The Story Behind Bridget’s House for Sale


You have probably figured this out by now, but today I can finally make it official. We SOLD our house this week, which has brought quite the mix of emotions the past month or so. I wish I could have talked more about the process while it was happening, but I was too hesitant to announce any news until the deal was signed, sealed, and delivered… literally! But now I can fill you all in because as of two days ago, our first home sweet home together has new owners.

We Sold Our House… Where Do I even Start?

I never realized how stressful selling a house can be (probably because this was my first time through the experience). Although our journey went very smoothly, I didn’t get excited or let my guard down to celebrate until the deal was complete. But now that everything is official, I’d love to finally catch you up to speed on exactly what has happened behind the scenes over the past month and a half!

Prepping Our House to Sell

In mid-August we walked through the “new house” and put a bid on it. We negotiated a little bit and eventually signed the contract, right as we were going back to work. Finding our new house was a big surprise, so the thought of putting ours on the market ASAP was not something I was anticipating… especially since we had zero luck on the house hunt for almost a year!

I didn’t want to rush putting our house on the market until I knew the inspection was all clear at the new house. So as we waited a few days for the inspector, we immediately started “prepping” the old house to go on the market. <— More on exactly what that looked like below.

Putting Our House Up For Sale

Fast forward a week or so and the inspection came back with flying colors and it was time to put our first home on the market (cue lots of tears here). Between the pregnancy and being emotional by nature, I was a bit of a mess. I was of course SO excited for the new house but at the same time, I didn’t want to say goodbye to our first house that we grew to LOVE. But it was time to move on with a new adventure, which meant it was also time for the FOR SALE sign to be hammered into our yard.

SOLD!

Our realtor put our house on the market on a Friday evening. Then he agreed to host TWO open houses that same weekend, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. We immediately got a few private appointments on each of those days through the MLS listing along with a lot of foot traffic thanks to the open houses. By Sunday night, we had two offers and a signed contract.

We sold our house in 48 hours! I was extremely grateful and a little relieved (although guarded because we still had a long journey ahead). And even amidst all the excitement, I went to bed crying… a mixture of happy and sad tears, but tears nonetheless. #poorMatt

An Emotional Roller Coaster

Thankfully the transition of leaving our house got easier and easier, especially as each stressful part of the sale was checked off of our to-do list. The inspection, the appraisal, and finally the closing. We are officially out and I still can’t fully believe it. I feel like the last two months have been a complete whirlwind but in the best way possible.

A Grateful Goodbye

Locking the door for the last time brought the last wave of emotion (hopefully) but knowing that we’re only a mile away and that we’re passing it on to owners who are so excited makes me feel a lot better about saying goodbye.
Our 1,100 square foot house brought us more joy than we ever could have imagined… how could we be sad about that?! And being able to sell that house in such a short time, I realize we are extremely lucky, and therefore I have no choice but to look back on our five years there and smile…. really, really big!
We left a note to the new homeowners on the counter, a few treats to celebrate, and a wish that their new home brings them just as many amazing times as it brought us.

How to Prep Your House to Sell

On Monday I plan to check in to share all the things we did to prep our home to sell. And even though our house is always pretty clean and could appear “staged” to some, I still had my hands full tweaking some things to really make sure it was ready for all the showings. If you’re looking to sell your home anytime soon, be sure to check back on Monday.
But before you go…. PLEASE tell me I’m not the only one who was an emotional mess leaving my first house! Someone? Anyone?!

Bridget


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.