In February 2025, I was referred to a couple who wanted to discuss how i could help them list and sell their Mar Vista property. The Case Story below details how we successfully accomplished that desire.
Situation: Sellers want to list their Mar Vista home discreetly, without signs, open houses or any public marketing. And while the nearly 100-year-old cottage is charming, it is also tiny, in disrepair, and the likely buyer is a developer who will scrape the lot and build anew.
Insight 1: Developers are notoriously rational in their decision making. If it doesn’t pencil in, they aren’t interested. Needing them to view our property as unique and valuable, we never published a list price and insisted on property walk-throughs before submitting offers.
Challenge: Reach developers and owner/end users at scale and influence them to view our property as something more than just another plot of land.
Insight 2: Simply listing a property, whether on the MLS or a Private Network, isn’t enough. You have to generate ongoing touchpoints if you want your buyer to take action. Our campaign included 3 targeted email blasts within 5 business days, each with a different objective
Solution: Use the Compass Private Exclusive Network to build an outreach campaign that will maximize buyer interest and minimize seller risk.
Email Blast #1: “Hush-Hush Curiosity” Campaign.
Objective: Announce the property and motivate agents and developers to call for price.
Subject: Private Exclusive! Hush Hush!
For Compass Agents Exclusively!
What is it about some properties that elevates them? Design, craftsmanship, quality of materials and finishes – they all play a part. But there’s also something more elemental. Something you can’t replicate. The land itself. The truth is, some lots are just more valuable than others.
I’m very excited to be bringing one of those properties to market. Details to follow but know the likely buyer will be a developer and new builds on this street are selling for $5M+. However, an owner end-user will also be enchanted by the property's future possibilities and could reside in the current cottage while drawing up plans.
Curious? DM me to learn more.
Pro Tip: Retaining control over the process is critical. Be wary of buyers who want to disrupt it. A day after announcing the property, we received a fair offer. Had it come in the following week, it may have been accepted. But at this early stage, it wasn’t strong enough to shut down the process. We politely declined to counter.
Email Blast #2: “Exclusive Showing Times” Campaign.
Objective: Touch agents and developers directly a 2nd time with invitation to walk property before submitting offers.
Subject: Private Exclusive Showing Times for Compass Agents Only
Hello Compass!
I'm sharing new information regarding the Private Exclusive opportunity at 3937 Marcasel Ave in Mar Vista. We have set aside two 3-hour blocks of time exclusively for Compass Agents and their clients next Monday and Tuesday from Noon to 3pm. If you are interested in touring the property, please reach out to reserve your 15–20-minute showing time.
Pro Tip: Before you get into escrow with a buyer and their representative, make sure you are confident they are the right partner. Insist they walk the property. Make them aware of potential blemishes in advance of submitting offers. This will reduce opportunity for future concession requests.
Email Blast #3: “Don’t be a Schnozzle Last Call” Campaign.
Objective: Touch agents and developers directly a 3rd time and alert them to offer expectations.
Subject: Last Call. Offer Due Date
Hello Compass!
You know that moment when the bartender announces, "last call" and you have to make some quick decisions on what comes next Well, that's where things are with 3937 Marcasel. We've set aside blocks of time next Monday and Tuesday exclusively for Compass Agents and their interested clients to walk the property. We are now asking for offers to be submitted end of day on Tuesday 2/18. So, don't be a schnozzle bag and go home alone without first taking a deeper look:
- · Monday Walk-Through: Noon-3pm (filling up quickly)
- · Tuesday Walk-Through: Noon-3pm
- · Offers Due: Tuesday 2/18 at 6pm
A Virtual Sneak Peek Video Walk Through:
Pro Tip: As pricing strategist Per Sjofers says, “… pricing isn’t math. It’s psychology, storytelling and strategy.” While my clients had settled on “must have” and “dream” pricing, throughout the process, we never announced an official offering price. Rather, we intimated a few comps and asked buyers to submit best offers. While it clearly annoyed a few agents, it also served to announce our confidence in our property.
"My developer client says the purchase price needs to be $1.7M."
"My guy penciled it out for $1.8M."
"... can't move forward over $1.9M."
Results and Postscript:
When my clients and I first spoke about pricing, we knew a similar property two doors down had sold a few months earlier for $1.95M. That set our "must have" price. Anything at $2M or above was considered gravy. After two days of private showings and with 20 groups touring the property, we received 11 offers and countered 6. And in the end we closed at $2,080,000.
In an ironic twist, that buyer who made the original offer that we didn’t counter? Well, after falling out of escrow twice within 72 hours, that buyer eventually became the winning bidder. But only after they had substantially upped their initial offer.
