House Hunters: Blue 11 Edition

Hi friends! I’m here today to show you our new house, but I thought I’d make it a little more fun by turning it into a House Hunters-esque post. So, just like the show, I’ll take you through three houses we toured, and at the end you’ll see which house we ended up getting!

House #1: The Pool House

This was a beautiful, big house in a great neighborhood. The homeowners had put a lot of work into updating it and it showed: they had a beautiful kitchen, modern bathroom with large walk-in shower, and a gorgeous finished basement. Plus there’s the show-stopping pool with the fantastic patio. And unlike a lot of houses with pools, this one actually had room for a dog: there was a separate fenced-in side yard that Finnley could run around in.

• Pros: Move-in ready, great for entertaining (pool/patio and basement), updated kitchen and bathroom
• Cons: Over budget, expensive upkeep for pool, already updated so no way to choose my own finishes

House #2: The Historic House

This house from the 1920’s was absolutely gorgeous! I fell in love with it as soon as we walked it. It had great original (or original-feeling) features like hardwood and tile floors, brass light fixtures, stained glass windows and doors, and even a fountain inside the house! It also had beautiful formal gardens that I could totally picture throwing a Gatsby-themed party in.

• Pros: All the original features listed above, the gardens, just an all around impressive home in great condition
• Cons: Expensive to keep up, the kitchen needed updated, small showers, neighborhood wasn’t quite as safe as others we looked at

House #3: The Basic House

This was a perfectly nice house under our budget. It had lovely features like a finished basement and a great screened in porch, plus it backed up to a pretty wooded area. It was move in ready, but the master bathroom could definitely use an update and I wasn’t crazy about the kitchen. The only thing we’d really need to do right away though would be to build a fence.

• Pros: Low price, pretty backyard, great screened-in porch
• Cons: Overall kind of a boring house

Sooo…which house did we choose??

 

Well, that’s kind of a trick question, because we actually put an offer on all three of these houses!

We started with the Pool House. It was a really nicely updated home, and the pool was an awesome bonus. But it was over budget, so we tried to negotiate to get the price down. Unfortunately, the current owners weren’t able to meet us in the middle so we had to walk away.

Then we found the Historic House and I fell in love. It was priced at the top of our budget, and we only went back and forth a couple times before agreeing on a price. Once we were under contract we moved forward with an inspection. For being about 90 years old it was in really good condition, but it had a few problems that would have been quite expensive to fix (roof maintenance, friable asbestos, radon, and a buried oil tank), and we just didn’t have the cash to do these things right when we moved in. The current owners weren’t able to fix any of these problems, so we had to walk away from this house and move on to plan C.

By the time we got out of our contract on the Historic House we were in a bit of a time crunch. We were already under contract on our old home and we needed to find something quickly or else we’d be living in a hotel all summer. So we toured a few more houses and found the Basic House. It was nice, and it’d work well for us, but it wasn’t nearly as impressive as the other two homes. We made an offer though, and we were able to close on it without any issues.

So this is our home! It took me a little while to get over the disappointment of losing the Historic House, but I think this is a really good home for us. Both the Pool House and the Historic House cost a lot more money upfront, plus they would have taken a lot of money to maintain. Our Basic House is much more manageable, plus we have more room to make it our own. I also really love our neighborhood, and I was little iffy about the neighborhood of the Historic Home.

So in the end, I think things worked out exactly how they were supposed to   I’ll be back next week to show you more photos of our new house and our plans for making it our own.

Ten Tips for Getting Your House Sold Fast

This spring was a really busy time, as I mentioned in Tuesday’s post. We had a lot going on, but one of the biggest things was getting our house ready to sell. We didn’t tackle any major projects, but all the little things added up. It was all worth it though: we sold our house for full asking price (plus closing costs) in four days!

This was our first home, so I’m not an expert in real estate, but I would consider our sale quite successful. We put a lot of work into getting our house ready and I think it showed. Here are my top 10 tips for getting your house ready to list and sold quickly.

