From Listing to Under Contract: Our Unbelievably Fast Home Sale Story

It’s official – we’ve sold our house! Or at least, it feels that way. The ink isn’t on the final closing documents yet, but we’re through the inspection and appraisal hurdles, and the closing date is firmly set on the calendar for early June. Only now do we feel truly safe enough to share this incredible news with the world.

Last time we sold a house, we also waited until this pivotal moment to announce it. While nothing is truly guaranteed until the final signatures are complete, the progress we’ve made fills us with immense relief and excitement. So far, everything has gone remarkably smoothly, a testament to careful planning and a little bit of serendipity.

Our Strategy: The FSBO vs. Realtor Dilemma

From the outset, my wife, Sherry, was determined to sell our house “For Sale By Owner” (FSBO) again. Her reasoning was compelling: by avoiding the typical 6% Realtor commission, we stood to save a substantial amount – potentially ten thousand dollars or even more. Even if we sold to a buyer represented by an agent (as we did with our previous home sale), we’d only be responsible for the buyer’s agent commission, effectively cutting our costs in half to 3%.

The financial incentives were undeniably strong. However, I still harbored reservations. The last FSBO experience, while successful, had been incredibly stressful. I was also curious about the process of selling with a dedicated agent, wondering if their expertise could alleviate some of the burdens. Ultimately, we reached a compromise: we would attempt a pure FSBO sale for one week. If that didn’t yield results, our next step would be to list it on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) ourselves for a few hundred dollars – a tactic that successfully found us a buyer last time. Should offers still be elusive after a few more weeks, then, and only then, would we consider engaging a traditional Realtor.

This flexible, multi-stage strategy gave us the best of both worlds: the potential for significant savings combined with the fallback of professional assistance if needed. Little did we know, however, that the market had other plans entirely.

The Whirlwind Timeline: From Inquiry to Under Contract in Days

What unfolded next was an astonishingly rapid sequence of events that left us breathless and overjoyed. Here’s how our home went from “not yet listed” to “under contract” in just a few short days:

Friday, April 26: The Unexpected Inquiry

The Realtor who had helped us purchase our new home, Anne, reached out to us. She was checking in, knowing we had vague plans to sell our current house sometime that spring. As fate would have it, Anne had clients actively searching for a ranch-style home, and she believed ours would be a perfect fit. We informed her that we were preparing to officially put our house on the market in four days. She promised to follow up if her buyers remained interested in scheduling a viewing.

This initial phone call, though seemingly casual, was the spark that ignited our incredibly fast sale. It highlights the often-unpredictable nature of real estate and the value of keeping connections open.

Saturday & Sunday, April 27 & 28: Weekend Warpath of Preparation

We dove headfirst into a frantic weekend of last-minute home improvement projects. Despite not having a confirmed showing, the mere possibility of quick interest propelled us into action. Every spare moment was spent decluttering, cleaning, and making minor repairs. We knew that first impressions were everything, and we wanted our home to shine. We plan to detail our complete “staging” checklist in an upcoming post, but suffice it to say, no corner was left untouched in our quest for showing readiness.

Monday, April 29: The Scramble Begins

2:00 PM: An Agent Calls. True to her word, Anne the Realtor called back. Her buyers were incredibly eager to see our house and wanted to come by the very next day at 2:00 PM. The pace had officially quickened!
2:30 PM: Reality Check. The initial high quickly faded as we realized a critical oversight: we hadn’t prepared a flyer or even finalized a sale price. The urgency was palpable.
3:00 PM: Cleaning Frenzy, Round Two. The house, despite the weekend’s efforts, needed another deep clean. Our three-year-old, Clara, seemed to have an endless supply of toys. Storage ottomans, our unsung heroes, became crucial for stashing clutter out of sight.

9:30 PM: Pricing and Prospectus. After hours of researching comparable homes and intense discussion, we settled on an asking price and hastily designed a flyer outlining our home’s best features.
12:30 AM: Tech Troubles. Just as we attempted to print the flyer, our computer froze, erasing all our work. Exhausted, we decided to call it a night, too tired to restart the process.

Tuesday, April 30: Show Day and First Offer

7:00 AM: Early Start. We rose early to recreate the flyer and proofread our latest blog post, which happened to include exciting news about our new house.
9:00 AM: Cleaning Never Ends. The flyer was printed, but the house still didn’t meet our rigorous standards. More cleaning commenced, focusing on every detail.
10:00 AM: Caulk Emergency. Our new blog post was live, and comments were pouring in, but a grimy tub caulk caught our eye. A frantic search for the caulk gun ensued.
1:30 PM: Ready (But Sweaty). The house finally looked pristine, but we were a sweaty, disheveled mess. Thankfully, Anne would be handling the showing.

1:45 PM: Agent Arrives Early. Anne arrived as planned, allowing us a brief window to highlight recent improvements she hadn’t seen.
1:55 PM: Buyers Arrive Early. Unexpectedly, the buyers showed up ahead of schedule. We swiftly made our exit, wanting them to explore the house freely without our presence.
2:00 PM: The Great Escape. With Clara and our dog, Burger, in tow, we headed to a nearby dog-friendly walking mall. We passed the time browsing shops like Banana Republic (where Clara and Burger amusingly discovered the three-way mirror) and Build-A-Bear (a parental victory, as we managed to avoid actually building a bear).

