Next Phase On Deck!
This time a week ago, we met with a real estate agent to talk about listing our house. (We’d asked a couple of other realtors for a “pitch” to sell the house, and we were most confident with how this one presented herself and her strategy.) We’d had a few showings but no offers on the house, and it felt like the time had come to move this project into higher gear.
It was a crazy week.
We’ve lived here for 20 years.
Monday, June 22. Meet with realtor, Kristin Cummings Streed. Spend some time rearranging furniture (staging) and talking price point. She mentions she’s left a message with a real estate photographer; our photos were good but she uses a consistent filter/consistent angles to reinforce the branding. We’re ready to get rolling.
Tuesday, June 23. Get a text at 7 am asking if we can be ready for photos at 2 pm as the photographer has had a cancellation in his booked-through-the-week schedule. Yes, we can be ready. Julian wakes up with zero complaints and mows the lawn front and back, with a break in between for his work shift. Realtor comes with paperwork, which we sign. The house is officially listed by a realtor.
Wednesday, June 24. Photographer processes the photos and gets them to the realtor, who can then use them to start creating the MLS listing and the flyers. We take down the Zillow listing and our house website, plus all the yard signs. (Kristin had asked us to wait to remove all that until the photos were back; she didn’t want us to lose any exposure.)
Thursday, June 25. Listing details are ironed out and marketing materials created. A little snafu with a new feature on the MLS (realtor listing service) almost results in losing hours of work, but a quick pivot in strategy saves the day. By 6 pm the listing is live. By 8:30 pm we had our first showing request, for Saturday morning.
Friday, June 26. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!) I’m on tenterhooks all day, wondering if we have any showing requests. There is one, for Saturday between 2:30 and 3 pm. At 4 pm, Kristin texts to see if we could show tonight at 5:30. Of course. Good thing Jeremy did the weed whacking on his lunch break! We pack a cooler and head for Skyline Drive. Feedback after the showing is positive. So positive, they want to come back* tomorrow. The rest of the evening is spent packing the car to drive to the lake; we’ll surprise Bee and be in Averill for their 19th birthday.
(*The people live in LA and are doing this all remotely. They had that first tour with their realtor Facetiming them; the second showing will be with a family member who lives here locally.)
Saturday, June 27. We are up and on the road by 6:30 am. Julian is staying in Charlottesville, working and biking and being independent - and helping us out by making sure the lawn is mowed and the house is swept. A little scramble when we can’t reach Julian and are a little panicked at the possibility of him still being asleep when the first showing comes through at 10 am. Breathe. He was out of the house. There’s a showing at 10, at 1:30, 2:30, and then a late Facetime one that’s a realtor preview.
Arrival at the lake by 8:30 pm; the surprise was a complete success. We stopped in Branford, Connecticut, to pick up a bronze shaft from a friend and fellow BCC owner. Extricating ourselves from a great conversation was not easy. No text or phone call from Kristin. We head for bed.
Saturday, June 27, 9:45 pm. We’re in bed reading, windows open, with loons calling back and forth across the lake. Jeremy sits up. “From Kristin. Offer is attached.”
Sunday, June 28. By noon, we have a signed contract for 98.3% of our asking price.
The kitchen, ready for new owners!
Yes, it was a little bit of a whirlwind week. We’ll head back to Charlottesville on Saturday and start the final clearing out. Closing is August 10 and we hope to be out of the house a couple of weeks before that. Next phase, here we come!
(PS. If you’re looking to sell or buy a house in Charlottesville, we HIGHLY recommend Kristin. She made this whole thing seamless (may that continue) and we could not be happier.)