At the same time we'd been purging, packing and getting a bus we'd been finishing all the remaining projects with the Lake House. Fortunately, many of the large projects had been wrapped up the prior year, but as we looked at the house from an outsiders perspective, there were many, many unfinished parts to complete before listing.
We started a shared list on our Notes app and as each of came across a task we added it here - Wow did that add up fast. We devoted several hours each day to knocking things off the list like paint touch up, caulking, replacing a panes of glass that cracked or had rock chips and cleaning up all the miscellaneous piles that seemed to accumulate everywhere. A couple of the bigger projects that took days/weeks were refinishing our bathroom vanity and rebuilding mullions on the doors and windows where they'd been damaged over their lifetime. We also realized that the original heating oil tank had never been decommissioned, which took several weeks to get through the permitting process before completing (and wasn't cheap either *ouch*).
Once the majority of the projects were close to being completed, we reconnected with our agent (Jessica with Excel) to discuss the exact timing to list the house and the target price. The timing took a little thought to arrive at, as we didn't want to miss the ideal market window (who knows when the red hot housing market would cool off). As we were already well into spring and approaching Easter, we decided to wait until after the holiday to put it on the market.
Next was arriving at a price, which was much more difficult. Jessica had been working on this with us and was supportive (mostly) of our thoughts on the home's value. Time for a little back story on us selling houses: In the past, the realtors have always come in low with the price. We understand that many homeowners think their house is worth more than the market, but we do extensive research to figure out the best listing price knowing the particulars of our homes. We have listed all of our houses for more than the realtors say to and we have gotten that price (or more) every time. Just like sales before Tammy scoured over any comparable homes and we quickly became aware that we were setting our sights too low. We finally contacted Jessica again and proposed our listing price - she wasn't a big fan. After trying to convince us of a lower price, we finally told her that if we didn't get offers for at least our target she could tell us how wrong we were. With an uneasy agreement, she took our listing price to use when the time came.
Ahead of the listing, there were still things that could be done to prepare. Excel's strategy was to perform a house pre-inspection (that they'd pay for) to get a report of items to share with potential buyers. This list also provided us with an early chance to address any issues the inspector found that we may have missed. This worked great, and since we'd completed the majority of the items on our project list already, we were able to quickly remedy all but a handful of the recommendations from the inspection.
We also met with a home staging consultant (also paid by Excel) to get recommendations for really making the house appeal to buyers. After one of the many deep cleanings we would end up doing, we met with the consultant and found that she had no suggestions for us. Tammy said "what about a round coffee table and adding a picture in Emma's room?"; She said "Sure that sounds good, I'll bring them over". While we were happy that we had thought through this enough to make her list non-existent, you always hope to have an expert point out things that you never considered - wasn't the case this time though :-(.
Finally, as the week when we'd planned to list the house arrived, Excel also paid to have the house professionally cleaned. The cleaners were there for nearly six hours and at the end of it we were a bit underwhelmed at what had been done. Regardless, we were now ready to have the house photographed and listing created for our review. Excel covered all of this as well and the photographer did a fantastic job, plus they provided drone footage of the property which was a great add. See the pics here: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/26203-217th-Ave-SE-Maple-Valley-WA-98038/48829309_zpid/
…and the video here: https://player.vimeo.com/video/536925555
We now just had to keep the house looking pristine for 24 hours until it was listed on that Thursday evening. The plan was to have showings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with an open house on Sunday, then hold any offers until Monday afternoon. To do this, we needed to be out of the house for the entire weekend, with the whole family and all the pets. We'd fretted about how to do this for months prior but our close friends the Clarkes graciously offered to let us camp out with the RV in their driveway for the weekend (thanks again Anna & Darcy!).
We'd never had ALL of the family and pets out of the house, so this was a significant logistical hurdle to figure out, which included leaving the house immaculate as we left on Friday morning. With much preparation the day before, we were able to get everyone/thing relocated by 11:00a and settled in, waiting to hear if/when showing were booked and what the reaction was from buyers.
We had a great weekend with Anna & Darcy, which was a welcome time to reconnect with them and finally get a chance to relax. The Friday then Saturday came and went with only a few showings - this made us really concerned that we hadn't read the market correctly. On Sunday morning we had to run to the house to pick up a few items and as we quickly stopped in before the scheduled open house, there were already several people waiting in the driveway - this was encouraging.
Most of Sunday afternoon was pretty quiet, but we finally heard an update in the late afternoon - the open house was packed and crazy for the entire scheduled time. There were several follow up showings scheduled too. We felt much better after hearing this, but had no idea if anyone would make offers. Tammy ran over to the house in the early evening, and as she was there, we received an urgent call that another couple wanted to see the house within 30 minutes. Tammy quickly reset the house and left just before the agent showed up *whew*.
.Jessica called us later that evening before we headed home to update us that she had several more people wanting to see the house on Monday, and asked if we could stay another night. Once again Anna and Darcy accommodated our last minute change, although they were probably ready to have Ringo take his neurosis somewhere else :-).