1. Consider Home Improvement Projects

About six months before we planned to list our house, we met with a real estate agent to talk about home improvement projects. We had a list of prospective projects that we thought would increase the value of our home and make it show better, but after talking with our agent, we shortened the list. I would highly suggest meeting with your agent several months before you plan to list the house to go over projects. He or she can help you decide what projects are worth your time and money and which are not. For example, we considered refinishing our wood floors, but our agent told us that for our neighborhood and price point our floors were in good condition, and that we might not recoup the cost of getting them refinished. She did encourage us to redo our kitchen backsplash though, since that was an inexpensive update that made a big difference.

2. Do Small Updates

When prospective buyers tour your house, you want them to feel like it’s well taken care of and that they will have very little to do to make it livable. We tackled small projects like painting chipped trim and changing out brass doorknobs and hinges for new polished nickel hardware. These little changes made the house look updated and in good condition without spending a ton of time or money.

3. Deep Clean

This seems obvious, but you want your house to be really, really clean when buyers tour your home. Don’t be afraid to hire a cleaning company to give your house a really good deep cleaning to get it ready to list. If you have carpet, I’d also recommend getting your carpets professionally cleaned, especially if you have pets. This will get out any stains and help eliminate pet odor.

4. Declutter

Decluttering is another obvious rule of selling your house, but it’s important. Having some knick-knacks out is ok, but limit it to just your favorites. I have a lot of decorative objects, so clearing some of it out was hard for me, but it made the house show a lot better. You want people to focus on your home, not your stuff.

A personal pet peeve of mine is too many plants (especially fake plants!). A few pieces of greenery add some life, but too many makes your house seem like a jungle. Nobody wants to buy a jungle.

5. Clean Out Closets

I’m not going to lie, this was a tough one for me. All of our closets were overcrowded and messy, especially our master closet. It was a walk-in, but not very big, so we took a lot of time to clean and organize it to make it look more spacious. Everybody wants big closets, so put some effort into cleaning yours out to make them seem bigger. Only keep the clothes you’re going to be wearing that season, and store or discard everything else. Make sure your shelves look clean and organized too, and don’t leave anything on the floor.

6. Organize Basement/Storage Space

Our house had a big unfinished basement, which was great, but over the years we had let it turn into a giant mess. Nobody wants to walk into a giant mess, even if it’s a basement or storage space. Pack away extra items and stack boxes and tubs in one section of the room so that there’s still plenty of space to walk around. You want every room in your house to feel spacious, including the storage rooms.

7. Clear Out Bulky Furniture

Like I said above, you want every room in your house to feel spacious, so if you have extra furniture consider moving it out to make the room feel a little bigger. This is especially true if any of the furniture blocks the flow of traffic into a space. We moved out the chair in the living room and the chair in our bedroom to create a little more space in both rooms and make them feel more open.

8. Show a Little Personality

Decluttering is important, but you don’t want to clear out absolutely everything that gives your home some personality. I think leaving some pictures on the wall and showcasing a few treasured personal items is perfectly fine, and it can help buyers picture themselves in it. And while neutrals are great, don’t be afraid of showing a little color, especially through accessories that will be moved out with you.

I know someone that completely renovated their home before listing it, and while they did a lovely job, they didn’t stage it at all. They moved out all their furniture during the renovation and only moved in the bare essentials (couch and bed) when they were done. The house had no color and no personality, and it took a long time to sell.

If you’re in a similar situation, it can be advantageous to hire stagers to make your home more appealing to buyers. It’s more money upfront, but it's worth it if it helps your house sell faster.

9. Hide Personal Items

For this one I’m talking about things like medicines, bras, tampons, etc. They’re things everyone has, but nobody wants to see them when they’re touring a home. This probably seems obvious, but I’ve noticed all of these things during our house-hunting search. I bought a cloth basket to put tampons and other personal items in so that they wouldn’t be visible to buyers. Before you list your home, walk through it like a potential buyer and take notice of anything you wouldn’t want a stranger to see, and make a plan to move those things out of sight.

Also keep in mind that everyone likes to peek into cabinets and drawers too, so remember that when you’re organizing everything.