3:00 PM: Waiting Game. An hour passed, and Clara’s naptime was long overdue. We hadn’t heard from Anne indicating we could return. Our call to her went straight to voicemail.
3:15 PM: Heading Home. With Clara growing increasingly restless at the mall, we assumed Anne had forgotten to call and decided to drive home.
3:30 PM: Serendipitous Return. As we turned onto our street, we saw Anne and the buyers just getting into their cars. An hour and a half for a first showing felt incredibly promising!
3:31 PM: Positive Feedback. Anne called immediately, confirming the buyers loved the house. They planned to “sleep on it,” crunch some numbers, and get back to us.
4:00 PM: Excited and Overwhelmed. We were thrilled and relieved, but also had a backlog of blog comments to address and several other local inquiries about the house. A mix of gratitude, exhaustion, and nerves washed over us.
8:00 PM: More Showings Booked. We sent out additional flyers via email and scheduled another showing for 11:00 AM the following morning. How had the house gotten so messy again? Oh, right, our three-year-old.
Midnight: House Reset. After another vigorous cleaning session, we collapsed into bed, the day a blur of activity.

Wednesday, May 1: Multiple Offers and Under Contract!

5:00 AM: Restless Anticipation. Sherry, unable to sleep with thoughts of new house projects and potential buyer excitement, began drafting a Q&A post for our readers.
5:30 AM: My Morning Routine. I woke up to head to the gym, surprised Sherry was already out of bed.
7:30 AM: Family Ready. I was back, Clara was up, and it was time to get her fed and ready for an adventure with Grammy.
10:00 AM: House Ready Again. The new blog post was live, Clara was happily with Grammy, and after a quick breakfast counter wipe-down, the house was prepared for its second showing.
11:00 AM: Second Showing. Potential buyers arrived with their agent. Sherry, Burger, and I took a walk to give them privacy.

11:30 AM: More Interest! While on our walk, we received a call from someone we had emailed a flyer to the previous night. They wanted to see the house that afternoon!
12:00 PM: Positive Feedback (Again). The second showing concluded. The agent reported that their clients liked the house very much but had some questions for their lender. I discreetly mentioned the other interested buyer, emphasizing that no offers had been submitted yet.
2:30 PM: Third Showing. Clara was back from Grammy’s just as the third set of potential buyers arrived. They were unrepresented, so I gave them the tour while Sherry took the girls and Burger for another walk. Sherry certainly got her steps in today!

3:00 PM: Third Showing Concludes. They seemed to like the house, but their interest didn’t appear as strong as the first two families.
3:30 PM: First Offer Arrives! Anne the Realtor called with exciting news: an offer from the first couple who had toured the house yesterday. It was a strong offer, just $5,000 below our asking price. Our response, through profuse sweating, was a composed, “Thanks so much! We’ll get back to you soon!”
4:00 PM: Strategic Counter-Moves. We deliberated, discussing every angle multiple times. I then called the buyer’s agent from the morning showing, simply informing him that we had an offer on the table. His response stunned us: “Hold tight, we’ll have an offer for you within a few hours.” Unbelievable!
7:00 PM: Second Offer. The second offer came in. While respectable, it wasn’t as strong as the first. This made our decision clearer. We called Anne back, informed her about the second offer, and proposed meeting the first buyers in the middle: $3,000 above their initial offer, bringing us just $2,000 below our original asking price.
7:15 PM: Offer Accepted! Anne called back swiftly. The buyers had agreed to the new price! She would be bringing over the paperwork for us to sign in an hour. The speed was dizzying.
8:30 PM: Under Contract! We signed around twenty pages of documents, our minds reeling from the whirlwind of events. Our house was officially under contract, less than 36 hours after our very first showing! In our minds, we were doing a celebratory Elaine-from-Seinfeld dance, but in reality, we were too exhausted to move.

What Comes Next: The Road to Closing

Now that the house is under contract, we have a number of smaller tasks to complete before closing. These include addressing a few minor inspection items, ordering a final termite inspection, and, of course, the monumental task of packing up our lives and moving into our new home. It promises to be a very busy month, but one filled with joyous anticipation.

Reflections on a Rapid Home Sale

We cannot adequately express our gratitude and relief at how quickly and smoothly this second FSBO process has unfolded. Just like our previous sale, we will pay the buyer’s agent 3%, but by marketing the house ourselves and essentially acting as our own seller’s agent, we saved nearly $10,000 in commission fees. This successful outcome reaffirms our decision to pursue a hybrid FSBO strategy.

We’ve heard widespread reports that the real estate market is experiencing a strong resurgence, making it an excellent time to sell. For anyone contemplating putting their home on the market, many properties in our area seem to be going under contract within a week, or even just a few days, of listing. This holds true provided they are priced competitively and presented appealingly. This is undoubtedly good news for homeowners across the board, signaling a vibrant and active market.

Interestingly, we had initially assumed that we might end up selling our house to a reader who discovered it through our blog. However, much like our first home sale, our current buyer wasn’t a blog reader and didn’t find out about our property via our website at all. It was simply a stroke of serendipitous coincidence that we kept our Realtor, Anne, in the loop. Her active buyers were specifically looking for an updated, one-level ranch, which perfectly matched our home. This anecdote serves as a reassuring reminder that while a strong online presence and home improvements certainly help, you absolutely don’t need a blog to sell your house quickly and successfully.

This entire experience feels like a stark contrast to our first home sale back in 2010. That process involved 14 showings spread over more than three weeks and a variety of promotional efforts, including Craigslist, forsalebyowner.com, MLS, and a traditional “For Sale” sign out front. It was undoubtedly stressful, though even then, we were grateful it didn’t drag on for months. Considering that, we are truly counting our lucky stars for the astounding speed at which everything transpired with this house. As of right now, we’re planning to complete our move into the new house in approximately three weeks. Holy cow, we really better start packing!