Haus Seller Stories — Ryan M of Nashville
Welcome to Haus Seller Stories — a series of stories about people who have gone through the home-selling process. We want to help consumers understand what happens when you sell a home, not only filling out the paperwork, but the emotional journey that many sellers take. We hope you enjoy these stories and find them helpful if you are considering selling your home.
Ryan and his wife, Elizabeth, got married in 2011 and were renting in Midtown Nashville before she convinced him to look into buying a home. “It was insightful of her,” and “the right decision, financially,” says Ryan, as home prices were rising quickly at the time.
They found a property on a well-known but busy street in Nashville. Once they moved in, Ryan and Elizabeth loved the home. It was built in 1925 and was the first lawn that he had had since becoming an adult. Just a couple of years later in 2014, they brought their new son Jack home from the hospital. Not long after, they found that they wanted to move to a quieter neighborhood with more sidewalks where they could walk with Jack outdoors.
Deciding to sell
Initially they planned to sell the home as a “pocket listing,” where it was not widely advertised on the MLS or otherwise. They wanted a quiet sales process without many showings as Elizabeth was still on maternity leave with Jack and their golden retriever, Sully, at home. They also were not in a rush to move, valuing an easier process over a quick transaction.
They reached out to the agent who had sold the home to them initially and let her know how they wanted to sell the home. However they found that within a few days, there was a “For Sale” sign in their lawn. The couple considered telling their agent to take down the sign, but ultimately decided that going with the wider publicity and marketing approach would work for them. One of their concerns was that the prices of homes in the neighborhoods where they were looking might increase faster than their own. In other words, they may have been locked out of their target market. By advertising more widely, they hoped to move more quickly.
With two transactions potentially in play and a new baby, the family was incredibly busy. They spent a couple hours every day online researching homes for sale and a few hours each week visiting them in person. At the same time, their agent scheduled times to show their home, which meant they had to leave their home with Jack and their dog. Adding to the difficulty was the lack of sidewalks in their neighborhood — one of the reasons they were looking to move.
It’s definitely the most stressful financial transaction I’ve ever had and I helped start a company.
After showing the home to a few people who were interested in living in it themselves, they received an offer from a developer. It was a bit lower than what they were hoping for, but there were no inspection contingencies attached, so they decided to accept it with the promise of a smooth transaction.
Finding a new home
They also found a few homes they were interested in buying, but their offers were rejected. Their first few offers were contingent on their home selling, but the other competing offers weren’t, so they were more attractive to the sellers of those properties. With the developer’s offer in hand, they felt safe in making an offer that was not contingent on their home selling. That offer was finally accepted on a house in a great neighborhood that met their needs.
After acceptance however, the developer who made the offer pulled out of the transaction. They were able to keep the deposit, but it was only half of what they had on deposit to the home they were buying. Now they were in a hurry to find another buyer for their home so they could close on their new home. They debated talking to the sellers of their new home about the situation, but their agent advised them against doing so initially. “It made us feel like bad people,” says Ryan. Finally, the day before closing on their new home with the previous home not yet sold, their agent told the sellers that they needed another month.
They were ultimately able to find a buyer for their home who wanted to move in. The offer came in below even the developer’s offer, but it was in time to make their purchase possible.
Moving out, moving in
Both transactions did eventually close and now the family was just left with… the task of moving. Remembering the difficulty of moving on their own just a few years earlier, they decided to hire movers this time, which made things much easier. “Compared to the first move it was easier,” says Ryan. “That said, it was still an awful experience.”
Moving in, on the other hand, was exciting for them. “We felt like we could breathe again once we had the keys to the new house.” Even though it took them a while to get furniture that fit and everything up on the walls, they love their new home. “We have the best neighbors in Nashville,” beams Ryan. They now live in their favorite neighborhood in the city.
Reflecting on the selling process
It was an emotional decision to sell their first home and an exhausting journey to go through the process. Ryan and Elizabeth felt like they gave up a lot by letting the home go since it held a lot of memories for the couple, even though they feel that they made the right financial decision and move for the family.
This was the place where, when our son Jack was born, we brought him home from the hospital to put him in the crib that my wife and I put together a month earlier.
For homeowners thinking about selling, Ryan recommends, “Interview a couple of agents and, without telling them what you think, ask them what they think the house can sell for.” Despite the marketing strategy change and stress when selling their house, Ryan and Elizabeth like their agent and still keep in touch today.
To help provide a sense of continuity, Ryan has another tip, “If you can, bring a part of your first home with you to your second home.” In the move, the family brought a welcome sign from their old home with them and hung it on the porch. “It felt like it gave us another link in the chain.”
If you would like to share your seller story with Haus, please reach out to info@haus.com! We’re looking for more stories to help everyone understand the home-selling process better.
