Young House Love

Home Decorating, DIY Tutorials, & Shenanigans

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Selling Our House By Owner & Buying A New House (Whirlwind!)

To the tune of Katy Perry’s “Hot N’ Cold”… WE’VE BOUGHT AND WE’VE SOLD!

Well not really, but we’re headed in that direction. As of 5:57 pm yesterday evening we got word that the the last of our negotiations with some potential buyers of our house have gone through, so the contract on our home is officially “pending.”

Contract Sale Pending Sign

Which means that the contract that we’ve got in on our sweet new house (yes, we fiiiinally found one) should move right along as well (since it was contingent on selling ours first). In fact if all goes well, in a little over a month we’ll be moving from our current house directly into our new casa. Holy bananas. We’re geeking out over here (high fives, jazz hands, the charleston, my own spin on the Elaine-from-Seinfeld dance, the whole nine).

You’ll have to excuse us for not sharing anything sooner. We just wanted to be sure this new found casa could really be ours before getting all excited-slash-attached and making a big ol’ blog-nouncement about it (it would’ve been such a buzz kill if things fell through). But now that both contracts are well underway (inspections have even been completed) and are only dependent on the lending process going smoothly – which should be fine, fingers crossed – we’re ready to shout the good news from the rooftops internet.

We’ll fill you in with all the how-we-priced-&-marketed-&-sold-our-house-by-owner details soon, but first let’s chat about our new house. We’re on the brink of obsessed. Picture us doodling our new address with hearts all over our notebook. It’s a total throwback to how can’t-sleep-excited we were about our current house back in 2006. And we’re so grateful to have that feeling again – especially because we were beginning to doubt that we’d find anything that gave us butterflies. But the moment the front door swung open and we found ourselves standing in our future entryway (complete with some amazing built-ins) we just knew. Which means I broke out my creepy permasmile and probably scared the realtor. So much for a poker face.

Speaking of the realtor, we ended up using a buyer’s agent after calling her to see one of her listings and, well, one thing lead to another and she ended up showing us this other home that she felt would be a better fit. We were skeptical at first because it was one we had already nixed during a late night realtor.com hunt. Why did it get nixed? Get this. It had a carport.

Contract No Carports

I stupidly decided that we strongly prefer an enclosed garage (for storage reasons, bug control reasons, and so-people-don’t-know-when-we’re-gone reasons). So I ruled out all homes with carports. Little did I know that odd parameter was keeping us from finding The One. So we begrudgingly agreed to see the house anyway, and the rest as they say is history. Even more amazingly, the sellers of the house were offering a credit to cover the entire cost of enclosing the carport to create a garage. Is that proof that it was meant to be or what? So the lesson here is to widen those parameters because your perfect house might be right under your nose (and hiding behind a carport).

But enough jibber jabber, let’s meet the future Casa Petersik. Admittedly, it’s not a Jeff Lewis exterior (yet) but we probably wouldn’t buy it if it was already there. And yes, it’s more than a little reminiscent of our current home at first glance, but the inside is larger, more flexible, and it runneth over with potential.

Contract House Filtered

THE STATS:

  • Age: 1960’s
  • House size: around 2,500 square feet
  • Lot size: .75 acres (almost exactly the same size as our current lot, but it’s more square and less long & narrow)
  • Bedrooms: 4
  • Bathrooms: 3

THE PROS:

  • Gave us that “this is IT” feeling the moment we walked inside
  • Open & flexible floor plan that will accommodate a growing family and a home-based business
  • Three modestly sized bedrooms just like the ones we have now PLUS a large master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom & a walk-in closet
  • Great blank slate with tons of potential (we love all the projects that we see when we look around)
  • Large centrally located kitchen- which makes it perfect for family gatherings (we can’t wait to knock out some walls)
  • Amazing neighborhood near our family with great schools (it’s actually very close to where we live now)
  • It’s a ranch, just like our first love house (we were open to all house types, but 50 yr old ranches never fail to steal our hearts)

THE CONS:

  • A bit larger than we expected we’d like (but still very much within our budget)
  • The landscaping will be more of a challenge than our current home’s (but we do love a challenge)
  • There’s a carport (but oh happy day, we get a credit to transform it into a garage)
  • The lot is less private than our current lot (but we have plans to change that)
  • We can’t think of anything else (we’re blinded by love I tell you)

Oh, and I guess we can meet this one minus the artistic photoshop filter. Ooh. Ahh. So crisp and non-blurry.

