Tell me about selling your house and looking for a new one (with Poll)

Persa

  

I think we're ready to finally sell our house (in S Austin) and look for a larger one more northwest/north central. 

We were hesitant initially about listing  our old house while we still lived in it because of trying to keep it tidy for showings but we decided that makes the most financial sense. We have an initial plan but I have some questions that maybe y'all can help with-please make comments and/or suggestions

So here's our make ready plan so far: 

Thin out the contents of closets, counters, cabinets, drawers, etc to make it look lived in but not cluttered or cramped. We have a storage space so all the extra stuff will go in there. Trying to pack up in an organized fashion to make the move easier later

Paint looks good so no issues there but I may need to buy some inexpensive new bed and bath linens and "art" to put on the walls. 

Have the yard cleaned up and some new plants put in the bed. Our grass is totally dead but I really don't want to put the money in new sod to be put down.

Gutters cleaned, house powerwashed.

After all is done and right before we list it, we'll have someone come do a deep clean.

I don't know what to do with the baby's toys when people come look at the house?-I was thinking of keeping only a few toys (i.e., getting rid of music table and learning kitchen) getting one of those leather storage ottomans to throw the small toys in, does that sound good?

[Poll]

august8080

Your plan for make ready sounds great! When our house was on the market, we had an attractive wicker basket that we kept DS's toys in and I would just drag it behind a chair in the living room, so it was very hard to see.

We've bought and sold 3x and each time didn't start really looking (like touring houses in person) until we got a contract on our house that was for sale. Prior to that, I'd be looking online so I could be aware of what was available in our price range. 

Mrs.Purdue

ditto august (although I voted to start looking when you list the old one).  I wanted to already have a head start in the house looking department, so I did lots of online shopping.  I figured out the general area we wanted, watched all the houses there closely, had our realtor send us listings, etc.  once we got an offer, we started touring in person that next day.  we negotiated a 45-day close on our old house (since we hadn't found a new house at that time) and then a 30-day close on the new house that we found (it took us about a week to find the one we bought), so there was still a week overlap for us to move.  worked out perfectly. 

 

Persa

Mrs.Purdue:

.  we negotiated a 45-day close on our old house (since we hadn't found a new house at that time) and then a 30-day close on the new house that we found (it took us about a week to find the one we bought), so there was still a week overlap for us to move.  worked out perfectly. 

 

Ooh, good idea! 

august8080

Persa:

Mrs.Purdue:

.  we negotiated a 45-day close on our old house (since we hadn't found a new house at that time) and then a 30-day close on the new house that we found (it took us about a week to find the one we bought), so there was still a week overlap for us to move.  worked out perfectly. 

 

Ooh, good idea! 

This is a great idea. Keep in mind it will only work if you don't need the other loan to be closed to qualify for a mortgage on the house you're buying and/or don't need the funds from the sale of your house to help purchase the new one. 

Mrs.Froggianna

Your list sounds great.  Big Lots is a great place to find cheap "art" and bedding. 

As far as the kiddo's toys, I like August's suggestion.  But if you've specifically got a game room that they play in, keep it the same.  You'll want to showcase that space as useable for a playroom.  But do try to keep it picked up as best you can.  The stager we used recommended making the front porch as pristine as possible--clean the door handle to a shine, put out a new mat, etc. because they'll be standing there for a bit while the realtor fumbles with the lockbox.  You'll want them to have a nice, clean first impression.  Oh and I'd probably get the carpets cleaned.  You'd be surprised how much fresher everything looks and smells afterwards.

We built a house, so I voted to start looking as soon as it's on the market.  Also, we were able to negotiate a rent-back situation with the new owners so we didn't have to move out till a month or so after we closed.  It couldn't have worked out any better.

molliedb

i would obviously stay on top of what is available where you want to move, but i'm not sure i'd go actually visiting tons of houses until there was active interest on mine.

 

we are selling this spring and we've gone to see a few houses at the urging of our realtor but we wont be putting in an offer until this house is under contract.

kiarox2002

I haven't sold a house yet, but I would wait until it was a done deal before looking.  I would be afraid that I would fall in love with another house and then be screwed trying to pay 2 mortgages.

intheatx

Ours is going on the market in about another week...and I'd suggest talking with your realtor about this stuff. Ours came by our house and spent an hour or two walking around and making notes about what she suggested we do to get the house ready to list - focusing on the things that'll matter to a prospective buyer. In addition, when we met to talk about listing, she talked with us a lot about market conditions in our neighborhood, about how long she thinks it'll take the house to sell, how far under asking price we should expect to sell, etc. In our neighborhood, houses are moving fairly quickly, so for your survey, I picked that I'd start looking as soon as we list...but I'm sure homes aren't moving as quickly all over town. Good luck!!!

Persa

Thanks everyone. I had forgotten about the lease-back option-if we can do that, it would be the best option because it would let us close on this house and then use any profits from the sale towards the new house.