Things move quickly when you’re moving house!!!
Welcome back to the series!
So after choosing an agent we finally started to arrange viewings! We agreed to have a “block viewing” which meant a timeslot of 2 hours on a Saturday where up to around 10 people could book to view. Our house went on Rightmove at 7pm on a Tuesday evening, and I have to say, I wondered whether anybody would even want to look around our two-bed end terraced home. But the next morning when the estate agents had been opened for an hour or so, I was notified that 5 PEOPLE!!!!! had already booked to view! It was super exciting receiving emails every time someone else arranged to view and it started to feel real that we were actually moving.
The agents gave us the option of conducting the viewings ourselves or having the agent accompany the viewers. We chose the latter on account of the fact that I would inevitably get attached to every viewer and get myself really worked up over who to sell to, and James made the point that I’d also go around the house pointing out all the flaws in an effort to be transparent with people because that’s how I would want people to be with me. What can I say? I’m a people person! But he also said he’s not paying an estate agent for us to do “all the work”. So that was that one sorted.
When People Can’t Attend the Viewing Day
We agreed the block viewing date and I’d made all the plans to ensure my house was spotless for the viewing day, I ensured Riley would be away at my mum-in-law’s, because the last thing anybody needs when viewing a house is Riley dropping a ball at their feet every 10 seconds in a not-so-subtle attempt to harrass you to play with her. I had everything planned out. The perfectionist, need-to-be-in-control side of me was extremely content.
Then I got a call from the estate agent saying that somebody wanted to view, but couldn’t make the block viewing on the Saturday and they had no agents available to conduct it before that. Would I be happy to conduct the viewing myself 2 days before?
Shit.
That would be two lots of getting rid of the dog, and two lots of cleaning the house, on top of already having taken on additional work recently because as a freelancer, I can’t get too comfortable and I need to ensure I take all the money I can get when it’s presented.
With James working away, it would be me alone doing the viewing. Would I be able to not point out the fact that some wallpaper is coming off behind the living room radiator, or that the closet needed a repaint, or show them where the dog chewed the skirting boards as a puppy that we just never fixed up? I just wasn’t sure.
I agreed to do it because we want to sell the house don’t we?! I had to take one for the team. I promised James I wouldn’t point out all the things I don’t like about the house, nor would I mention the work that I recommended needed doing, nor would I get attached to the buyers and sell the house without him being present. I would answer questions and otherwise keep schtum.
When You Meet Your Potential Buyers
The viewers arrived and from the minute they walked in I knew I wanted to sell to them.
I know you’re not supposed to handpick who you want your house to go to, but they were exactly who I wanted the house to go to. It was like somebody had gone inside the depths of my mind, found the deepest, darkest thoughts about who I would love to have this house after us, then send them direct to my doorstep.
They raved about all the outdoor space and our beautiful garden. They raved about how they could move straight in without doing any work and that it was decorated so beautifully and was so cosy (these guys knew how to get me didn’t they?!) They raved off everything. They raved so much that they almost sold the house back to me, I WANTED TO MOVE IN!
Obviously, it doesn’t matter who the house goes to – we will likely never see the house or garden again, but I have become so attached and I just want it to go to people who will appreciate it in all its glory. The guy in the couple kept making comments in a jokey way about us not needing to go to the block viewing, that they would be more than happy to move as quickly or as slowly as we liked, and all these other comments about why we should go with them. If I hadn’t promised James I’d behave, I’d have sold the house right then and there. But I kept my cards close to my chest as I promised James I would, whilst envisioning this beautiful family living in the home that has provided me with some of the warmest memories of my life for the last 10 years.
They loved the house and they reminded me of us when we viewed a house the week before that we fell in love with. And due to needing to keep these posts short and sweet, I’ll share that story in the next post!
Reflect and Introspect 
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