Contract House Unfiltered

We’re so glad that we found our perfectly imperfect house. The potential is so thick you can cut it with a knife. So cross your fingers that all continues to go well for everyone’s loans and that we end up closing in mid December without any hiccups. Until then you’ll find us gushing about our future home, playing around with paint swatches, brainstorming all sorts of layout ideas, virtually shopping for every room, charging the batteries in John’s drill, organizing and paring things down, packing, and just generally being freakishly excited. We can’t wait to share the next chapter of our lives with you guys.

Comments

  2. Avatar for StephanieStephanie says

    Awesome! 2,500 square feet! That is great for a growing family! Take it from me; we have an 1,100 sq. ft. house with two kids. I would love a house about 2,000 sq. ft. Maybe someday. Can’t wait to see all you do to the new house! Congratulations!!

    Reply

  7. Avatar for KNatGUKNatGU says

    HOLY BATMAN!

    Congratulations, is seemed to happen so fast! Way to Go. It does look strikingly similar to your current abode :) Can’t wait for the onslaught of picture from inside.

    Reply

  12. Avatar for KateKate says

    I can totally empathize with your excitement…I too love that initial thrill of floor plan drawing, color swatch viewing, mental furniture rearranging, etc. I can’t wait to see the inside and follow along as you remodel Dream House: The Sequel! Congrats!!!

    Reply

  14. Avatar for ValerieValerie says

    CONGRATULATIONS, can only imagine how excited you are! We have had our place on the market for 4 months and have only had 1 showing! Would love to know your secret to such a fast sale!

    Reply

  15. Avatar for BetBet says

    Congratulations! From the outside it looks so much like the home I grew up in (east of Richmond). Hope the move goes smoothly and I can’t wait to see what you do with it.

    John, I would like to see how you can incorporate some Wahoo decor/gear into this new house. With Sherry’s permission, of course! ;-) We have a navy Virginia throw in our burgundy/navy/yellow-gold living room.

    Reply

  21. Avatar for Holly WestHolly West says

    I LOVE IT!

    I cannot wait to see the inside and what you guys do to this place so I can live my DIY dreams vicariously through you.

    Congratulations!

    Reply

  22. Avatar for JennyJenny says

    Yippee! Fingers crossed, but I’m sure it’ll be smooth sailing! Can’t wait to see how you transform this new home!

    Reply

  29. Avatar for HilaryHilary says

    I knew your house wouldn’t last long, given its perfection and internet fame. New place looks great- and the carport really isn’t that bad. I’ve definitely seen some horrifying ones, and that one looks at least like it mirrors the house’s roofline.

    I’m waiting to find out what stays and what goes…and more big plans. I’m sure you will leak out the information little by little. Crumbs for the DIY crazed to find and eat up. Just like Hansel and Gretel.

    Reply

  30. Avatar for LaurenLauren says

    Totally excited for you and totally jealous. We also have a contingent contract and our house has been on the market since September. Can’t wait to hear your selling secrets in a crappy market–ASAP!! Happy closing vibes to you!

    Reply

  33. Avatar for BethBeth says

    Congrats on buying and selling! I can’t wait to see pictures of the inside and see what you do with your new home!! Good luck with the move!!

    Reply

  35. Avatar for CarrieCarrie says

    I am soooo excited for you guys…I even got that gitty feeling in the pit of my stomach for ya! And I love that it’s another brick ranch (as I my casa is a brick ranch which is part of the reason why I feel in love with your blog…not to mention that my fiance and I will also be having our wedding in our backyard next April…but enough about me.) Congrats! Congrats! Congrats! I can’t wait for all the new juicy renos!

    Reply

  39. Avatar for kerikeri says

    WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO! CONGRATS!!

    I feel like this is the older sister of your current house…the barbie to your skipper, you know? so similar from the front they could be a matched set, yet a little more mature…
    congrats again, fingers crossed!

    Reply

  40. Avatar for Ms.HMs.H says

    Congratulations!! I am in a DIY-induced-anticipatory-coma over here. Sooooo excited to see what you two have in store for your new abode!!!! =)

    Reply

  47. Avatar for HollyHolly says

    AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AAAAAAHHHHHHH I’M SO EXCITED FOR YOU GUYS!!!! I can’t WAIT to “join you” on this new adventure!!! SO seriously excited for you guys :)

    Reply

  49. Avatar for BradBrad says

    Huh? What just happened? It looks like the house you live in now…the 2 trees, red brick, dark shutters, white columns.

    Reply

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