A home is usually your largest financial investment, properly preparing it to sell will get you the most return on your investment. Homeowners usually know they are going to sell 5-8 months before they put their house on the market. You can begin most of these steps that early on!

Starting by calling your Realtor, even in the very early stages, can actually save a lot of time and energy. They can tell what your home would sell for in the current market. That will help you in creating a budget for your new home. Be super cautious of using online valuations instead of a Realtor to get the value of your house. Typically, those are more wrong than right. Remember that your Realtor looks at and prices houses every day! If you’re tossing around the idea of some updates before you sell, they will be able to tell you what will get you the most bang for your buck in your area and in the current market. They can also help point out small repairs that may need to be done that will help bring top dollar for your home.

If you are concerned about certain things not working properly in the house getting a home inspection done prior to listing might not be a bad idea. Then you can go ahead and work on things the inspector finds. It definitely helps in being able to list your house for top dollar knowing that everything performing as it should be in the home.

You’ve heard everyone talk about decluttering and deep clean before you list your home. Well, they are correct! Your house and closets should not look like you have outgrown them. Buyers that come into your home are looking up down and all around. Dusting baseboards, fans, and mopping those corners good is important. If time isn’t on your side or deep cleaning with a crazy schedule just doesn’t work, your Realtor is a wealth of knowledge and will have a list of trusted cleaning services.

Get prequalified to buy before putting your current home on the market…PLEASE! With all of your numbers in hand, sales price, current mortgage, new interest rate and possible purchase price you should be able to make educated financial decisions.

As you get closer to time to sell consider talking to your Realtor about occupied staging. It’s a service I offer to my clients. With small adjustments, the stager attracts future buyers while maintaining a comfortable home for you during the marketing process. Every seller that has taken advantage of this has been beyond pleased! Statistically, staged homes sell quicker and for more money.

Today almost 100% of home searches begin online. When you do decide to list make sure your Realtor uses a professional photographer that specializes in real estate photography. This will showcase your clean, decluttered, staged home the best!