This blog has been neglected...very very neglected. Our summer was madness and I really only had 24 hours in the day, and those were used up. We have since had a lengthy vacation, packed up our home, moved to New Hampshire, and sold the house!
our much needed vacay
My last post was right after we went under contract for the first time with our house. We were so excited to be under contract within a week of listing and everything was going very smooth, and then we had an inspection. Now remember we had just purchased this home (and had the inspection done) in October of 2012. We were not really worried about the inspection and were just excited to be moving forward. Well, a couple of days after the inspection came the craziest thing we have ever seen. The buyers agent sent over a list of 73 (WHAT!!!) items that needed fixing. We were shocked, and to be entirely honest, pissed. Reading through the list was crazy. Let me just give you a handful of gems from the list: broken tub stopper in the master bath (not broken actually we used it everyday), missing key for the fireplace (hm, actually it's in a drawer since we have a baby), stain on the driveway, chipping paint under the deck, no light in garage door opener (or just a burnt out light bulb), missing door stopper in master bedroom, and the list went on and on and on. When we got the list we didn't even know where to start.
After talking to our realtor she suggested offering money and a warranty. We did just that. We offered more closing, a warranty, and a gift card to home depot. The buyers then came back agreeing to the extra money and gift card (of course) but still wanted some stuff fixed. We ended up coming to an agreement and we were on our way.
The next morning, after negotiations, we got a call from the realtor saying the buyers were backing out...NOOOOOOOOOO! The realtor called to let us know at 10am and said, "don't worry though we have more showings at 2pm". We had already started packing up our entire house, and the place was a disaster. I started crying, like full on sobs. I was so bummed. Not only is the house a disaster but we were also leaving for a vacation in 3 days! I was seriously beyond stressed. After a frantic call to my mom (am I the only one that does that?) I put on my big girl pants and got to work. Lucky for me Amelia took an extra long nap so I was able to get it all done for the showings that were coming. Oh did I forget to mention that we had sold Brian's truck so I didn't even have a car. Super stress.
We ended up leaving for vacation with our house back on the market. We were fortunate to have family that stayed at our place and kept things in place for all the showings while we were gone. Our realtor worked really hard and got in touch with some of our original offers. Lucky for us, one of them was still interested! They came in with a great offer (not as good as the first) but still great. This time everything truly went very smooth. The inspection came back with normal items and we were happy to complete everything on the list. We closed September 20th, only 10 months from when we bought the house and we even came out a little ahead. Lucky!
What did we learn? I guess the better question is, what will we do different the next time? Overall it was a very good experience and we got very lucky with the market on the buying and selling end. We still might have done a couple things a little different
1. We would continue to show the home even if we were under contract. Our realtor did not see the purpose of continuing to show but looking back I wish we had.
2. We would rent a pod and pack in most of our stuff ahead of time. A house shows better with no clutter and our basement was full of boxes during the showings. If we had a place to put stuff as we packed it that would've been nice. Also it would have been much easier when we were ready to move.
3. EAT out! While we were showing I was constantly stressed about the house being clean. It was just better when we ate out. Maybe not for the waistline, but stress isn't good for that either.
4. Do not go on a 2 week vacation in the middle of crazy town. Now this is hard because the vacation was planned way before we even knew we were moving. The timing wasn't great but in this situation it could not be helped. Those 2 weeks would have been very helpful for us. We ended up basically packing our entire house in 2 days and that is not good for a marriage ;) Basically we just wanted to punch each other all day. We should have timed it a little better or hired movers, and we will next time.
What we did right:
1. Ready to show at the drop of a hat. I told the realtor I needed 2 hours notice, but if she gave me 15 minutes I would still show the house. We packed in a lot of last minute showings.
2. Kept the house super clean and cool temps. Selling a home in Georgia in the middle of summer, yikes. Lucky for us it wasn't a hot summer but we still kept temps low for comfort. I was also a crazy person with the cleaning. I would hate for some dust or dog hair to deter someone from buying the home.
3. Do not get offended. People pick the house apart and it kind of feels personal. But tastes are different and its not for everyone. A buyer will come along :)
4. Having a realtor. This was a tremendous help because of our schedules. She worked so hard and took care of everything once we moved. Huge huge help!
We were sad to say goodbye to our first charming southern home. We loved living in Georgia and loved being home owners. How does that quote go, what i love most about my home is who I share it with...Georgia was wonderful because we had each other. We can put our spirit and vibe into any place and we will love it too.
On to the next.
New Hampshire is incredible and I can't wait to share more about our new digs in the Hamp. We are living on the beach in a rental and plan on starting our home search very soon. We are feeling New Hampshire for the long haul (it's that amazing!). For now our stuff is packed in storage and we are living the life at the beach. I am still pretending like it is not about to snow in a couple months.
It is going to feel like Christmas when we get all that stuff our of storage.
"our" beach
I am still debating on a name change for the blog. Just a heads up this blog will still be on a little hiatus until the home search or projects pick up. If you want to check out our New Hampshire happenings check out our home blog!
Happy October!
