I know next to nothing about selling a home. When we bought our first home, our current home, we bought it directly from the builder. Yes, we were/are very blessed to have our very first home be brand spankin' new. Here's the thing: we looked at homes in the same price range in better school districts but they were fixer uppers. How appealing is it to look at a brand new home for the same price in a not-good school district? Very appealing when your child is in the womb.
Here were are, though, with a child who is one year away from being school aged and it is a very big deal to be in a good school district. Not to mention the burglary that happened earlier this month. Couple those together and we're putting our home on the market.
Let me tell you, the entire thing is a mind eff. How? OK, it's twofold. First, listing the home in the current market. Our realtor ran a comparison and, unfortunately, we have to sell our home at a loss. Thankfully, not short sale but a good chunk of change less than what we paid for. Big old bummer. We still built up equity (I think that's the correct term) so yay us. We are optimistic because there is a low inventory of houses making ours pretty desirable. Here's where the mind eff is: although there are a low inventory of homes, this does not drive up the price of our house. You think it would be because of the comparison and what people are buying at the price points they are buying at, our home still needs to stay competitive and list 50K less than what we paid.
Ouch.
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| Our first home is pretty spiffy. |
Second mind eff: We are obviously currently living in the home we are trying to sell. A benefit to having a market with low inventory is we can set the parameters of when we show the home. We decided to open our home for one day, all day, by appointment. We showed our house 26 times. Yes, that's right - I showed my house to 26 realtors and potential buyers. We hid all our clutter and made the house look as bare and nondescript as possible. In addition to clutter like laundry and toys, we put away all our photos and anything sentimental or personal so people could imagine their stuff in this home.
I mentally prepared myself for people to be pretty critical of the home because, after all, it's a big purchase. And, I'm sure you've done this because we certain have when attending an open house, I was ready to hear people rip apart the layout or condition of the home. Can't take it personally, right? But everyone was so nice. They were all so complimentary of how we took care of our home and couldn't believe we had a three year old! Little do they know we also have two dogs ... we kept them in the garage while showing the home so I think they thought we always kept them outdoors. Hehehe. What was also nice was that almost all the realtors complimented us, as well, and said we did a great job making it "show ready."
It's funny what will make a person feel better but these compliments did make me feel good. We tried very hard to keep our home nice. It is pretty difficult with two dogs and a toddler. Frankly, it's hard with just a couple of adults! The whole selling of our home is stressful because of the uncertainty so it was just nice to hear people so complimentary. I mean, I'm not delusional. I know people had critiques. But they were nice enough to murmur them to their realtors or wait until they were outside before stating them.I went off on a tangent. So the mind eff. In showing my home 26 times, I chose to escort them all rather than letting them all run free because we still had valuables and I was extremely uncomfortable letting people roam around unchaperoned. Well, people ask questions and I answered them all truthfully. Most of my answers were extremely complimentary of the home itself as well as my neighbors and the neighborhood. This, along with folks saying really nice things about the property, could really twist a person's thoughts about selling. I mean, why are we moving? This is a corner lot with plenty of privacy, parking, lots of light, nearly new appliances and minimal wear and tear. Why would I move?
I could almost hear the thoughts of these potential buyers, thinking "Do you know what's out there? Do you know how many homes we bid on and lost? Are you actually going to sell this place and put yourself in our shoes? What the hell's the matter with you guys? It SUCKS being a buyer right now!" AND THEY'RE RIGHT!
I lied, there's one more mind eff and it's exactly what I just mentioned: We will go from being a seller to a buyer and it is not fun. While the percentage rates are low (yay!) so is the inventory. We are going to be bidding against people who can pay all in cash. We are going to have a heart broken several times before we find "the one." I know, I should visualize positive thoughts and pray for positive things. And I do! But the realistic side of me can't forget how difficult it was for us in 2009 when we were looking at pre-owned homes. It's even harder now. I also don't know of anyone who got the very first home they fell in love with and put an offer on. But there's always a first, yes? Yes!
I told The Man this is why even though I was tired of giving tours and accepting appointments (our realtor was shocked I had 26 appointments and thought that we would get half that, max) that I did it anyway. Yes, I figured the odds of a good offer would increase the more I showed the home. But I also did it because I know we're going to be on the other side, too. I want people to be kind to me and open their home to me when it's time for us to buy a home. It sounds simple but there are plenty of a-holes out there. Just recently we encountered a jerk of a realtor when looking at a home. Poor home owners, I don't know if they realize how much their realtor deterred folks from putting in an offer. (We were semi-serious but, due to our interaction with that realtor, decided to wait and look at what else is out there. Plus, we need to sell our home first to see how much we have to work with.)
Oh! And the families that checked out our home! I fell in love with three of them but liked just about everyone who viewed our house. I told The Man that I wish I had Oprah-money because everyone who came would get a house. "You get a house! And you get a house. And you two, you can have a house too!" There were a few who opened up at the end and said they had been looking for months. Or that this will be the sixth house they put a bid for. One adorable couple came back a half hour later, apologizing for the inconvenience (it was OK, though because I had a break between appointments) and asked what they could offer additionally to be a desirable bid. Were we interested in renting back while we looked? Were we looking at only cash? They really liked our home and wanted to be seriously considered. They looked nothing like us but The Man and I saw ourselves in them. They were us when we were looking at homes in 2009. That is, we thought they were younger versions of us because we remembered what it was like to be excited about a home and want to be home owners already. They wanted to start a family! They truly reminded us of us ... until the last couple came. Oh boy, did they remind us of us;)
The last couple was also very excited about our home and shared that they were expecting a baby in August. The husband was wearing his PG&E gear and apologized for being in his work clothes. The Man asked, "Are you an electrician?" to which the husband replied, "No, I work with gas." But The Man was still taken by this couple because this couple was exactly us in 2009. The husband is a blue collar worker and, like The Man, very respectful and a little on the quiet side. The pregnant wife looks nothing like me but I was two months pregnant when we looked at homes. The Man remembered wanting us to be all settled in before I gave birth. They were one of the families that shared they had been looking for a while and the wife jokingly but not jokingly said, "Yes, please consider us! This baby needs a home."
Well played, girlfriend. I would have said the exact same thing;)
When it comes down to it, we will of course take the best offer. But, my goodness, my heart goes out to all these families who just want a nice home in a nice neighborhood. The young families reminded us so much of ourselves and, I'm telling you, I wish I had the money to give out homes left and right because just about everyone was so very nice.
Here's praying and hoping for an outstanding offer. Then praying we, too, find a good next home.
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