Holy bananas. We just stuck the For Sale sign in front of our house (the one in this post was photoshopped in case you couldn’t tell). Big day. So it’s official. Our house is really on the market.
We’re still in the process of doing a ton of things to woo potential buyers both inside and out (stay tuned for those details as we go) and we’re actually trying the for-sale-by-owner route… at least for a little while. Being such big DIYers it seemed odd not to give it a go (especially since my mom and dad have sold nearly every house they’ve ever owned themselves). Although we’re definitely not opposed to turning to a realtor if we don’t get much of a response in the coming weeks.
We’ll keep you posted. In the meantime we’ll be crouched down in front of the window staring at the little flier box to see if anyone stops to take our info sheet. We’re sure a lot of neighbors will grab one (after all, we do that whenever anyone else puts their house up, just to see what they’re asking and to compare our home to theirs) but we’re hoping some actual house-hunters will take notice too. Cross your fingers (and eyes) for us. Off to clean something within an inch of its life…
Charity says
Best of luck to you! I’m sure it won’t be on the market for long. Have you been house hunting yourselves yet?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Charity,
We’ve just begun. More news on that soon!
xo,
s
Jen K says
We are in the process of selling our home on our own as well. How did you set it up to allow only “pre-approved” potential buyers to view your house? If they find you on Craigslist for example? How do you know those buyrs are pre-approved? Thank you for the help!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jen,
We have them fax or email their approval letter from a local bank (nothing from an online bank since those are less reliable) before scheduling a showing. Many realtors in our area work that way so we don’t feel like divas.
xo
s
Mary says
Way to go, DIYers! I sold my townhouse years ago, just bided my time and word-of-mouth did the job. FYI to anyone who might want to try this – you buy those signs & flyer boxes at Lowes/Home Depot, and you can get a pre-printed contract at Staples/Office Max, etc. Any local attorney (who handles real estate) can do the closing for you; it’s only a few hundred dollars. Good luck, Sherry & John!
Pamela says
I think it’s great that you are doing it FSBO – you certainly have lots of publicity already. I also am willing to be that it won’t be on the market for very long. Get it while the getting is good! What is your asking price?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Pamela,
Our gauge for what we chat about here is whether or not we’d talk about it at the table with our family (since we figure if we wouldn’t chat about it with close relatives and friends we probably shouldn’t put it on the internet). For that reason we’ve decided to share a ton about the process, and to talk about money in general terms (making it, losing it, breaking even) as opposed to naming specific figures lie our asking price and the cost of our new house (since we never have chatted about how much we paid for this house except for very generally). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Sarah G says
Good luck selling the house!
And now totally unrelated (but related to your photo!) Where did you find an adult size “Virginia is for Lovers” t-shirt?!?! I have one that needs replacing soon, but it’s actually a youth XL – I’ve never been able to find an adult size version! I get comments and compliments on it every time I wear it, and I’d love to find an adult sized one to replace it with. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sarah,
That’s actually John’s “Virginia Is For Runners” shirt from a cute place in Charlottesville.
xo,
s
Giselle says
Aren’t you guys worried, with the whole housing market and all, that you won’t get back for your buck?
You’re house is so lovely
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Giselle,
We’re pretty certain we’ll get close to what we put into it (fingers crossed), and we figure if houses are going for cheap, whatever we don’t make back on our house we’ll save on our next house since that’ll be selling on the cheap as well! Plus rates are really great right now so it was the best time to make the move for us!
xo,
s
Sarah B says
I just noticed John’s hat, poked around your blog a bit, and discovered he went to UVA. Wahoowa! Do you guys have any nods to his alma mater anywhere in the house?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sarah B,
We don’t have a big a UVA poster or anything, but John has small silver cups (Jefferson Cups) that we use around the house. Go Hoos!
xo,
s
Katie Truelove says
Best of luck! I know you guys have taken such good care of your house and fixed it up nice:) I look forward to reading about the process!
sheila says
Not to be a NN, but isn’t this traditionally one of the slowest real estate ‘seasons’? If you don’t get hits right away, it might be better to wait until spring.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sheila,
We’re gonna see what happens! We already have had some reader interest and have seen people grabbing our flier a bunch this am (already refilled the box twice). We’re not cocky, but we’re trying to stay confident and optimistic!
xo,
s
Stacey says
Man, I would snap your place up in a heartbeat if I lived in your area! :-\
Love your blog…so much that I featured it on my blog today. Can’t wait to see your next place!
-Stacey
andrea p says
Oh wow, you guys should do a YHL auction on ebay with some of the goodies to sell!
Patty says
I don’t know how you will be able to leave such a lovely home after all of the hard work and TLC that you put into it. Oh, how I wish I had a legit reason to move to the Richmond area – I’d move in in a heart beat!!
Mary Buckelew says
You guys are so great and “for real.” Love it! Good luck with the sale! WAIT! For real, except for the white gourds… ha ha! Let’s just call ’em… albino gourds… (I hope that’s not politically incorrect!)