10. Pay Attention to Scent

You want your house to look and smell really clean when buyers tour it, so be sure to take out the trash, remove smelly items from the fridge, and clean the litter box before buyers come through. Also do not cook anything with a strong odor prior to showings! If there are areas of the house that might still smell a little unpleasant (like near a litter box), you could put a clean smelling (not floral or tropical) air freshener in that part of the house, but otherwise I would suggest not using any artificial scents. Even if you typically love scented candles, etc, you don’t want those scents to overpower the house. Plus, some people are really sensitive to smells, and you don’t want too many air fresheners to ruin their perception of your house.

 

So there you have it, my top 10 tips for getting your house sold fast. For those of you who have sold a home before, do you agree with my list? Is there anything you feel like I left out?

Three Things I Want in My New Home

We’re starting to look online at houses for our big move to St. Joseph, MO this summer. I love our house now, and if it was an option I’d stay in it for a few more years, but since I can’t I guess I can move on to something bigger and better. Ben and I have had a lot of conversations about what we want in our next house, and although there are many items on our wish list, these are the three main things we’re looking for.

1. An Upgraded Master Suite

Murphy Brothers Contracting via Houzz

Munger Interiors via Houzz

I love our bedroom now, but our bathroom and closet could definitely use some more space. The shower is pretty tight, so in the next house we’d love to have a walk-in shower like the one above. It seems like home builders and remodelers have finally figured out that while a big jacuzzi tub looks amazing, most people don’t use it very often. The ginormous shower is where it’s at.

And of course every girl wants a bigger closet. I don’t need something as amazing as the photo above (although I wouldn’t say no!), but I do need more space and more organization.

2. A Private Backyard

Conklin Limestone via Houzz

Our current backyard is a great space for Finnley to run around in, but it’s not the best space for people. The neighbors’ house behind us mirrors ours, and the neighbors next to us have a sunroom on the upper deck that looks down over us, so we never have any privacy. I’d love a big deck to grill out and have dinners on, and another area with some lounge chairs where I can sit and relax on a nice day, all out of reach of the neighbors’ eyes.

3. A Finished Basement Rec Room

Kyle Hunt & Partners via Houzz

Obviously I can survive without a second family room, but I’d love to have a finished basement with a rec room. It’d be a great place to lounge and watch movies, or have friends over for a game night, etc. And Ben would love to have a bar, which would definitely make the basement a great spot for entertaining. Plus it would give him an area of the house where he gets to control how it’s decorated.  

We’d also like to start a family at some point while we’re in this house, so we’re considering the needs and wants of a family with small children while we’re house hunting as well. So the private backyard would give the kids a great place to play, the finished basement could house a playroom, etc.

Any advice for our wish list? Are/were any of the above items on your list for your next or current house?

Historic Dream House

Some of you my know that my husband, Ben, is a medical resident. He just started his third and final year of residency which is so exciting! We’ve been together since our junior year of college, so in total we’ve gone through 2 years of undergrad, 4 years of med school, and 2 years of residency together…it’s been a long journey to say the least.

But now there is a clear finish line in sight, and we’re so thrilled that Ben recently signed a contract for a job once he graduates next summer! We’ll be leaving Kansas City and moving to St. Joseph, Missouri, which is about an hour north of downtown KC. I love Kansas City and I’ll be sad to move but we’ll still be pretty close.

We won’t start the house shopping process until the spring, but that hasn’t stopped us for browsing Trulia and Zillow online to see what’s out there. St. Joe has a wide variety of homes for sale, from your smaller suburban houses to big new homes to really cool historic house.

But by far the most interesting house we’ve come across so far in our online search is this one. It’s a Queen Anne Victorian mansion that was built in 1887. It has incredible woodwork and original details, including 31 stained glass windows that are valued at $100,000. Take a look and just try not to fall in love:

The history of the house is also really interesting. It is called the Nunning Mansion after its original owner, August Nunning, who was the son of the owner of the Nunning Brewery. After his father died, he built this mansion of the original cellars of the brewery. The house features a secret tunnel 30 feet below the basement that extends 90 feet to the underground cellar which was originally used to store beer for the brewery.

The house is listed for $550,000 which is way out of our price range, and it’s not in the best neighborhood, but it really fun to fantasize about buying it one day. And Ben and his buddy are still talking about their plans to turn it into their personal brewery…silly boys  

Make sure to look at the listing to see more pictures and to read more about this incredible historical home.