Michael Collins of CFA Real Estate Strategy On How To Get The Absolute Best Price When You Sell…

Authority Magazine: Michael Collins of CFA Real Estate Strategy On How To Get The Absolute Best Price When You Sell Your Home An Interview With Aaron Weiner -- Listen Share The key to getting the best price is to view your home as a product that needs to be marketed, not just a property that needs to be sold. The key to getting the best price is to view your home as a product that needs to be marketed, not just a property that needs to be sold. How can you get the best price possible when you are looking to sell your home? Sometimes it’s a matter of timing, the right upgrades, or simply the right negotiation.

In this interview series called “How To Get The Best Price When You Sell Your Home” we are talking to successful real estate leaders, who can share stories, insights and lessons from their experience about how to get the best price when you want to sell your home. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure to interview Michael Collins. Michael Collins is the founder of CFA Real Estate Strategy and a seasoned real estate professional with over 15 years of experience in the residential market. Based in the Midwest, Michael has overseen hundreds of transactions, specializing in high-value sales and market positioning.

His approach combines data-driven analysis with a deep understanding of buyer psychology to ensure his clients maximize their return on investment. Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to your career? I actually started out in finance, but I always had a fascination with the tangible nature of real estate. I loved the idea that you could take an asset, improve it, and see a direct correlation between your effort and the value created. After helping a few friends navigate difficult home sales, I realized there was a huge gap in how most people approach selling.

They weren’t treating it like a business transaction. I decided to bridge that gap by bringing a more strategic, analytical approach to the residential market, and CFA Real Estate Strategy was born. Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or take away, you took out of that story? Early in my career, I had a client who insisted on being present for every showing. They were incredibly proud of their home and wanted to personally point out every single upgrade, right down to the type of insulation in the attic.

Unfortunately, their presence made buyers feel like they were intruding on someone else’s life rather than envisioning their own. We had three potential offers walk away because the “tour” was too intense. The takeaway was simple but profound: selling a home requires emotional detachment. You have to remove the “soul” of the current owner so the buyer can imagine their own soul inhabiting the space. Do you have a favorite “life lesson quote”? Can you share a story or example of how that was relevant to you in your life? “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” This Warren Buffett quote is the foundation of my business.

I once worked with a seller who was hesitant to spend $5,000 on minor cosmetic repairs because they thought it was “lost money.” I convinced them that the $5,000 investment would create $20,000 in perceived value. We did the work, and the house sold for $25,000 over the original asking price. It taught me that my job isn’t just to sell a house, but to manufacture value where others don’t see it. Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people? We are currently developing a digital “value-add” calculator for homeowners.

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The article provides actionable insights for real estate professionals on maximizing home sale prices through strategic marketing, making it relevant and moderately impactful, though the concepts discussed are not entirely new.