If you’ve been thinking about selling your home sometime in the next 6–9 months, you might be wondering where to start.
Should you make updates? Call a Realtor? Start watching Zillow? Get an appraisal? Take down all your family photos?
My advice is: don’t do any of those things just yet.
The first thing I’d recommend is simply having a conversation.
After 15 years of selling real estate, I’ve learned that there isn’t one checklist that works for every seller. Every house—and every situation—is different. The right plan depends on your home, your neighborhood, your timeline and, probably most importantly, what you want to accomplish with the sale.
Start with a realistic idea of what your home is worth.
Online estimates can be a fun place to start, but they don’t tell the whole story. Two homes that look similar on paper can sell for very different prices depending on condition, updates, location, layout and what else is currently for sale in the neighborhood.
I like to look at the recent sales, current competition and the specifics of your home to come up with a realistic range—and then talk through what that could mean for your plans.
Don’t automatically start renovating.
This is a big one.
I’ve had plenty of conversations with homeowners who are ready to spend tens of thousands of dollars updating their kitchen or bathroom because they assume they need to before selling.
Sometimes an update makes sense. Sometimes a smaller project will make a bigger difference. And sometimes I’ll tell you to save your money and sell the house as it is.
The goal isn’t to make your house perfect. It’s to make smart decisions about where your money and time will have the greatest impact.
Give yourself more time than you think you need.
If you’re considering selling next spring or summer, now is actually a great time to start talking about it.
That doesn’t mean you need to put a sign in the yard tomorrow!
It simply gives us time to make a plan. Maybe the exterior needs some attention while the weather is nice. Maybe there are a few rooms that would benefit from fresh paint. Maybe we need to declutter, or maybe we decide that very little needs to be done at all.
I can also help you think through when to sell based on your personal circumstances—not just what the market is doing.
And please, don’t feel like you have to have everything figured out before you call.
One of my favorite parts of this business is helping people figure out what comes next.
Sometimes that means getting a house ready to sell. Sometimes it means determining whether selling even makes sense yet. And sometimes the best advice is to stay put for another year or two.
There’s no obligation to list your home just because we have a conversation.
So if you’ve been quietly thinking, “Maybe we should sell…”, I’d love to hear from you.
Give me a call. We can walk through your home, talk about what I’m seeing in the market, and come up with a plan that makes sense for you.
And if you’re not ready to sell for another 6–9 months—or even longer—that’s completely fine. In fact, the earlier we start talking, the more options you’ll have.
Thinking about selling? Let’s start with a conversation.