When we finally returned home on Monday afternoon, we were anxious to hear how many offers had been made and how close to our asking price they were. We were in contact with Jessica later in the afternoon and she had a couple more offers that she wanted to wait for. Finally, after 8:00p Jessica called to and shared a spreadsheet she'd created. She asked if were sitting down (which we weren't sure how to take), then shared the figures with us. We had five offers, all well over our asking price with the top being nearly 20% over! We thought we were looking at the numbers wrong at first, not believing that the price would go so much higher than what we listed it at.
Jessica talked us through the various offers - terms, pros/cons, buyer qualifications and her experience with them. Don wanted some time to consider but Tammy wisely pointed out that there really wasn't anything to think about. In the end, the highest offer actually turned out to have the most merits as well. We told Jessica we'd accept that offer and she sent over the Agreement of Sale forms. By 9:30p both parties had signed the paperwork - We'd sold the Lake House.
Throughout the next several days we were in contact with the title company and swapped information, signatures and answered a handful of questions. We heard through Jessica that the new owners (Kimberly and Scott Anderson) had one additional request - to keep the "Welcome to Our Cabin" sign above the door. We were happy to hear this and gladly offered it to them, since it meant they were likely to want to keep the house as it is and enjoy the lake setting as a family (and not bulldoze it to build a mansion).
In addition to the sign, we had several items that we felt really belonged with the house so we offered them to the new owners first. These included the antique wood cookstove, the row boat, the big gas grille down at the lake, the barstools and the riding lawn mower. They quickly got back to us about wanting everything on the list except the lawn mower. This made us feel good that these things would stay with the house and also took care of several items that would be difficult to sell and move - double win.
After the house closed we had the opportunity to meet the Andersons. They came to the house one evening, interested in hearing about the history of the house and to get a walk through about how everything worked. After a little bit of an awkward start, the conversation flowed easily (although erratic because we had so much to share), and we walked the entire house, garage and property together. We learned that the Andersons live in Seattle, have two children and purchased the home as a weekend/summer house to get away from the frantic city life, hoping to entertain friends and family there. It is hard for us to imaging this being a "part time" home, but it was heartwarming to see how excited they were to have the chance to experience it.
We then came back to the living room after our walkthrough, opened a bottle of red wine and showed pictures of the family history at the house, several old photos of the house from the 40s, the remodel work that we'd done with our family and many of the beautiful days we'd had there. By the time they left it was 10:00pm and the time had flown by. We continue to message with them frequently, which we hope to share their experiences at the Lake House over the years to come.
Parting with this house that has been a big part of Don's life has certainly been bittersweet. While we leave behind the place that we've made so many memories, we gain the chance to experience a whole new location and make unique, new memories. And what we made from the sale of the house didn't hurt our plans either ;-).
Things that we'll miss/remember about the Lake House:
Don - "This house was many of my childhood firsts: first place I learned to swim, first Christmas, first birthday, first fish I caught, etc. I remember learning about gardening from my Grandmother here, and learning how to play dominoes, cards & Chinese checkers with my Grandpa. Summers at the Lake House always brought plums from the tree, screams of joy from kids playing on the lake, nights fishing well after dark and hours of playing in the water.
Another experience that is unique about the house is that Tammy and I held our marriage ceremony at the house, where all of our friends and family came and we camped by the lake for our “honeymoon”.
The holidays were often Hereford the family too, from Easter egg hunts in the yard, to fireworks on the lake for the 4th of July, to the whole family gathering for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Many of these experiences we have had the fortune of passing on to Grace, Allyson and Emma, as well as being able to continue sharing the property with our extended friends and family.
I will miss the evening sunsets, spending a few minutes fishing off the dock at any time the urge strikes, always being surprised by the wildlife that show up on the lake, sitting in the hot tub with Tammy figuring out our life together, the nearly perfect layout of the home we designed together that fits our lifestyle so well, the huge garage, the romance of living in a log cabin on a lake, the comments from people walking by about the house, the shimmer of the lake in the summer on the walls inside the house, the huge island where the whole family could meet, the beauty of the house when decorated with Christmas lights and garland."
Tammy - "All the family and friend celebrations that worked so well with the layout of the house and all the family time by the lake and in the lake, everything about the kitchen ( the big island, the stove, the finishes, the refrigerator being covered with the cabinetry panels), how big all the rooms are, one level, the laundry room being right by the bedrooms, the wildlife (eagles getting fish from the lake right in front of us, the baby bunnies and racoon families, the turtles, the possums, the muskrat, the hummingbirds ) picking blackberries and making cobbler, all my plants, the nightly conversations in the hot tub with Don"
Grace - “Some things I will miss about the Lake House are kayaking with friends and family, sitting and chatting and trailing my hands and feet through the cool water. I'll miss family 4th of July at the lake combined with birthday celebrating, potlucks, shaving creme fights, and water warfare. Inside the house itself I'll will miss my view of the big tree and yard and the lake out my bedroom window. Also, the combined kitchen and dining room and living room with all it's echos and half way across the house convos. The nice part is that most of the memories I call to mind from the Lake House, what sticks more than anything, are the fun games and family discussions and goofs, which thankfully can come with us.”
Allyson - “While I personally don’t miss the lake house much, as I’m more excited for the adventure of moving to someplace new, I will say I do miss the log cabin aesthetic of the place. The general vibe of the house was comforting and homey. I also will remember the backyard, with the abundance of trees and animals that were always around. It was a very serene place, and I’ll always remember that. “
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