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…
Heidi says
Move to Bucks County, PA! We can be BFF’s! (LOL)
I love to decorate and also have a 2 baby girls. I was also in the Nest Magazine that you were on the cover on (in the Featured Couple section).
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Heidi,
That’s so funny! We’ll have to flip back through the mag and find you!
xo,
s
Margreet says
Good luck with the sale, but why are your selling your lovely home (too small in the future?).
YoungHouseLove says
We’re selling because we love a project and our house is nearly done. We also would like a bit more room to grow (for future kiddos, etc) so it’s a good move for our family and our business and our home-improvement loving selves. Win-win-win if you will.
xo,
s
Felicity says
Holy cow, I go away for a week and this is the first thing I see! I have some Google Reader catching up to do!!
Monica says
Congrats on officially putting your house on the market!
Hopefully the DIY (when it comes to selling your house) route works out perfectly for you!
Sandy says
Not only am I convinced that you guys can and will sell your house on your own – I think it will be snapped up very quickly! In which case … where will you go if you haven’t found your next home yet?!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Sandy,
After perusing MLS we’re sure there are lots of houses out there that could work so we hope we’ll have a place to go even if we sell right away. We’ll plan to have a closing day that’s at least two or three months out so we have time to plan the move and secure a new house! Can’t wait to actually start the hunt (which we’ll blog about of course).
xo,
s
Christa M says
I know!!! You can move down to the ATL to be closer to your good buddies the Bowers…I moved down from Jersey and haven’t regretted it one bit!
PS – I love how John is inconspicuously advertising that Virginia is for lovers while also advertising that the YHL house is for sale.
Kayla Black says
Oh thank Heaven you are continuing your blog!!! I almost had a massive panic attack, I love seeing all that you guys have done an are doing!!! Clara and Burger are adorable! good luck on the move!! and I cant wait to see what you all have in store for your next home! :]
Taylor says
I understand not wanting the world to know the asking price, but would you mind sharing the percent increase from your closing price? (Like, if you bought for 100K and are listing for 150K, you’re asking for a 50% increase)
YoungHouseLove says
Our asking price is around 17% more, which is about what we put into it in actual and sweat equity. Since we were such bargain hunters we didn’t spend an arm and a leg so we don’t have to overprice the house to sell it without losing on it. Fingers crossed it all goes well!
xo,
s
Jen F says
I’m so excited to hear about your experiences selling FSBO, buying and renovating your new place. As a real estate agent, I don’t recommend everyone sell their own home FSBO, but for people like you who work from home, have marketing backgrounds, a famous house and are fully renovated and staged, it probably isn’t a bad way to start. As some people mentioned, being willing to pay a buyers agent is probably a good thing to help.
I can’t wait for all the new fun of your new place! Congrats on this big step!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we’re definitely willing to pay a buyers agent. In fact one of them contacted us today on behalf of a client. Fingers crossed! We’ll keep you guys posted!
xo,
s
Anna says
Are you guys still planning on living in Richmond? Where else have you considered?
I am super excited to read all about the move and see what you guys do next, you are my fav blog to follow!
-Anna
YoungHouseLove says
Richmond forever! We love it here. With family and friends here it’s hard to picture ourselves anywhere else!
xo,
s
Barb says
I think it would be interesting if you went back through your “budget breakdowns” and added up all the money you have actually put in to your remodeling (maybe subtract out things you will take with you). Then when you sell you can for sure say “We broke-even” or “We made a little profit in this crappy market, yay!”
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Barb,
That’s the plan! We definitely have a tally of how much we’ve spent and hope to make a smidge more (not a ton given the economy- but it means our next house will be super affordable!).
xo,
s
McKenzie says
Can you please do a post on FSBO? How it works, what to expect, etc? We’ve toyed with the idea of selling, and husband thinks that its the way to go, but I’m not sure… Don’t you need to hire a real estate lawyer?
Do you know if there’s a point (i.e. home value) where it doesn’t make sense?
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, you do have to hire a closing attorney for a few hundred bucks. We’ll post all about the process when we get a bit further along!
xo,
s
Suzanne says
Hey John and Sherry-
We sold FSBO a couple of years ago. Yes, it was sold in 2weeks
and in November. It was our first house also. Things went so smoothly
We used info that I found on an e-book called Magic Bullets kill Sacred
Cows- find it at http://www.magicbullets.com . It is a fun read and gives you good insight. I keep a copy of it for the next time we sell. It helped us save more than $12,000. in realtor fees.
I am sure that you will have the same success as we did. Love the blog and look forward to the new house posts.
PS I am not the owner of the magic bullets site- I just really loved it when we used it.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tip! Off to check out that site!
xo,
s
Claire says
Good luck with the sale!
I’m really loving your site.
Next year I’m going to renovate a bungalow in Ireland built by my grandfather in 1949 when there was a severe lack of cement, and he had a lack of funds. Should be fun! I may start a blog about it.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes- you totally should!
xo,
s
Mirjana says
hey you , congrats,
but I was wondering why are you selling the house?is it normal there in us.I mean, you invested so much money and time in it.and it’s lovely, doesn’t it feel like home?these things aren’t usual in croatia, where I come from.When you make a home, you stay in it.
Just wondering.
btw, love you guys=)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Mirjana,
I would say it’s not uncommon for someone in our position to sell their home. I have no idea what the average is, but I’d say most people own a few different homes in their lifetime. My parents owned 4 different places in the 10 years they were married before I was born. Perhaps people in the US enjoy “climbing the real estate ladder” more, aka trading up to slightly larger homes in slightly larger neighborhoods as their family or income grows.
-John