The MLS listing reads pending, the for sale sign says sold. You did it. You sold your home and you’re over the hump. Right?, Right? For the most part, I’d say yes. The hardest part is over. I’m staunchly in the after phase of our home sale. I’m about an hour away from closing, in fact. I’m right there. So close to being done. And yet, there’s still stuff, boxes to pack, lists to make, people to kiss and charts to make. Naps to take – kidding, kidding. I’m hilarious. There will be no naps until June and that’s okay, because like I said. The worst is over. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I still have a tiny bit of advice to dispense about what you should and should not do after you sell your home. Here goes.
Don't think you’re home free in terms of keeping your house clean. I foolishly did a little happy dance as soon as the ink was dry on our purchase agreement, thinking that I could dial back the white-glove treatment I’d been giving my home during the selling process. What I hadn’t really thought about was the fact that there were still a number of times when our house would need to be spic and span clean. Within a week of our sale, the buyers had scheduled the home inspection which necessitated another deep cleaning because we’d gotten lazy. A few weeks after that, the appraiser needed access and I was advise to plan for that visit as if it was our most important showing ever. So, more cleaning and buffing and polishing.
Don't start packing too soon, going along with the above point. As soon as I knew that showings were a thing of the past, I started packing. My husband, already working in our new town and living in our new home, drove a full car back to Knoxville every week. I was feeling incredibly proud of how on top of things I was and how much money I was saving because we were pre-moving so much of our stuff. Unfortunately, I also moved a lot of the “pretty” stuff, so when I got the call to make the house picture-perfect for the appraiser, I was forced to beg, borrow and buy new stuff to stage certain rooms of my home anew.
Do get bids from moving companies as soon as you know when you’re moving. Even if you have several months between sale and move, go ahead and get the moving details nailed down. We hadn’t moved in fifteen years and a lot had changed between then and now. Instead of just having to choose from the national carriers, we now had the option of going with smaller/local companies. The national movers tend to move by weight and are, I think, a better bet if you have a long-haul move. The smaller companies base their price on the number of trucks/size of crew they’ll need to move you. Because we are only moving three hours away and because we’ve been able to move a lot of our stuff previously, it made sense to move with a smaller, local company. I also really liked that they can guarantee the same crew that loads us will drive our loot to Knoxville and unload it all in our new home. If we’d gone with one of the national companies, we’d have no guarantee who loaded and unloaded. Additionally, the larger companies will generally give you a “delivery” window and might also include other customer’s items on the same truck they use for your move. They might make stops before delivering to your home and that just didn’t feel right to me. I needed a little more control. Point is, do your research!
Do understand that there’s a reason mental health professionals cite a home move as one of life’s most stressful experiences. There are so many unknowns when moving from one home to another. There is no such thing as a stress-free move. No matter how knowledgeable, organized and clever you are, there will be things that you could never have planned for. It’s okay. Breathe and remember that this is a finite experience. It really won’t last forever. Also, plan outings with friends who will want to have one last night out, one last playdate, one last party. Lastly, plan a night in with your family to celebrate your old home and your new adventure. You’ll always remember that last hurrah with your nearest and dearest!
And hey, thanks for being so patient with me as I hijacked Lisa’s blog for the past month and shared my personal experiences and words of wisdom about selling a home. Lisa will be back next week, but until then I wanted to thank you all for the free therapy! Happy home selling to you all!
