Ok, you finally decided you are going to put your house in the market. You ponder about the price you want to sell it. You have a bit of time to sell so you decide to price it a little higher that what your realtor tells you it will sell for, I say, bad idea! Why?
Let me tell you something, I know what's it's like to sell a home! Yes, I am finally in the shoes of a home seller! I am THE seller, I have listed my home and if I don't get an offer in 5 minutes, I think I am going to lose my head! Ha! Sounds familiar? Let me tell you what it's like to sell a 3,900 sq ft home with a husband, 2 teens, a teen to be and a dog, during the holiday season! Yes! You read that right, Christmas! Double nuts, hurray, you got me right.
First of all why Christmas? Historically, the fall and the winter months is least popular time to sell as sales always dip low during the cold season. That is why we always advice Spring is the time to sell, the flowers are in bloom, the trees and grass look so green with the new growth, people want to get set settled in the summer and be ready for the next school year. Also, who wants to move when it's cold? The great thing about Austin is that people who have to move to Austin, will need housing. In addition, inventory is down in the winter months. People who are going to look for housing are serious buyers. Heck, most people need to holiday shop and decorate their trees. Showing my own home is a bit challenging I must say. Example, I bake a ton of Christmas cookies every year as my gift to my past and current clients and gifts to friends. To bake a batch of cookies in between showings, make a ton of mess and clean up every 15 minutes was a bit of a drag. I am a messy baker, you see. Then what do you do when you are shopping at Barton Creek mall, 25 minutes away, in the middle of a line after you just waited 20 minutes and looked for that gift another 30 minutes, you get a call, then you have to run home get the dog out, do the 10 minute tidy thing, only to find out they were in the home faster than Superman can leap the tallest building. Sorry, they didn't like the neighborhood or there was no curb appeal (seriously, it's winter? even the White House has no curb appeal this time of the year), or there was no view (it's overcast outside and you can't see past the deck silly). After you bring home all those presents, what do you do with them? If you shove them in the closet, the kids and the buyers will find them, and if you wrap them, there's the clutter around the house, oh my! You just can't win with the holiday presents, can't you? Also, who has time to shop when I have to be within 2 miles all the time for a call in a moments notice while the kids are home for the holidays. The 2 hour notice before showings is just enough time to wake up the kids and tidy the kitchen. Gotta round up the kids, the dog and straighten up the office mess. Oh the teens! I have heard every excuse! "The showing is at what time? That early? Noon? When am I suppossed to get some sleep?". "I'll get up ten minutes before they get here, I promise, the room will be clean." "What's wrong with my dirty laundry in my laundry basket? Why does it have to be empty? It's the laundry basket." "My room is clean, they won't look under the bed or in my closet, right?"
Then there's the noon showings, and when they are back to back, it's all good when I only have to clean once, but what do we do for 3 hours? So we go get lunch, cha-ching, 25 bucks later at Panera Bread and 1-1/2 hours to kill, then we will go to Barnes and Noble to browse, oh cha-ching, there's Starbucks there, another 15 bucks after Grande mochas and hot co-cos. We haven't had a dinner showing yet, but for sure, it will be at least a $50 showing, should that happen. Then we trek back to the house and not a moment later, when we arrive in 3 separate cars, (yap, the hubby goes somewhere, the teen goes somewhere with the dog, and I with the other 2 kids), the hubby looks at me, "any feedback yet?" Then the teen treks in, "Did the buyer like the house?" "Honey, can you give me a chance to get some feedback and let the realtor finish up their showings for the day?" Then the hubby asks, "well don't you know the agent?" "Not all 8,000 agents in Austin, SWEETHEART!" I answer under my breath plus an "urgh". The only one around the household who is happy about the showings is Wilson, my 4 year old golden doodle, who thinks going on a car ride is a treat or a reward for doing something good. So yes, he has no idea why he goes out on a car ride 2-3 times a day when all he has done is nap and his naps have been disturbed which means he needs to nap longer when he gets back. Wilson is also wondering why he is getting bathe more frequently, it's cold mom as he looks back at me everytime I drop him off at Petsmart.
So on hand, I have a handful of receipts of all our food expenses everytime we leave the house, gas receipts for the 3 cars that leave the garage and driveway, other receipts for things we buy to pass time, groomer receipts so the dog smells clean and his smell does not linger in the house. Don't forget the additional electric bills cuz all the lights have to be turned on from the time we leave till we return, the gas bill so that the temperature will be warm and cozy for the buyer, the printing bill for the flyers (outside flyers got wet from the rain), the housekeeping bill (deep cleaning needs to be more often than usual). And other expenses that I have not accounted for.
So the point being is that, unless you like to spend a ton of money while you are out of the house during a showing, love cleaning and enjoy the stress of getting the house ready at a moment's notice, list the house at the price to sell. So for me, after a week in the market, I am waiting patiently for that offer! Come on bring it on!
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