Let me point one thing out up front, Chris and I have done NO ADVERTISING for our home yet. The sign is in the yard and we placed a few directional signs around but that is it. However, we have gotten very good feedback already, with another showing scheduled tomorrow evening. We hope to have our first open house on Sunday, but I do not plan to advertise in the paper until next week (I just do not think Mother's Day is a good day to go house hunting...just me).
First of all, as FSBO, you have to pretty much ALWAYS BE ON CALL. Chris and I both went to pick up the kids on Sunday and made a possible buyer disappointed because they were unable to see our home. Secondly, we are priced right on target - but under target. There is one home on the market with a similar floor plan with a real estate agent at $215,000 (ours is priced at $214,900). With that said, the home did not have what our home offers. Our home is the only 5 bedroom on the market in our neighborhood, our home is situated on a large corner lot with over 10 large trees, bay front window, plantation shutters, new AC/Furnace, newer fence, new stainmaster carpet, 2 fireplaces (all the homes in our neighborhood for sale have only 1 fireplace), and I could go on and on. Therefore, we are priced probably below what we would market it at with a real estate agent. Third, selling FSBO makes you take many looks at your homes' amazing features (and all your work and love you put into it!). It is difficult for Chris and I to let it go. This is all we have ever known. It makes me sad. We just hope to get something better than we can make our own as well - and have room to stretch a little (but not grow!).
We now have a few more homes on our wish list after the first ones have sold. The problem, most people are chossing not to move in this market unless they have to! So, in our price range, in all of Omaha, Council Bluffs, Papillion, Gretna, everywhere...there were only 22 homes with 4 bedrooms (and we really want 5 or 4 bedrooms with an extra room for an office)! That includes really old homes, beat up homes, etc, leaving very few choices. So, the good ones sell fast! Chris and I are reluctantly looking at building as well. When building, you have to do all that landscape work, sprinklers, fence, etc, that we just got done doing here. With 3 small kids, we do not want to do that or go through the process of building. Too stressful (if this is not stressful enough).
Yesterday, under stress, Chris and I decided to not move and pull the sign when darkness fell (making this decision at 2pm in the afternoon. Chris was sick and I was tired, making it a poor decision perhaps). Then, Chris went into the garage to put away our trash cans, hit the cozy coupe (a kids' toy) that was hanging from the ceiling, it fell on the car, then fell onto the van, causing a lot of damage to both cars. When he came in, we agreed the sign should stay in the yard. We just needed a little reminder as to why we were moving - we have NO ROOM! This home is made for a family of 4 or less (2 kids), not for 5, or at least our family of 5 and all our crap that we can not part with at the moment.
When we bought this home in 2000, someone said to us that we would fill up the 4 bedrooms. Chris and I laughed, knowing that we were only going to have 1 child. Now, nearly 9 years later, we sit here, rooms filled, dreaming of something bigger!
Only time will tell. We have decided to have the sign remain in the yard until the first part of July. If our home has not sold, we will stay. It will be too close to Alivia's start of the school year to make too many big changes.
Now, gotta get back to getting a new set of paperwork ready for yet another potential buyer. Maybe this one will be the one!
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