After Sprout was born last summer, Spencer and I started having some casual conversations about moving to a new home. We knew we would be staying in the same city, but our little starter home was starting to feel a bit small with our new addition.
We certainly weren’t in a rush – we were more than comfortable spending several more years in our little white house, but we knew if the right home came up, we would jump on it.
When we bought our starter home, we knew it likely wasn’t a forever home. Although it suited us very well at the time, it was missing a couple of key items that we wanted down the road (primarily a second bathroom and extra storage space).
Spencer and I had been talking for awhile on what our wants and non-negotiables were for our next house (wants – a garage; non-negotiable – at least 2 bathrooms). About a month after Sprout was born, we let our realtor know that we were interested in taking a peek at some houses. We gave him our list of wants and needs, and went to look at a few. I wish I could say that he waved his magic wand and three months later we were in our new house; but in reality, there was a lot of hard work and few tears through the whole process.
Now that we’re a good 7 months on the other side of the move, I’ve had some time to reflect on what I think went well and what I’ve done differently. And I’d LOVE to share my tips with you.
1. Find a Realtor You Trust
Your home is likely one of the largest purchases you will ever make in your life. Finding someone you feel that you can trust is a huge asset – especially when the market can be volatile. Remember – just because a realtor shows you a house (or 10 houses) doesn’t mean you have to stick with them. I loved our realtor, and I would 100% work with him again if we ever decide to move. He was open, honest, and pointed out pros and cons in the homes we viewed that Spencer and I probably wouldn’t have picked up on; he let us know his honest opinion about if he felt a price was listed above or below market value; and he discussed expenses that we may have to look at sooner rather than later (like redoing shingles, installing new oil tanks, etc.).
In the end, the home that we loved ended up being listed privately, so we bought privately, and sold our home through the realtor.
2. Don’t Be Afraid to Look At Private Home Sales
We have now bought 2 out of 2 of our homes privately. A realtor is great to have, but the reality is, if you’re prepared to do some research and have a good lawyer on your side, a private sale isn’t something to be scared of. If you’re specific about what you’re looking for in a home, being open to homes listed privately may expand the number of eligible houses. And you just never know which one is going to speak to you.
3. Don’t Skip the Inspection
We’re lucky to have bought and sold homes in slightly slower markets, where it was acceptable to place conditions on our offer to purchase. The most recent home we bought was built in the 90s. And although it appeared to be extremely well-maintained to my surface-level eye, I wanted to make sure that the house had good bones.
The inspection cost us about $500 CAD, but to me, it was very worth it for the peace of mind. Our inspector found a small leak in the crawl space that the seller fixed immediately upon its discovery, and he also commented on the report how well the house appeared to be built. Moving is anxiety producing no matter what – especially with a 3.5-month old. But I felt good knowing that the house was well insulated, without any major defects, and built according to appropriate codes.
The inspector also pointed out things that we may not have caught since we viewed it without a realtor – for example, the roof would probably need new shingles within the next several years, and a couple of windows had lost their seal and would need replacing – these are big ticket items that we’ve been able to add to our family’s financial budgeting/savings plan. He even tested the smoke alarms!
4. Purge Your Current Home Before Listing
Our old house lacked a lot of storage. And despite my best efforts to keep it clean and tidy, it really did appear cluttered a lot of the time. Prior to listing, we moved close to half of our belongings into storage. Anything that we knew we wouldn’t need for the next 6ish weeks went into a box.
Not only did this kick-start our packing, but it also made our home show INCREDIBLY. And, bonus when you have a 3.5 month old, it was WAAAAAAAAAY easier to keep the house clean between showings. Maybe a not-so-humble brag – we actually had a note left from another realtor on what a pleasure it was to show!
5. Call in Your Village
We 100% could not have done this move without help.
On the day we purged, packed, and cleaned our home prior to listing, we had 3 close friends helping us out. On moving day, we had parents, friends, and coworkers all pitching in. It really made the day go so much smoother. We supplied the food, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages, and they supplied the labour and good company.
If you’re moving to a new city or don’t have a local village of friends and family to help out, I would 100% recommend hiring a well-reviewed moving company.
6. Get Personal
Our realtor was fantastic, but he had no personal connection to our home. And while he did a fantastic job with taking photos and listing our home for sale, I always find listings on realtor websites a bit….sterile? They just don’t carry any personal connection that might speak to potential homebuyers.
I drafted a letter to anyone coming to view our home and left copies of it on the kitchen table for them to take with them when they left. It was personal, but without too many details like names. It listed our favourite things about the home (including the hidden raspberry patch in the backyard), and talked a little bit about why we were choosing to sell (moving to a neighbourhood closer to family).
I have no idea if the letter made any difference in selling – but we did have a fantastic offer within a week of listing (in a housing market that was taking a deep downturn). I’ve also heard success stories of families writing letters to potential sellers in hot real estate markets on why the sellers should choose them. At the very least, a letter makes you stand out – never a bad thing in a real estate market!
7. Buy Some Prepared Meals
I’m not usually an M&M shopper, but when we listed the house last fall, I went out and grabbed about five, frozen, prepared meals to keep in the freezer.
My sister and her partner live in the same city as us, so their house was where we hung out when our home was being shown. Having these meals ready to go made it easy to say yes to showings over the supper hour, and I didn’t have to worry about what was for dinner or cooking in someone else’s kitchen. And although they’re definitely more expensive than cooking from scratch, they’re significantly cheaper than eating out – so that was a win for me!
8. Take Time to Breathe
Regardless of whether or not you’re moving across the country or across town (we’ve done both!), moving is stressful. Add an almost newborn to the mix and you can be looking at a recipe for high stress and tears.
Make sure that you take some time, even if it’s just an extra minute while you’re in the shower, to take some deep breaths and reflect on all the new adventures your new home will bring. Our new house is (almost) everything we’ve dreamed of – a garage would make it pretty much perfect.