Any major undertaking always goes better when you know what to expect when and plan accordingly. A downsizing move is certainly different than moves you may have made in the past. The boxes you’ve moved from home to home or garage to garage will at last- need a plan of action. Your downsizing move will require more coordination, intention, and organization than before. Preparing a home for market and selling it will involve numerous steps and potential contingency factors leading to your goal. Planning ahead and utilizing an effective preparation strategy puts a solid plan in your court and minimizes unnecessary stress along the way. Any number of things can go wrong, but they don’t necessarily have to if you have a solid plan in place. Here are some time frame guidelines to prepare for selling and downsizing your home in Kansas City.
1. Today
This timeline for home sellers begins right now, today. How quickly your home can be ready for the market depends on your personal situation, how many belongings you have and how much clean up/preparation your home needs. If you are planning to have some sort of an estate sale (most of our downsizers have some items to sell) we’ll want to include that in your timeline. You should pick a target date for listing so that you’ll have a goal for your timeline and plan. If you are planning ahead, some seasons of the year in our market (usually spring & early summer in most areas) are better for selling. That being said, downsizing isn’t always predictable and you may need to move quickly – we help downsizers with real estate transitions 12 months out of the year, no worries!
2. Two-Three Months Out From Listing Date
About 2-3 months out from the target listing date on your timeline for home sellers in Kansas City be sure you’ve made contact with a local Seniors Real Estate Specialist® for a consultation. We find that it’s better to have adequate time to discuss a game plan, especially if you have “a lot of stuff” that will need to be processed. If you’ve already sorted through many of your home goods or cling to the minimalist lifestyle, you likely will need much less time to prep. We do find that our seasoned military families and veterans have been through quite a few moves prior and are adept at the getting ready to move process! In your initial consult we’ll be sure to discuss all of the nuts & bolts of your upcoming move..even if you don’t know exactly where you will be moving to yet. We’ll also cover and overview of what similar homes are selling for in your area and prepare a Seller’s Estimated Proceeds Worksheet for you. From there we’ll establish an action plan, check in points to begin your downsizing process. Making contact in advance of your move is also crucial if you need to have some sort of a sale as preparing for a sale and getting your sale scheduled is important. We can gladly recommend Estate Sale Teams to you and help coordinate a consult for your needs and goals.
3. Six Weeks Out
If you haven’t already you have two major tasks to take care of: hiring a Seniors Real Estate Specialist® real estate agent and preparing your house.
If you’ve already met with us, you’ll know at this point we will have discussed your action plan and also connected you with any associated professionals that we’d recommend to chat with (ex: packers, estate sale, Senior Move Managers®, organizers, etc) should you need additional support.
Your agent should have experience working with downsizers, a good track record of sales at or near list price and should also possess niche market knowledge.
You should also start preparing your house at this point on the timeline for home sellers. These preparations will likely include painting, some repairs and renovations, and just general sprucing up.
4. One Month Out
At one month out from the target listing date, the ACTION phase in your action plan is in full swing. Pre-sale necessary repairs are getting addressed, packing is in full prep, and rooms are looking more and more decluttered. If your home will go into “Coming Soon” status before officially allowing for showings (this is a great strategy we use for downsizers!) this may be activated at the month out mark or based on the recommendation of your Seniors Real Estate Specialist®.
5. Two Weeks Out
At two weeks out, the timeline for home sellers in Kansas City is growing shorter and lots is happening. You may be in the final preparations for moving to your new home. Working with a Seniors Real Estate Specialist® comfortable working with downsizers allows you to focus on other items at hand while keeping you on track with your home sale prep.
6. One Week to Go
Now, with just one week left to go on your timeline for selling your home and downsizing in Kansas City and after you’ve whipped your home into shape and got it looking its best your Seniors Real Estate Specialist® is likely scheduling your listing photos and ensuring your home is clean & tidy following all of the recent activities. Clutter doesn’t photograph well and we want to ensure that your home is looking picture perfect before the photographer arrives.
7. Listing Date and After
All of the prep work getting your home ready both inside and out is leading up to your GO LIVE (aka ACTIVE) date on market. Showings can officially begin and prospective buyers will be scheduling times via appointments to tour your home. Your Seniors Real Estate Specialist® has listed your home in all of the best venues and sets their marketing plan in motion.
If you are still living in your home, be sure you are keeping it in good shape. You never know when potential buyers may want to view your home on very short notice, so it must stay clean and tidy. Ensure that everything in every room is in order every morning before you leave for the day.
Doing the right things at the right time – as seen in our timeline for home sellers in Kansas City – can hugely impact the success of your selling efforts. These things can affect both how long your home is on the market and what price you get.