House for sale
Yeah, so we're moving.
The story is long and complex and is so boring that you would want to claw your own eyes out if I put it on this page. But it all boils down to this: we have the opportunity to own the house that Wife grew up in. A beautiful, old home with a lot of memories.
But we still have to sell this place. And based on what I know about the process of listing and showing a house, I can say with a great deal of confidence that they will have to carry my cold, lifeless 140 year-old body out of the new house. This process buh-lows.
For two weeks now, our phone has been blowing up (to use the vernacular of our urban youth) with calls from our realtor and various home-related contractors. The guy fixing the landscape lighting. The guy that did the pressure washing. The guys that came to give us a price on removing the old oil furnace.
Wife has had the unenviable task of coordinating all the home-selling activity since I'm at the office all day. And then there's those two kids that live here. We can't seem to find their "Pause" buttons, so they still need the same love and attention they would if we weren't selling this house.
Needless to say, my old lady's plate is pretty full. But she's handling it with a level of grace and class that would be beyond my reach. If this were all in my lap, I would have run away to live in a cave by now.
I guess the biggest challenge we're facing is this: Next week the realtor will start showing the house. How do we juggle the need of people to come see our house with our own need to cook meals, play with toys and have naptime? In other words, what advice can you give us on how to still live our life in this house while we try to sell it?
Surely some of you have done this before. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
The story is long and complex and is so boring that you would want to claw your own eyes out if I put it on this page. But it all boils down to this: we have the opportunity to own the house that Wife grew up in. A beautiful, old home with a lot of memories.
But we still have to sell this place. And based on what I know about the process of listing and showing a house, I can say with a great deal of confidence that they will have to carry my cold, lifeless 140 year-old body out of the new house. This process buh-lows.
For two weeks now, our phone has been blowing up (to use the vernacular of our urban youth) with calls from our realtor and various home-related contractors. The guy fixing the landscape lighting. The guy that did the pressure washing. The guys that came to give us a price on removing the old oil furnace.
Wife has had the unenviable task of coordinating all the home-selling activity since I'm at the office all day. And then there's those two kids that live here. We can't seem to find their "Pause" buttons, so they still need the same love and attention they would if we weren't selling this house.
Needless to say, my old lady's plate is pretty full. But she's handling it with a level of grace and class that would be beyond my reach. If this were all in my lap, I would have run away to live in a cave by now.
I guess the biggest challenge we're facing is this: Next week the realtor will start showing the house. How do we juggle the need of people to come see our house with our own need to cook meals, play with toys and have naptime? In other words, what advice can you give us on how to still live our life in this house while we try to sell it?
Surely some of you have done this before. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
posted by Leighton @ My Best Investments at
3:08 AM
9 Comments:
Ours is still up too, so I would say first and foremost to have patience. The market is flooded and July is kind of a slowdown month.
Secondly, I say give your wife some special time alone because it is going to be hard on her with the coordinating, house-keeping and childrearing. The woman is a wonder. (Why do you think we sent ours away this summer!)
And I find that giving it over to God and waiting for his timetable has released most of my anxieties over the selling of the house. I know it will go when he's ready for it to go: right buyer, house we want is on market, when I learn that God's got my back. Prayer will help to create wonders.
Speaking of which, I'll start praying about your house selling fast too. What a blessing to be able to move to a house full of memories...
Eat out. A LOT. I quit cooking pretty much altogether during the time ours was on the market, and it helped with the stress level.
And you'll be surprised by how adaptable the kids will be. You really don't have a choice but to just roll with it, and they'll roll with it, too.
(I just said "roll with it" twice in one sentence.)
(I sure did.)
Our house has been on the market since last November, and we have a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old. This is the fourth or fifth house we've sold; I've actually lost count, and my brain won't work well at this hour without coffee.
But I will say -- make sure your kids know the house needs to be picked up on a daily basis, so it won't get out of control. They might just pitch in to help. (Or maybe your kids like to play in the car as much as mine? Because that's one way I can get them out of the house for the last 20 minutes before guests come so I can finish the straightening. "Kids, want to go tear Mom's mini-van apart?!?")
Also, what Shalee said about leaving the whole process in God's hands is wise and true. He's in charge, He knows the situation. It's never out of His hands, so don't stress.
And kiss your wife. Long and often. She's doing a lot of work.
Our house is still on the market. It's been almost a year. *choke*
We don't live in that house, but we still own it. And that, my friend, is F-U-N. But I remember cleaning every second of the day, after my almost one year old. Then, when it was open house, etc. we'd be sitting on the couch watching TV. It was all about the TV. No toys, nothin'.
I hope yours sells SOON!
I have no advice here. We've only sold once and had a bidder war on the day of the first open house. It's all in the luck of the timing really.
All these comments with houses on the market for months - I'm so sorry! We sold our house and had it on the market for a whopping 7 days and it was sold and closed and we were moved in less then 3 weeks total. All while being 8 1/2 months pregnant. Thankfully it sold fast. Best advice: Have all the handy work done before you put it on the market. Makes a huge difference. Anything that can be put into storage, do it. Totally cleans up the place and saves your sanity from having to continuously dust or clean or put it away. Most important tip EVER: paper plates!!! Makes for easy and quick clean up and your kitchen sink is always clean in case you get a call for a showing right after dinner.
Good luck!!! I hope it sells super fast and you don't have to mess with all the hassle of showings and phone calls for long:)
We tried to sell our house last summer and I thank God that His plan was better than ours and it never sold.
Anyhoo-- I was pregnant with two kids at the time so it was a wee bit stressful. My suggestion is to start and end each day with an all-family house blitz. Everyone gets in on picking up rooms and spit shining bathrooms. Before naptime we took a minute to blitz again, that way if a realtor called during naptime we'd be ready to bolt as soon as we needed to. Not much can happen in between that isn't manageable. Even for a SAHM with kids.
Good luck! I hope it works out for you!!!
Having seen your house, I don't think this is a problem, but find some time to watch "Sell This House!". It's on cable, I can't remember whether it's A&E or Bravo. Shows on Saturday afternoons I think. Anyway, they do hidden cameras during open house to hear what people really say. What a nightmare! But there's good info about "staging".
Congrats on getting to the big house!
I found your blog via boomama-and ooh boy, do I feel your pain!
we listed our house in March, and have two kids under the age of 5 (who both nap in the afternoon). and two dogs (one of which is a great dane). and two cats. and my husband and I both work out of our house.
and for much of the first week it was on the market he traveled the. entire. time.
so here's how I survived:
*eat out-you don't want stinky dinner smells lingering anyway.
*stock the car with snacks, books, and dvd's (assuming you have a dvd player
*this means that when centralized showing calls with a showing request, you can load the kids up and park DOWN THE STREET. they can play in the backseat while you pay bills or catch up on phone calls. And when the person looking leaves, you can go home (rather than staying gone for the entire two hour window)
*have centralized showing give you a two hour advance notice-AT LEAST
*tell CS ahead of time that you cannot show the house before 9, between the hours of 1-3 (naptime), or after 6pm. This lessens the amount of 'no' responses you have to give them,and gives you happier potential buyers
*cling to each other and know that this too, will pass. have extra patience, give an extra helping hand whenever you can, and bite your tongue as much as possible.
the right buyers will come along. it will happen. you just have to keep a stiff upper lip until it does
good luck!
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home