We recently had the pleasure of working with an ideal client in seller Carol Scribner. Carol came to us after following us in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere for some time. She is a marketing expert by study and profession — an accomplished businesswoman, author and photographer. Not only were we able to exceed her heightened expectations in marketing and sales, but we also delivered a successful outcome with the sale of her home.
Just outside Flagstaff, Paradis Moderne, a one-of-a-kind, modern mountain masterpiece, was custom designed and built from the ground-up (pictured here). This was our first successful real estate auction in the Flagstaff market – the first of many more Arizona sales come.
Working with Carol and her husband was a pleasure. As was the brief interview I had with her after the auction.
Krystal Aeby (KA) : How did you hear about Concierge Auctions? How did you make the decision to enlist Concierge to sell your home?
Carol Scribner (CS): I had been seeing your advertising in the Wall Street Journal, and about a year ago, I attended a dinner in Paradise Valley, and was sitting next to an agent from Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty. I’m not sure how it came up, but the agent had experienced your work with Kurt Warner’s sale there. She was so impressed with how you managed everything and functioned. So, that was a personal endorsement, on top of me having already been aware of Concierge from the advertisements. Concierge’s marketing and advertising stood out as a class act, and then hearing from her having seen Concierge in action was really impressive.
KA: If given the choice, would you sell your property with Concierge via the auction process again? Why?
CS: In a minute. It was just perfection from beginning to end.
KA: Concierge does in four to six weeks what can sometimes take two-plus years in a traditional model. It’s a fast-paced, yet patient process, as the preparation and exposure period are quick. Given this, do you have any advice for future sellers, or on the overall auction process and your specific experience?
CS: There’s really no advice for sellers, because all I had to do is put it in Concierge’s hands. Concierge takes care of everything in such a classy, professional way. I come from an advertising and marketing background, having had my own company in this field. It wasn’t like a process form; I could really see the quality in everything and in all of the print materials created for the property. On top of that, Frank, our Project Sales Manager at the house, was just magnificent. For us, the thing is you just don’t have to do anything. You can just can walk away, and we did. If you want to have daily contact, you certainly can — but we never did, we trusted all the way. Concierge did what they said they were going to do, and it worked. And, that was to give us the best possible chance to sell our home. I couldn’t imagine a better team or better process. It’s hands off; hands free.
KA: Can you speak a little towards being a seller who takes control of the market versus being at the mercy of it? What was your experience?
CS: We had our house on the market for five years. We built a very unusual home — it’s super contemporary in an area of the mountains where people expect chalets, and there simply were no buyers. We really needed to spread the net much, much wider. Concierge’s ability to do that made all the difference. We ended up with a buyer from Lake Tahoe, so not far away, but we had no way to connect until this process. Concierge enlarged the market 1,000-fold. We had no market until Concierge came into the picture. And, I can’t imagine another way we could have done it.
KA: Do you feel like Concierge met your expectations?
CS: Concierge exceeded them in every way possible. And, it was from the beginning; from the first phone call, within 24 hours, we were on the road. It all happened so quickly, all with immediate response, all so impressive. It was amazing.
For more on selling your luxury home see our Frequently Asked Question about Real Estate Auctions. Or leave us a comment and request a free evaluation.