If you’re planning to sell next year so you can celebrate one last holiday in your current home before selling, that’s great.   

But while you are getting ready for the holidays you can be proactive as you go about cleaning an organizing for your celebrations and family visits. Everything you do now adds up so you are ready to hang that “For Sale” sign on your schedule.

I recommend potential sellers take any pockets of down time during the holidays to prepare themselves and their families for selling their home.

Right now, you have control over things you can do to give you an advantage when attracting buyers who will want your home.  This is also a good time to start planning and preparing to buy and move to your next home.

Getting Started!

Here are some important steps you can take now and well before you plan to list.  The earlier you start planning the smoother the process will go when you are ready to sell.

Get in touch with me to come up with a plan. It’s never too early to contact me since I’m here to provide any guidance and strategies for getting your home sold in the timeframe that works for you, whether that’s months from now or even next year (ok that’s three weeks away).

Keep your stress levels down with some self-care and preparation.   When you put together a workable plan that you are comfortable with you should feel less stress. Keep your family in the loop on the plan. Buying and selling can be overwhelming for families – but a plan can help address this. As you map out the weeks and months ahead, don’t overdo it. We can come up with a schedule that works for your family. You want to feel as confident and in control as possible, especially if you are looking at homes as well.  

Start today in getting your home in tip-top shape. Now is the time to plan and tackle projects that can make your home shine when you do list. Use the winter to productively prepare you home for sale later this year. The time you take will be well worth it when buyers start looking at your home.

Stay on budget or know your potential return on investment. You may have to spend money to earn money but not all home improvements are worth it. So be careful and don’t overdo it. I can help you on this since I know what is worth it for your neighborhood or your potential buyers. Before you plan any major renovations check out Food for Thought when Planning to Remodel that major renovation may not be worth the return.  

Set specific goals and map out a timetable with deadlines. Earmark certain times or days each week or month for your preparation projects (remember to leave time for fun and family). Plan out your DIY projects such as prepping the basement, cleaning out the garage, painting a specific room, etc) Be realistic with your timetable, the more you must do the longer you will need. You may also consider hiring some help if your projects will take longer than you want. Now is the time to get bids from outside contractors on any projects and to also get a sense of the timeframe for completion.

Prepare your property and fix what’s broken. Make a list of all the nagging items that bother you and fix them. Walk through your home as if seeing it for the first time, maybe have a friend or family member do it with you. Identify that loose step, that room that really needs to be painted, that cracked or missing outlet cover, missing light bulbs, the ding in the wall, etc. Once you have that list, don’t hesitate to call me to see what you really need to spend money on if you are not sure.

Clear away clutter. You want your home to look airy and spacious not cluttered and cramped. You want to remove personal items as you want buyers looking at your home and seeing themselves there.  Start today with paring down your belongings – sell on eBay, donate, or recycle or trash. For those items you want to keep, pack them now and find a place or purchase a storage unit to store them, including any furniture, until your home is sold.

Make your home shine — clean like you never did before!  One of the most important things you can do is deep clean your home. As you get closer to listing your home, tackle those necessary cleaning jobs or find a professional service. Focus on areas of your home that could use a good scrubbing, especially bathrooms and kitchens. You could focus on windows one week, then polishing wood floors or cleaning rugs another week. Turn to YouTube for any guidance in cleaning or prep if you’re not sure. This is your chance to get a head start, so it will really shine when you want to list it.

Make it as move-in ready as possible.  Today’s buyers do not want to start out with a list of things to repair or replace. Before doing anything, we can discuss whether you should leave it “as is” or replace it. Stained carpeting, warped fencing, an old roof can all reduce the price of your home. Decide which projects make financial sense for your sale and then see if there are any professionals available to work on any of these projects.

Appeal to a buyer’s emotions. It’s important to appeal to buyer’s emotions as well as their minds and budgets. You want buyers to walk through your home and see themselves living there. How you do this depends on your home and the buyers who are most likely to be interested in your home. It’s important to look at your home and the different rooms and give them a purpose. Multipurpose rooms confuse most buyers.

Curb appeal and the “wow” factor can sway buyers. Your home must grab buyers from the minute they drive up to your home. Curb appeal is so important, I have had buyers drive up to a house and not even want to go inside.  If necessary, schedule some landscaping work to be done so your yard looks it’s best. This is really important for online pictures because you need to grab them right from the first photo.

Become More Tech-Savvy

Today’s buyers are better prepared than ever to deal with virtual anything when it comes to house hunting. And so should you!

Understand how promoting your home with technology works. Now more than ever, technology is becoming more prevalent in real estate. Virtual tours have remained a selling tool even after covid. Buyers start their search online, sign documents and schedule inspections etc. this way.  

Online photos can sell your home.  Your home photos are more important than others. Each photo needs to shine and appeal to buyers, whether interior or exterior photos. And buyers aren’t fooled, if you list your home with two bathrooms and only show one, they will wonder how big a renovation the second bathroom needs. Buyers make decisions about seeing homes based on those pictures. Schedule pictures of your yard for when it shines best and keep them. This way if you list in winter with snow on the ground. You still have pictures of your yard at its best

Understand the Market

Even though selling a home is emotional, remember that there are so many factors that go into making it to settlement day.

Go with the flow of the market. Understanding the market when you list will drive the marketing strategy you use. How the real estate market works in your area throughout the year will help keep your expectations realistic and marketing strategies appropriate.

Focus on the “business” of selling.  You need think of selling your house as a business transaction. We all love our homes and are emotionally attached and are protective of them. As hard as it is you need to distance yourself from your “home” and focus on the business of selling the “house”.  You need to sell your house so you can reap the financial benefits and move on to the next stage of your life.

Study sold prices, not just the asking prices in your neighborhood.  The market is price is what buyers are willing to pay at the time you list your home. Sold prices are lagging indicators and in a changing market you need to focus on the most recent sales. Buyers are only going to pay what they think your home is worth in the current market. The market continues to evolve, and you will need to set the price based on current market conditions when you list. When the time comes, we will discuss and price your home accordingly.

Be willing to price your home competitively from the get-go. It is critical to price your home correctly at the start to take advantage of the buyer interest and potential showings the first two weeks. The first two weeks brings the most buyer traffic and interest to your home. Even if your price is a little low, you will most likely get multiple offers. Mistakenly pricing your home, a little low is MUCH better than pricing it too high. Don’t make the mistake of thinking let’s start a little high because we can always lower it. Time after time I have seen this strategy backfire because the house sits on the market too long and buyers and agents wonder what’s wrong with it. Ultimately the seller gets less than they would have had they listed at market to begin with.

Remember that all real estate is local. Your particular neighborhood can have a strong influence on its appeal to buyers which will impact our pricing strategy as we move forward. I will keep up to date on your neighborhood, what is selling, what isn’t and even who is buying and selling. It’s important to reach out to me as soon as possible so we can strategically plan for your home sale together.

Let’s Come Up with a Plan

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to selling your home. I am here to help you start planning for your future move, whatever your timeframe!  It is never too soon to reach out to me.

And, if as you are prepping your home to be ready to sell in the spring, call me if you have any questions about a project, you should take on or should skip.  Plus, I have some great contractors who can help you with any projects that require more professional work.

Even if you are months or even a year away from selling, prepping your home can start right now. Reach out anytime by emailing me so we can talk through what projects you need to plan out and what you can skip so your home looks as good as possible when it comes time to sell, but without going overboard.