A lot of people think, "since most people look for new homes in the spring or summer I'm going to list my home then" and then they make the huge mistake of waiting until the spring or summer to start the process.
Selling a home takes time. Selling a home for top dollar takes even more time.
You see, your home will never be worth more than it is the day it is first listed for sale. There are things that you need to do to prepare and market your home in order to capitalize on that day... all of which takes a little time.
First, you want to figure out the things that cost the least and take the least effort that will have the biggest impact on your bottom line. That takes careful budgeting, planning...and time. A week or so should be sufficient.
Then, you'll need to spend the time preparing your home, de-cluttering, and performing those fixes. If you've got a lot of time on your hands, you might be able to do this quickly enough – but if you're a weekend warrior like most - you're going to want to budget a few weeks for this.
As soon as the aesthetic items are completed we are going to want to get a jumpstart on your pre-marketing. In order to generate interest leading up to list day, we're going to want to get some high quality photos, 3-D imaging, get the sign-up, and get your property online with "coming soon" advertisements. 1 to 2 weeks of pre-marketing should be sufficient.
At this point – you're looking at 1-2 months of preparation prior to listing your home.
Now let's say you accept an offer after your first weekend of being "for sale". If your buyer is financing the home, it might be 45 to 60 days before their lender can close on that property.
What this means is – if you were to start the process right now in late February… you would be looking to move in May or June.
Again – if you want to get the most for your home and you are looking to make the move this spring or early summer… Now is the time to give me a call so that we can start preparing.