Holy cow — you had so many questions about the selling, moving, and buying process after yesterday’s announcement that we decided to compile an FAQ to answer as many as possible. We’d planned to post this tomorrow, but the flood of questions made us publish it today. Our usual DIY post will go up in the morning. Here we go!
Q: Will you sell your current house by owner like you did with your first house?
We’d love to do that again since it worked well last time. Aside from possibly paying a small fee to list the house on the MLS, we plan to market and show it ourselves. We’ve already had a few private showings to local realtors and interested neighbors, so the response has been promising. We don’t even have a For Sale sign out front yet because most of the interest has been handled privately — it feels a little strange, but in a good way.
Q: Did you consider renting out your current house instead of selling it?
Yes — we considered renting. After talking with local realtors, we learned that larger yards in our neighborhood are a deterrent for many renters who prefer minimal yard maintenance. Because of that and the increasing buyer activity nearby, we decided selling makes more sense for us than renting.
Q: When will you move in?
We need to sell our current house first; showing it furnished should help the sale, and we’d rather not move all our furniture to the new house only to risk a sale falling through. Our best estimate is that we’ll move in around June, but it depends on when our house sells and the closing dates. In the meantime we’re working on the new house and wrapping up projects here, so you’ll see both selling updates and new-house progress on the blog.
Q: Are you selling your current house fully furnished?
No — sorry for the confusion. We want furniture in the house while it’s on the market because empty houses typically sell slower and for less. We’re not selling it furnished; we’ll bring most things to the new house, though some pieces will be arranged differently there since the layout is so different.
Q: How many square feet is the new house? How can it appear larger if it’s the same size?
The new house is almost the same size as our current one — roughly 2,500 square feet. The difference in perceived size comes from layout and elevation. Our current house has a large addition tucked behind the front facade that makes it look smaller from the street, while the new house has a visible second floor, so it appears larger even though the square footage is similar.
Q: The exterior looks perfect — won’t you have nothing to do?
Photos can be deceiving. A wider view shows that the exterior needs work too, so we expect the outside projects will keep us busy as well.
Q: What made you love this house and neighborhood? Would you have taken any house in that area?
We wouldn’t have taken just any house. We were looking for the right combination of house and neighborhood. When we pulled down the cul-de-sac and saw the property — no through traffic, a safe spot for Clara to ride her bike, plenty of places for our dog Burger to explore — we were instantly smitten. The interior layout sealed the deal. It felt like the right fit for our family, not just the right location.
Q: How did you keep this a secret?
Keeping this quiet was the hardest part. The whole thing moved quickly — we were casually looking and then suddenly decided we couldn’t risk losing the right house. We actually closed in the fall, but between a book tour, ongoing projects at our current house, and immediate repairs needed at the new house (roof, furnace, alarm, and even an opossum in the crawl space), we hesitated to announce it. We also worried about safety and didn’t want to advertise that a new empty house would be unoccupied. Waiting allowed us to focus on finishing things here before shifting fully into new-house mode.
Q: Why did you buy the new house before selling your current one?
When we found the right house, we knew a contingency to sell our current house would weaken our offer. There was another interested buyer, and we wanted to present a strong offer without offering over the asking price. Thankfully, the bank recognized our full-time self-employed status and approved the mortgage, so we were able to proceed. Carrying two mortgages is not ideal, but we carefully reviewed our savings and finances before bidding, and the overlapping payments are also building equity. If we sell by owner, we’ll save on agent commissions, which could offset the extra mortgage payments.
Q: Will you share specific details about the new house and closing?
We’re excited to share many details, but we’ll keep certain identifying information private for safety reasons, such as exact neighborhood specifics and sensitive closing details. Real estate records are public, but we’re choosing not to broadcast everything. We appreciate your understanding and respect for our privacy.
Q: When was the house built? How many bedrooms and bathrooms?
The house was built 32 years ago and has four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. The main bathroom on the first floor is a half bath, which is on our list for a future refresh once we tackle the wallpaper.
Q: How much do you expect to make from selling your current house after all your improvements?
We’re eager to crunch the numbers and will share a full breakdown once the sale is complete — similar to the post we did when we sold our first house. Realtors think our listing price is strong based on early interest, so we’re hopeful there may be a little profit after accounting for what we invested in improvements.
Q: Is it sad to leave Clara’s big-girl room before she sleeps in it?
We always planned that room as a playroom, and it’s been great seeing Clara use it. If she isn’t sleeping there yet, it’s not a loss — the furniture and decor move with us, only the walls stay. Since we didn’t make major structural changes, everything can be recreated at the new house if we want to.
Q: What about the features you can’t take with you, like penny tile, the fireplace, and the pergola?
We love those features and will miss them, but we installed many ourselves. That means we can install new versions or similar features in the new house. We enjoy the process of improving a home, so doing comparable projects again is part of the fun. And we’ll always be able to drive by and admire what we did.
Q: Which projects were done for resale value?
Most of the projects were on our long-term to-do list and chosen because we wanted to do them, not specifically for resale. Some updates, like improving curb appeal and converting a storage room into usable space, likely help resale value. Others — more ambitious structural projects — didn’t make sense to complete before selling. We’ll publish a final checklist of what we accomplished and what we skipped.
Q: Will you miss single-floor living?
We’ll miss some conveniences of a ranch-style layout, but we’re excited to try a two-story house. One feature we like is the laundry being on the same floor as the bedrooms. We also hope the upstairs will help us separate work from family life — a new rule could be “no laptops upstairs.” Being a whole floor away from the office should help create more balance.
That’s it for now. We hope this cleared things up. We can’t wait to share a floor plan and all the before photos, full of wallpaper and blue trim, as we finish up here and prepare to sell. Fingers crossed!