Jeff and Lauren Lieberman know all about a quick turnaround, even in today’s real estate market. They listed their Buffalo Grove home for sale on Sept. 1 and were under contract on Oct. 3. They closed on Nov. 30.

In that time, their home, listed by Julie Brown of RE/MAX Experts, had 14 showings and one broker tour.

To prepare their home for sale, the Liebermans had an inspection of their home.

“We didn’t want any surprises, so we took care of everything that came up in the inspection,” Lauren Lieberman said. “About a year and a half ago, we redid the entire first floor,” she added.

The Liebermans put in hardwood flooring and new cabinets, and painted the walls a neutral color.  

“We knew we wanted to sell the house at some point. We thought, ‘We’re here, for however long, so let’s make it how we want it to be,'” Lauren Lieberman said. “The changes were for us, but we knew that at some point, they were for someone else.”

The Liebermans knew to expect a difficult real estate market, and Brown told them to “be realistic.” They also removed clutter from their home and staged their home under Brown’s direction. Jeff Lieberman said that Lauren “worked hard to get the house ready.”

The Liebermans have two young children, and said that while the children’s toys were “decluttered,” the house wasn’t sterilized.

Lauren created a checklist of tasks that had to be completed prior to a showing. For example, counter tops were wiped and beds were made. If the Liebermans were notified that there would be a showing in an hour, they would stop what they were doing to tidy the house.

“We didn’t want to say ‘no’ to a showing because we didn’t feel like tidying up,” Lauren said. “Everything in the house was neat and organized and ready to show, and I think that gave us a leg up on the competition.”

“When we looked at homes, we saw unmade beds. The sellers knew well beforehand that we were coming, yet they couldn’t make the bed,” Lauren said. “I don’t understand it. You only get one first impression, and those people might not come back to your house.”

The Liebermans were also aggressive with their pricing. “We didn’t see any reason to hem and haw over the price,” Jeff said. “The whole point of the listing is to keep traffic moving. We knew there’d be one person out there who would buy the house.”

The Liebermans feel that some sellers might be making the mistake of thinking that they need to sell their home for a certain price.

“We’d rather sell our house for a fair price than to be sitting here for six months. We didn’t want to do this for too much longer,” Lauren said.

Lauren has this advice for other sellers: “Take selling your home seriously, but don’t take it personally. You need to desensitize yourself. Don’t pooh-pooh suggestions from your Realtor. They’re in this business for a reason.”

The Liebermans also stated that “Julie is the pro,” and that her suggestions “were not the end of the world.”

“The Liebermans were great sellers,” Brown said. “They asked for advice, listened to my suggestions, and got everything done. The house sold in a good amount of time, even in a bad market.”

“Sometimes, sellers can’t take the emotion out of selling their home,” she said. “[The Liebermans] saw it as a business transaction.”