Hello friends! As you know, we’re listing our home soon (we shared details of our upcoming move in Episode 12). We’ve been prepping our home to sell and I enlisted my realtor, Daniel, for his advice to how to best prep and stage a home to sell. We also try out three new segments at the end, so let us know which one is your favorite!
You can stream the episode here on the blog or on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, and Stitcher. You can find the podcast posts archive here.
This week’s episode is sponsored by Agility by Therapedic. We are so excited to work with them after Emma switched to their mattress, sheets and pillows. You’ll hear a bit more in this week’s episode, but you should definitely check out the giveaway we just kicked off with them in this post too! One lucky entry will receive a set of pillow and sateen sheets from Agility in the color of their choice! More details are in the post. In addition, Agility is continuing to offer our readers $200 off a mattress purchase with our code ‘ABM’ (can’t be combined with any other offers).
Show notes:
-Elsie and Emma’s Nashville realtor is Daniel Long. We love Daniel because he is super honest and not shy about making a low-ish offer, which was trickier to find in a realtor in this area!
If you’re in the Nashville area, you can find Daniel on Instagram or email him here … daniel AT jdlproperties DOT net
Daniel’s Tips: How to prep your home to sell for top dollar.
1. Fresh paint.
Remove bold colors, freshen base boards and trim to make your home feel “new.”
2. Declutter + Staging.
Remove personal items (family photos, sports, political or religious items).
Remove oversized furniture. Leave minimal furniture.
3. Check major mechanics.
If you don’t know the condition of your roof, HVAC, or water heater, you need to find out before you list your home because people will want to know.
Tips for outside: New mulch in flower beds. Fresh paint on shutters, gutters, and trim. Paint the front door and mailbox a fun color. Buyer’s tend to name the houses they’ve seen to help them remember. “The yellow door house …”. You never want to be “the cat house …”
Common mistakes:
1. One common mistake is thinking the buyer will want to choose their own finishes. Like carpet. Seller offering an allowance instead of replacing it. Even though the seller has offered a solution to the problem, it’s still a problem to have to overcome.
2. Prior to listing, remove any light fixtures, draperies, or anything attached to the house that you intend to take with you after you sell.
3. Don’t make major renovations without consulting a real estate professional. If you have a budget to make improvements before listing, your realtor may be able to point you toward the improvement that would add the most value to your home.
Here’s a pic of us with Daniel last September. Thank you, DANIEL!
Next, we chat about our pet peeves and preferences when viewing real estate including:
-staged vs. unstaged (and unfurnished) homes.
-low quality renovations that are brand new (aka waste).
-when the seller or the seller’s realtor stays for your tour.
-homes that are not clean when you view them (especially swimming pools and bathrooms!)
3 New segments—which one is your favorite??? 99 Problems, What Am I Even Looking At, or Sparks Joy?
Links: Good Girls TV show, Attack Of The Clones lol, and Glassy Baby glasses. This is the set I got. I also think it would be cool to do rainbow collection where each one is different. And here’s a link to our Habitat for Humanity project a few years back.
One of our big goals this season is to grow our podcast audience to a certain size, and we’re already getting close-ish, but we need your help! If you are enjoying the podcast, please share it with your friends on IG stories this week or text it to a friend you think would enjoy it. We are only interested in organic growth and the best possible way for that to happen is for you to share it with someone you think would be into it. Thank you so much!!! We have big plans for the podcast and the more we are able to build it into a biz, the more TIME we will be able to invest in it. Thank you so much for supporting us!!! We love you!
17 Comments
Thanks for yet another interesting podcast! So helpful as well! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Not selling our house but still super helpful info! I always look forward to listening to you girls every Monday. I really liked all three segments and Emma it just felt so raw when you opened up about your dog, I just wanted to give you a hug ???? our dog is older as well and her build is really goofy (she’s a German Shepard/corgi) she has amazing yoda dog years but she’s been having a really hard time with her hind legs and has been falling a lot going up and down the step to get outside.We are doing everything we can (vet,meds,etc) and now through out the day it consists of lifting a 50 lb dog up a step to get in from outside. You are doing great caring for your guy and he’s so lucky to have you as his owner!! Thanks for opening up ❤️
Love the tips! I’m looking to sell my first house in the next year or two, so these are super helpful! Also, I NEED Emma’s sweater in the Agility ad above–any idea if its still available?
Hi Lauren! It’s linked at the bottom of the post in the credits 🙂
Emma- we have a dachshund pug mix who has a bladder problem. we use a belly band on him ( male diaper) but we use super woman’s menstrual pads (without wings) and put them in the diaper too and change it out alot. We keep them outside in a trash can that we empty once a week. We’ve been doing this method for over 4 years and they help so much!
Emma— I have a 16-year-old spaniel mix who hasn’t been able to walk well for the past 2-3 years and thus has had to wear diapers. I think the key for me in dealing with it is to just lean in and invest in making the problem easier to solve. I started with 3 dog diapers and now I have 21 so I never run out. Also suspenders in various designs to keep the diapers up and also to make me laugh. Also a doggie speedo for full body diaper support. Also washable pads for him to lay on, pad and nail grips to help him walk better, walking harnesses, fur wipes for pee stains, etc. At first I think I was kind of in denial and hoping it wouldn’t get worse. But I let go of that disappointment and now I’m free to continue to enjoy his company and I think he is happier too.
