My wife and I moved over the summer. We had both been working from home a lot during the spring of 2020 during the pandemic. And we realized we needed another home office. We talked about it and realized that we could get everything we wanted in our BUDGET if we moved a little farther from Downtown Nashville. At this stage of our lives, we rarely enjoyed the restaurants and events of downtown Nashville. We decided to move just outside of Nashville. All we needed was a home that met our needs and a few modern conveniences. We are not super needy. We had been in our home for almost eight years and knew there was a considerable amount of equity in it. We wanted to be closer to our family in the area, and the prices in the surrounding counties were more budget-friendly.
Here are the steps we took to find our next home (each of these steps took more work than it appears below):
- Decided we were ready and agreed on a price range, some key features, and must-haves (e.g., specific square footage minimum, master downstairs, crawl space foundation, brick exterior, etc.
- Spoke to a lender and made sure we can afford the home we want and not be house broke.
- Prepared our home by cleaning carpets, power washing, painting some interior spots, fixing electrical and woodwork. Our home was 20 years old and not a mess, but we wanted to make sure it was as buyer-friendly as possible.
- Prepared our home by storing excess items like furniture in the garage to make the house look more welcoming. We even sold some things online.
- Started to tour new homes.
- Hired a cleaning service to make the home look its best.
- Had professional pictures of our current home taken.
- Found our next home and negotiated a contract on it. (this was back when the market wasn’t as competitive). We had a contingency based on the sale of our home.
- Listed our home and got an offer the first day after a limited amount of showings.
- Worked through inspections on both homes and repair proposals.
- Received and reviewed appraisals on both homes.
- Hired a moving company. (side note: make sure the mover has a big enough truck, so they don’t have to make two trips.
- Packed up the home.
- Scheduled a carpet company to install new carpets the day after we move in.
- Worked with a lender and title companies to make sure closing happens on the same day.
- Signed Documents
- Since we were the sellers, we negotiated an extra day to move out.
- Moved in.
- Hired a painter to repaint most of the home.
- Ordered new furniture to fit in our beautiful new home.
These steps seem simple, but there is a lot of work involved. For example, the second step required gathering two years’ of financial documents. Since we were both 1099 workers, we had to create profit-loss statements. We weren’t entirely clear on creating a profit-loss analysis and, with the help of our accountant, we made the forms.
Living through this process has given me a greater understanding and respect for the individuals and families buying or selling a property.
If you are considering a move, call me or hit the “contact Jay” button.