A friend of mine, Kevin, spent eight months trying to sell his condo. He paid $400 for professional photos, priced it right at market value, and had just put about $20,000 into renovations. Zero serious calls. Then the guy upstairs listed an almost identical unit — peeling wallpaper, dated kitchen, priced $15,000 higher — and sold it in two weeks. Kevin eventually met the buyer through a mutual friend and asked him point-blank: “Why did you buy his place instead of mine?”