Alex says
we bought our first house with http://www.redfin.com and it was a great experience. of the 3% buyer’s agent commission we got 1.5% back. they also offer seller’s agent services, you’ll get 1.5% of the 3% seller’s agent commission. basically, the site is centered on the idea that you know how to use google and the redfin site to browse house listings yourself, narrow your list down to a few, go to open houses, and when you’re ready to make an offer or process an offer, that’s when their agents come in to help with paperwork and such. it sure beat having a pushy agent trying to tell us what we should like and not like.
i highly recommend the site if you dont have any luck going the fore sale by owner route.
Sadie says
I hope whoever buys your house will send pics of the way they decorate it and place furniture. It would be fun to see how they set it up for their lifestyle.Hopefully they won’t be shy! :)
Sherri says
Good luck! I’m sure it will go well for you all things considered. It’s actually funny – I just started a new blog for that very reason…selling our house and looking for a new one (and ironically per your FAQ’s post last week, to actually get closer to our son’s Montessori school). I never thought I’d do private, but it’s funny what changes when you become a parent. Then again, I never thought I’d nurse for so long, cloth diaper, or many of the other things we’re doing. All for the love of our children!
julie says
Definitely sell it yourselves! We bought in March this way, found the contract on the state realtors website and just asked our mortgage lender all the brain busting questions!
You have a beautiful house!! Best of luck!
Tiffini S. says
Google “bury St. Joseph sell house” and see if that is for you. You probably won’t need it, but I know folks who have done it and it worked!
Rachel @ The Avid Appetite says
Wow, big day! Congrats and good luck!
Amanda says
We just sold our home by owner also and save a boatload of moolah. We did, however, list it on the MLS which is how we got our buyer. It cost less than $300 here and our “virtual realtor” was way more helpful than our last realtor. You can so do it! Just be ready for all your neighbors to take your fliers instead of buyers.
Katherine M. says
I’m so excited for you! My husband and I sold our house in 2008 (using a real estate agent) and I always tried to bake cookies right before a showing for the potential buyers to enjoy. All the agents said their clients rembered our house as “the one with the chocolate chip cookies.” Not that your house will need cookies to be remembered.
YoungHouseLove says
Oooh that sounds cute though! We better brush up on our baking skills!
xo,
s
Kyle says
YAY! I’m so excited for you two! :)
And…RAGGED MOUNTAIN?!?!?! Woop!
feep says
Good luck!
Go Hoos Go!
Meredith says
Your white ceramic animal obsession is spreading! http://kfddesigns.blogspot.com/
I thought you’d like the giraffe in today’s post; I thought it was adorable. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Meredith,
So cute!
xo,
s
Jacquelin Seybert says
Wishing you lots of luck during the selling process. Probably a stupid question but… do you two think you will take all of your current furniture to your new (OLD) house? Or do you think you will go for a completely different look when you decorate?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jacquelin,
We’re taking some and leaving some! We’ll share those deets as we flesh them out a bit more!
xo,
s
Rachel says
Do you guys have flat-fee MLS listing services in Richmond? After NOT selling our house for over a year while listed with a realtor, we took it off the market and paid $500 to a local realtor just to list our house on the MLS. Our house sold within a month! I’m sure, a bit of coincidence is involved, but we ended up being listed on the MLS and saving a few thousand bucks. Think about it!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we have a realtor we can pay a flat fee (or do it online with a site like MLSmyhouse.com) so we’re planning to do that in a week or two!
xo,
s
Amanda says
As an FYI, Redfin is not available in every state and I’m pretty sure Virginia is one of the states that they aren’t in. I’m currently using them to buy a house in MD though and so far I really like their process.
Jyl says
Congratulations and good luck! I like John’s sneakers. Are they Reebok? My husband would like them…
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jyl,
They’re Asics from Marshall’s for $19. We’re cheapos!
xo,
s
Jennifer says
Hey Guys! Good luck. I believe your house will be sold within ten days.. by owner. (I think we should have a poll!) Dead market or not, it’s fresh, staged perfect and totally buyer ready. By doing so many of the projects DIY, I think you’ll make a decent profit too.
We sold our home a year ago in the Cleveland, Ohio market (and what market is deader than that.. seriously.) And we did it by owner, sold within a week. We’ve sold both of our home by owner with great success. Good luck to you-
Jen
Nicole says
Just wondering…are you going to outright tell a potential buyer about the blog if they are totally clueless about it’s existence?
The best of luck to you in the quest for your new abode. What an exciting time!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Nicole,
Yup, we believe in full disclosure, plus we hope whoever buys our house will have an appreciation for the makeover! We even plan to have the magazines that feature our house out for any showings since we hope that will make people love our little house even more!
xo,
s
Regina says
I’m house-hunting and I’d definitely consider your home if I lived in the area. I’m sure you’ll be fine. :)
KK says
Hey everyone,
The listing isn’t hard to find. I won’t list the price here since they don’t want it listed, but man, talk about affordable cost of living! I had no idea you could get a home for that price! Sheesh, here in Seattle that would not even buy you a studio in the city! You do not even want to know what we had to pay for our 4 bedroom in Queen Anne… 4 times their sale price….
