You guys, we made it through! In case you missed our Instagram stories, we’ve been showing our house over the weekend, and I feel like I can breathe now. I let Chris do the honors of letting the potential buyers in, while the girls and I skipped town. This was my way of stepping away after I’ve done everything I can, and also to keep the kids, I mean the mess, at bay. We showed our home over 3 days and every morning Chris would send me a little video walk through for my peace of mind that every light was on and pillow was in place. He always went above and beyond though–turning on some soft music to show off our surround sound and even laid s’mores stuff around the fire pit for the nighttime showings.We knew that moving across the country would come with hurdles to overcome and this feels like a big one.
Selling our house privately was an early decision we made and I wanted to share a bit about what that process looked like for us. When we announced we were moving, we had a handful of people reaching out who were seriously interested in our home, so it just naturally made sense for us to sell it without having to list in on the MLS. We hired a real estate attorney and Chris created an email for people to contact him through, and once we nailed down a weekend to do showings, we set-up appointments for people who showed a letter of pre-approval. We KNOW that listing it would have brought even more buyers, but at this time, we were more interested in limiting the amount of people coming through our home and, hey!, we only needed one buyer, right?! We knew that if it didn’t work out this way, we could list it.
We took a few house hunting trips to North Carolina before making an offer on a beautiful brick-covered, modern traditional house (did you catch the sneak peak I posted on Instagram?). We found out our offer was accepted the night we made our way back to Idaho, and we took a little piece of our little home with us – a cute folder-sized brochure of our future house. It was a glossy little highlight reel of the house’s best features, including text call-outs, and photos of the house to tide us over until move-in day. Polly was even carrying it around for a little while and it was the sweetest thing to see her be excited about the new house in her own little way.
I immediately took note of this, and wanted to give the home buyers something to refer to as they explored the house. We had a really awkward showing in NC where the homeowner was doing the showing and it was hard to talk about what this house COULD be when they’re listening in, so we wanted to give them the space to walk about on their own.
So we went to work and started pulling images of our home’s best angles, and wrote some text call-outs to things you DON’T see in a room: heated floors, sound system, motorized blinds, etc. And instead of putting sticky notes on appliances, or furniture available for purchase around the house, we tastefully included it in the brochure: (Kitchen/ laundry appliances, dining room set/bed for sale). We also photographed the exterior of the home (is this the last time??) at dusk to show the house in its true graphite color, with its best LIGHTING on: sconces, lamp posts, torches, etc.)
We were very selective in what rooms we would include in the brochure. If we included all of them, the photos would be too small, so we highlighted the 4 main living spaces on the bottom floor: living room, dining room, music room and kitchen, and showed the full primary suite: Bedroom, bathroom and closet. We including the laundry room to remind buyers of the impressive 4 appliances included, and chose to show Faye’s room because it’s simply a show-stopper.
The exterior of the house really needed its own page and we included “Other noteworthy exterior features” to give a comprehensive guide to everything you’re getting with the house.
Because horizontal photos can show a lot more than a vertical, we chose a landscape orientation and designed this from scratch in Adobe InDesign (for those who want to get technical). We don’t really need to print things often for this job (especially not photos of our own home) but we had experience with Alphagraphics before and knew they would do a good job with what we envisioned. And they really did! They showed a few paper options, and we went with the thicker paper in a Satin finish. What can I say? I like my paper how I like my paint, NOT shiny haha.
I checked their website and Alphagraphics is actually located in most states AND they’re international, so be sure to check them out if you ever need anything printed. They were beyond helpful and were so willing to go back and forth with a few proofs before everything was finalized.
I’m not saying everyone needs to print a full-on brochure for their house if they’re looking to sell, but I’m so happy we did. It was an extra little touch, and I’m not only anticipating the buyers holding tight to theirs to tide them over, but we’re definitely keeping one for us – just a token from a chapter of our lives we don’t ever want to forget.
Chris handed each of the 12 showings in (many came twice over the 3 days) and handed them the brochure and let them know he’d be outside if they had any questions. Only one couple asked him to walk around with them, which he gladly did. Each appointment was blocked out for an hour and everyone took at least that long. It felt good to have so many thoughtful families considering our home. We had many offers come in and last night we accepted one and are OFFICIALLY UNDER CONTRACT. It feels bittersweet for sure, but also, I couldn’t be more excited for the next family who gets to call this house, home.
Well done!
You did a top notch job with every aspect of privately selling your home. I know it’s not your modus operandi, but your house would’ve sold just as quickly, and for top dollar regardless, because it is so very WARM, BEAUTIFUL, & CLASSY.
Congrats to you and your family!! We are in the middle of an across-states move too and you’re right! Having the house sold, while it’s bittersweet, is one stressor off your plate now. Happy for you all!
Congratulations. I’m sure there are plenty of realtors who would have loved the opportunity and gotten you more money for your home.
Maybe. But we’re happy with the sale and happy we limited the number of people in our house
Saving a minimum of $40k in realtor commissions is also a significant plus with the private sale! :)