Thanks for another helpful & fun episode! One recent Lazy Genius episode on kids’ clothes is wonderful if you want a system for sorting, storing, and passing it. http://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/lazy/kidclothes
I love all the new segments and totally can’t choose a favorite! Emma, I am sending so much love and well wishes to you and your pup! Elsie, whoever described Good Girls to you as the female Breaking Bad was so so so wrong. I love the show so much but definitely can’t imagine describing it that way. I mean maybe I would say “if Breaking Bad was a comedy that aired on NBC” but even that is a stretch. It’s such a good mix of comedy and really deep and heartfelt stuff!
This was such perfect timing for this episode as our house goes on the market this March! So thank you!! I think you guys had such great tips.
Ps. Emma, as another 13 yr old dog haver, my heart goes out to you! I could relate to how you felt so much. Its heartbreaking to see them change and struggle. Sending you and your sweet boy lots of love and comfort.
Hey Emma…ONLY because you mentioned you noticed yourself treating Mr. LoveLove differently, I thought I’d share my similar experience. I have a 3 year old pup that has had leaky bladder issues since he was a pup. I was “dealing with it” using belly bands but found I wouldn’t heavily cuddle with him or want to lay with him like my other pups because of his body would always reek of urine (and our house, also we bathed him at least once a week). Once I registered that my behavior and demeanor to him was different, and I wasn’t giving him the best parts of having a human friend, I sought alternatives. We have been giving our pup Proin (usually reserved for older pups with bladder problems) and it has completely changed our family for the better. While I felt nuts for putting my dog on medication he didn’t “need” it has really allowed us as a family to live a full life together (I’m officially an insane dog mom with that sentence!). Whatever you choose to do for your pooch is the right choice but I so related with your experience of internal conflict/guilt on the experience that I wanted to share in the off chance it might be a fit for your pup.
Hello!
If you ever decide to discuss listener questions in the podcast or on the blog, I have one that’s itching me: when it comes to tidying/Konmariing-how do you handle things from your childhood and youth? I think it’s such a challenging thing to do because a lot of it gives me joy but at the same time I don’t want all of it to always be displayed (which is what the Konmari method suggests; or at least the way I interpret it-treat mementos as mementos).
I’m in the process of moving all my things from my childhood home after having lived with parts of my stuff here and there the last fifteen years.
Thanks! – R
Hi!
Another great episode (and I am not even interested in selling my house, haha). Congrats!
On the subject of furnished/unfurnished, for me, when house hunting, I prefered to have both views: either the listing must have furnished photos and the place be unfurnished, or the other way around. That way, you can imagine the space but also get some kind of a reference. I like a blank canvas, but am crap at sizing a room at a glance.
Elsie, about the clothes! My kids are 2 years apart and, granted, not the same gender, but they use basically the same clothes. While #1’s are small but do not yet fit #2 I store them in ikea skubb shoe boxes with a tag with the size on it (they fit more stuff than one would think and stack up pretty good).
About marking them while both use the clothes, have you considered iron-on stickers? You can get very small colored stickers, or order a plain colour and cut them up in small squares or circles. They stick very easily and don’t come off when washing. That way you can put a color square, for instance, inside Nova’s items, where it is easy to access (collar, waist…) so that you don’t have to look for the size. I use a Spanish brand called Stikets, but surely there are plenty in the States.
Keep up the good work! I can’t wait for the next episode! <3
Just chiming in on the older dog :). I also have a geriatric dog with similar issues and I just appreciated hearing someone else feeling so conflicted. Love the heck out of him, but I’d sure love if he didn’t pee all over my house. I know when this season is over, it’s not going to be the years I remember about him though.
Hi Elsie – I have 2 girls, 19 months apart (currently 5 and 3.5). I struggled as well until I found a solution that simplified everything: common closet ! They are not the same size but some clothes fit both (a bit large for the young one, but for some pieces it does not really matter). So now everything is in my oldest’s big closet. It’s divided in 3 from left to right (with the hanging rod in the middle, with shelves above and below the hanging space). Formall columns, sweaters at the top, then tshirts, then skirts, bottoms and pajamas at the bottomon. In the right hand “column”, stuff that only fit the oldest, in the left hand column, stuff that only fits the youngest, in the middle column, stuff that fits both. That way if it’s ever put in the wrong column, you just switch it to the next one, easy as it’s the same closet. So much easier when putting clean laundry back in the closet, or prepping the next day clothes. And above the closet, 2 boxes, 1 for stuff still too big for the oldest (I check it every other month), 1 for stuff too small—> to give away when friends with younger kids stop by. And two big boxes under the bed for off-season clothes. I’ve been doing that for a year, it works perfectly and .is such a time saver ! hope it helps!
Please do blog posts on staging your house to sell!! we’ll most likely list our home this spring/summer and could definitely use some inspiration!
Hi there! Love this podcast SO SO much! Question for you in your expert opinions. I know you both mentioned disliking when the seller is at the home, however, what if I am selling without a realtor. I’m selling my first home as “for sale by owner” and since there’s no one showing our house for us, my husband or I need to be there to allow any potential buyers in. Our plan was to let them in and then say “we’ll be over here if you have any questions” and leave them to it so as not to intrude. What are your thoughts or suggestions for making potential buyers feel more comfortable in a situation like that?
This was a great episode! Loved the tips and completely agree with you that if an area of the house is dirty or uncared for, I question how well the house has been maintained. Love all the new segments!