a year ahead. And get a really good realtor. We could have never have done this with a mediocre realtor. We would absolutely recommend Peter.”

Q&A with the Sellers

Q: How did you go about selecting a real estate agent?

A: Our agents who helped us buy our new house in San Diego were truly excellent and they referred us to their local counterparts. We talked with them and we talked with Peter. We debated a great deal about whether to go with Peter, because he is junior. But we decided to take a risk on Peter, and it paid off.

Q: What challenges were you facing in the sale of your home?

A: We hadn’t planned to sell right away. We were looking to sell in three to four years when Jim retired. But we were down in San Diego and happened to be looking at houses and we found exactly what we wanted. We didn’t think we’d find anything better, so we decided on the spot to buy it. Then we had to put the other house on the market quickly.

Q: Did you have a lot of belongings that you needed to make decisions about?

A: Oh, my gosh, yes! On paper the house was 4,600 square feet, but it probably has another 3,000 square feet on nonliving storage space that we’d managed to fill. Peter helped us find people to help us manage the entire move—from deciding what to do with things, to packing up and moving.

Q: Tell us about Peter’s approach to pricing.

A: He did a bunch of comparables. He wanted to price our house at the high end of the comps because our house is very unique, with a large, level yard and a view of the bay. When he created the brochure, he stressed the uniqueness of the house and that it’s one of a kind. He positioned it well.

Q: What did you think of Peter’s negotiating skills?

A: I wouldn’t want to negotiate against him! We let him handle that entirely—that’s the kind of faith we have in Peter when it comes to money. He can explain what he is doing and why in such a convincing manner. We made a good decision to go with him.

Q: What was most memorable about the experience?

A: It was a whirlwind—it happened so fast! And it went just as smoothly as we imagined it could.

Q: How would you describe Peter?

A: Professional, and I don’t use that word lightly. He’s knowledgeable and personable. You enjoy talking to him and you’re glad he’s on your side.