When we listed our home last week we had no idea where we would live in between when we sold the our home and when our new home would be built.  We thought maybe we would try to do a rent-back on our current home from the new owners, or that maybe we could extend the closing to 45 or 60 days.  Little did we know that we’d be getting 6 offers, and with people giving us $50,000 over our asking price we took the advice of our real estate agent who said, “get to closing and run!”  So we did, and we agreed to the closing date that the buyers wanted – March 30th!  Not even 30 days for us to find a home!  Now we really needed to find a home…and fast!

We figured at a minimum we could always find an apartment.  The tricky thing is the school districts.  Our oldest, Cameron, will be going into 3rd grade next year and we wanted him to start at his new school in the fall instead of switching halfway through the school year.  We figure, the earlier he can start making friends, the better.  The problem with this is that the new school district won’t let him into the school unless our house is completed and we have our certificate of occupancy.  And since there’s no way we can have that before September, that means that our intermediate rental needs to be in Cameron’s elementary school boundary (that way he’s guaranteed able to go to that school).

Trying to find a rental within an elementary school boundary limit is ridiculously hard!  First off, the boundary limit is so small.  And when we did some initial research we found 3 apartment complexes in the boundary.  The only issue is that really only one of them has decent apartments to rent.  Great – so now we have one apartment complex to look at.  And when I went this week, there was only ONE (1) 3-bedroom unit available.  And of course it’s in a super awful location – right on the main street as you come into the complex – totally no privacy.  And I nearly freaked out when I toured the unit, it was sooooo tiny and dark.  There was literally no space – I’m not sure how we could fit (and function) in under 1,200 SF.

I had been looking on and off for a while for a home to rent, but couldn’t find anything.  There was never anything available in his school boundary without being ridiculously priced.  But Thursday (the day after we accepted an offer on our home) that totally changed.  I found a home listed for rent in the neighborhood right behind Cameron’s elementary school!  I called them immediately and was asking all sorts of questions regarding the rental – including if they’d take a 9-month lease.  Of course they said, “no”.  Ugh.  But after talking to them more, and telling them that we’re building and only need something for about 9-months, and then we could do month-to-month if needed, the leasing agent caved and said that they could do a 10-month lease and then month-to-month.  Score!!  With that figured out I set up an appointment for Friday morning to tour the home.

As you can see, the home is early 80’s and in a total private/treed setting – on nearly an acre.  The house is all one level (great for moving furniture in & out) but has the funkiest layout – all the bedrooms are off of the family room.  So that means after the boys go to bed, our hang-out area is right outside of their bedrooms.  And it smells a bit musty – as if they hadn’t opened any windows in a while.  On top of that, the owners have done partial renovations on almost all of the rooms…such as the vanity being replaced in the master bath, but not the shower; and the shower being replaced in the boy’s bathroom, but not the vanity.  Strange decisions.  It’s definitely not a home that I would ever buy…ever.  But, 3 bedrooms + 2.5 baths + 2,500 SF + in the new elementary school boundary = perfect rental house!

So, we signed the lease and we’ll be renters for the first time since college starting on March 19th!  Wish us luck!!

Today was an awesome day!   It’s our friend Chelsea’s birthday…but it felt like our birthday.  And it’s our friends Kevin & Malissa’s 15 year wedding anniversary…but we were totally celebrating!  It’s a week from when we put our house on the market – the day we were scheduled to review offers – and we sold our house!!

We had 6 offers, one at our asking price and the rest above our asking price.  Totally unbelievable!  We had two offers that came in significantly above our asking price (Nearly 10% higher)!!!!  Absolutely unreal.  Joel and I are completely in shock, and it’s absolutely crazy that we got the price we did.  Honestly we were worried about listing it where we did at $610,000, so for it to sell for so much more is crazy to us.  We’re so happy though!

My boss at work asked me why I think it sold for more than asking and I think it came down these top 3 reasons:

#3: Great Pictures. 

I can’t say enough about great pictures.  Everyone’s looking online and that’s what they look at to draw them in for a tour and that’s what they look at after they leave your house.  I mentioned before that our neighbors next door listed their house the same day as we did (still bitter about that one), but their pictures were crap.  Our photographer was much better – and that’s because to our listing agent, David Hogan, hired the right photographer.

#2: Timing. 

I knew early March was the best time to sell.  I’ve been watching the listings in our neighborhood for the past couple of years and spring time is definitely when homes draw the most offers for the best prices.  Prices seem to stay constant for what they sold for in the spring for the remainder of the year, but you definitely get the most offers in the spring (at least in our neighborhood).  Inventory seems to be low in early spring but there’s tons of buyers.  Supply low, demand high – can’t beat that!

And the #1 reason why I think we sold so quickly and got such high offers…

#1: Our Agent. 

I honestly can’t say enough about David Hogan from Windermere.  He was fantastic to work with.  It’s not often that we use real estate agents and unless if you have a friend in the business sometimes it’s a bit of a crapshoot as to who you get.  We’ve used a couple ‘ok’ agents in the past, but definitely none as good as David.  David recently sold another home in our neighborhood for $60,000+ over asking which is how I heard of him.  I had interviewed another agent in our area first and then decided to call and talk with David.  We chatted for about 45 minutes before we set up a time for him to come and look at our house.  I knew from that phone call that he was going to be good.

You know when you talk with someone and just know that they know their stuff?  That’s totally him.  The agent we interviewed before him had years more experience than David, but you could just tell that he wasn’t really with the changing times/market.  It’s like the people you know that are totally behind the times in technology.  You can tell right away that they have no idea what’s going on – maybe they ask you questions about their computer, internet, phone…whatever it is, they totally aren’t current.  That’s how we felt about the first agent – he had a great rep for the area, came from a great well-known real estate agency, but didn’t really get how to play the game.  And then there’s David – he’s like Frank Underwood on House of Cards – always a step ahead and thinking forward.  Using other agents & buyers’ information to stay ahead in the next step in the process.  And I totally got that feeling in just talking with him about the previous sale he did in our neighborhood.  His ideas on listings, staging, and multiple offers were far better than the other agent’s…leaps and bounds better.  And he totally lived up to my initial thoughts of him throughout our sale.  Everything worked out to be truly painless – he took care of everything without us really having to worry, and held true to his plan for getting the best offer.  And that’s with our neighbors putting their house on the market the same day we did (even though they were initially going to list a week later) which I thought was going to screw us up.  It was actually pretty wild because our neighbor’s listing agent was definitely taking cues from David – everything he would do, she would do.  It was so bizarre.  I think the only reason that our neighbors snagged a deal above their asking price was because of the tips that David gave their agent!

So, not only did we get great photos, but the work David did behind the scenes by talking with agents and making sure we’d get multiple offers was amazing.  He definitely did the leg work before and during our listing in drumming up hype and interest for our home.  He didn’t sit back and wait to see if we got any offers; which some agents do.  Instead, he was calling and talking to other agents immediately to ensure that offers would come in – he made sure people knew what we were looking for – and we got it!

And although it’s hard to say (because I do think that real estate agents make a crazy amount of money), he was totally worth the price and if I were to do it all over again – I would totally spend the money and use him again.