Kelly says
Congrats on officially putting your house on the market. I am confident that it will sell quick. I love your site and cannot wait to see the story unfold for your new house.
I do have a question… In the past you have stated that you don’t have a lot of extra time since the addition of the beautiful Clara so I’m curious as to how you will juggle the joys of caring for Clara, keeping up with the blog, as well as diving into a possible renovation project with a new home. Isn’t that going to be a lot of work and way more time consuming? Is it possible you two figured out how to add more hours to the day? :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Kelly,
We’ve shaved things down (no more shop or client-commissioned design dilemmas) and we made this announcement about how we’re going back to updates and short diary style entries about our life like we did in the good old days, which frees up more time to answer comments and get home projects done- all while switching off on Clara duty of course!
xo,
s
Alison says
Good luck!!! I’m very excited to see how it goes. I think I’d love to sell our house ourselves (when we eventually want to!)
sheila says
Thanks for answering, I regretted typing it as soon as I hit submit. I’m sure you can conjure up plenty of worries about stuff like that all on your own!
Like everyone, I too have my fingers and toes crossed for you guys… that you’ll get a quick sale, top dollar, and a great new place at a great price!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Sheila! We’ll see what happens!
xo,
s
r8chel says
Good luck! I sold my house in Virginia back in February, and I had multiple offers the day after it went on the market, so I’m not worried that you will have any trouble selling yours!
Also, I find the real-time posting to be very refreshing.
Samantha says
I don’t know how far you will get on those posts about what you’re doing to woo potential buyers. I have a feeling your house will not be on the market too long…. Are y’all leaving the furniture and decorations? That way you can really start fresh in a new home.
So excited for y’all and the new adventure.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Samantha,
We’re leaving some things and taking others (since they’re too sentimental to part with). We’ll share more of those details as we iron them out!
xo,
s
Chicago Cuisine Critique says
Best of luck!
Nota Supermom says
Good luck!
I think it will be snapped up.
Brooke says
If I lived in the area, I’d snatch up your house in a heartbeat! I love it! Quick question for you. :) What kind of paint did you use on the floor in your sun room? Did you stain that floor or use a paint? (not the flowers, but the overall color) I’m wondering because I’d like to stain or paint our basement floor. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Brooke,
We used Behr porch and floor paint (which works like a charm on concrete and wood decks, etc). No sealing or priming necessary. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Maggie Rose says
I’m really excited for you – and I would totally be a flyer-watcher too! I’ll be watching this process closely as we hope to buy a home in a few years and I have NO idea how it works. Thanks for taking us along for the ride!
Iraida says
Hi guys!!
That’s gonna sell so fast!! Faster than gooey chocolate filled chocolate chip cookies on a rainy-movie-night!! Oh, wait, it may be I’m the only one eats them that fast!!! Hmm, point is: no worries about the market, it’s gonna be gone PRONTO! so y’all betta gets to packin’. :) cuz u ain’t got much time!!
Umm, could you move to GA so that I can buy the next house you’re gonna deck-out???? Pretty please ;)
Cher says
OK, I have to ask. Where are you going to go? You must have a house in line for #2. Dish!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Cher,
There’s no house yet believe it or not! We’ve just begun our hunt, but since we have to sell this house before we can buy a new one (the bank won’t float two self employed modestly earning kids like us two loans) we thought we’d get started!
xo,
s
Katrina says
Congrats, I’m sure now it feels way too real! I’m sure your home will sell the diy way. I had a GF who sold their home thanks to help from Craigslist, you just never know where you’ll find potential buyers! :)
Steph @ BirdHouse Family says
Best of luck! We got very lucky selling our first house to an acquaintance in next to no time. House shopping was pretty exciting too, though we decided to build in the end to get the house we wanted in the location we preferred.
rebecca p says
Will you be willing to show us more of the FSBO process once that time comes? Basically what is all involved in a FSBO and what steps are needed from start to finish?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Rebecca,
But of course! You know all about us and tutorials. We just have to get going first and learn as we go!
xo,
s
susan says
Put some apple cider with cinammon sticks on low on the stove and lots of mums outside for your open house. The place looks great and will sell quickly!
Pam says
I wonder if I’m the only weirdo wanting to grab from the box just to see what your info sheet looks like..c’mon y’all are going to share it with us right?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Pam,
Yes! We’re working on it!
xo,
s
Shanna says
good luck to you guys! Funny how your chapter is beginning just as ours is ending. Our home has been on the market for a few months now and it looks like in a few days we’ll be taking our “For Sale” Sign out of the yard. It just didn’t pan out for us this time, but we’ll regroup and retry in a year or two. I’m looking forward to following your sale and seeing what advice and tips you come up with for our next time around. :)
Amanda Wright says
I’m excited to see that you’re giving for-sale-by-owner a try. I know your house will sell super fast! We’re still in our first home, but I think when the time comes to sell we might try to do it ourselves. The thought of paying a realtor thousands of dollars to do some paperwork makes me nauseous! I hope you’ll do a post on selling your house without a realtor once it all works out for you! : )