The Ceiling Tile That Killed the Sale.. And the Phone Call That Saved It.
We sold firm. After 80 days on the market.
We had one conditional offer fall apart. Then weeks—literally weeks—of nothing. Crickets. And not because the home wasn’t good. The kitchen was getting great feedback. But something kept holding buyers back.
So we did what most agents skip: we picked up the phone.
Within 24 hours of every showing, we called the agents. And over time, a pattern started to show up. Different agents, different buyers, all saying the same thing—the decorative ceiling tiles were too much.
That was it. That was the thing keeping people from saying yes.
So, we listened. We got to work.
Tiles out. New photos in. Took about 3–4 days. No major cost, just smart adjustments. And when it was done? I called every single agent who had shown interest. Told them to check out the updated listing. Told them it looked way better. That the kitchen—the best feature of the house—just got even better.
We sold it within 24 hours of that.
Before: Decorative ceiling tiles distracted from the kitchen’s real potential.
After: Tiles gone. Clean, tall, and wide open. Photos reshot to reflect what buyers really see.
💡 Why this worked:
We followed up with real calls—not emails, not cringy auto-texts.
We listened to buyer feedback and took action.
We stayed patient with price.
We marketed the update hard with new photos.
We called again to bring attention back to it.
The seller and I talked a lot about price. 80 days in, I reccommended we hold firm with our pricing. I had done the reasearch, I know the area, I know the value. No need for continuing reductions.
Because reducing your price doesn’t guarantee a sale. We didn’t need to panic. We just needed to solve the right problem.
We sold for 97.5% of list. After 80 days. Because we stayed the course, fixed the real issue, and kept showing up.
🎥 Want to see how this played out?
I break it all down in this quick video:
👉 Watch it here.
🧠 The Takeaway
Selling isn’t just marketing—it’s diagnosing.
What’s stopping buyers? What’s really in the way?
That’s why feedback matters. That’s why the phone matters.
And that’s why we sold.
