When it’s time to sell your house, your priority should be picking an ideal closing time frame, and ultimately a moving date. You need to decide when you need to be at your next destination, whether it’s a rental, a new home, or an interim stop on the way to your final destination. Most of the time sellers have a vague idea of when they need to be out of their home. Your time frame will compress as the vague idea turns into a firm date. Once your house hits the public market you need to be prepared to pack and move.
To alleviate the stress of timing, packing, and moving here are three helpful tips:
Contact a Moving Company. Let them know you are selling your house and moving. Ask about a storage unit or a pod for short-term use while you are packing your house. Ideally you should secure a spot where you can start moving your belongings “out” of the house prior to photos. Packing and moving items that you don’t use every day out of the house and into a storage unit or pod jump starts the process. Be ruthless. Let’s face it, you aren’t going to be baking muffins or making a cheesecake in that spring form pan, pack ‘em up!
Pick a Date for the Moving Truck. Even before your house is under contract communicate with the movers. Throw out hypothetical dates to check on their availability. If a buyer makes an offer on your house the offer will have a closing date – this is the date that the buyers will buy your house. You need to be moved “out” prior to this date. For example, if the closing date is December 19th, you and your belongings need to be “out” of the house ideally by December 17th, so you have a day to clean prior to the buyer’s walk through.
Find a Place to Stay. Let’s be real, moving is chaos. You won’t have items that you usually use in your daily routine during the move-out. Once the movers have moved all the items that are going on the truck you will still have your personal items, pets, and maybe even special plants in tow. To alleviate this stress, we suggest moving to another place prior to “moving truck day.” Gather your clothes, toothbrushes, etc. and camp at a friend’s house or a hotel for a few nights while preparing for the movers. It will be a respite from the endless boxes and keep you organized.
These are just a few tips based on our “real life” experiences with sellers. If you have been thinking about selling, we are happy to meet with you to start the process and set you up for a successful move. Contact us to get started!
How difficult is it to decide on an offer on your property? It all seems so simple. You put your house on the market with your trusted real estate professional. Buyer’s Agents show you property and then submit offers. Now what? Let’s look at three considerations when assessing an offer:
Why do some houses sell for less than their Zillow estimate? Do you think your house will sell for more than the online estimates? In our area, many of you, whether selling or buying, are a bit vexed when they search online. This may lead you to “Enter Your Address and Find Your Home Value,” which just triggers many, many phone calls from real estate agents.
Paint can transform a space, but flooring is a key design element that is just as visually impactful. The flooring you choose can set the stage for your space, making it feel modern, cozy, or rustic – whatever look you are going for. There are many components to consider when choosing the type flooring, from aesthetics to price, durability, and upkeep. So how do you choose?
Sometimes even real estate professionals need help organizing. When I decided to refresh my bedroom space the first thing I did was call Jennie for her expertise. Jennie has helped many of our clients reset and reconfigure their living spaces. Because my attempts to reorganize and reconfigure my bedroom continue to frustrate me, I hired Jennie myself to solve my organizational issues.
If you want to get the highest price for your house when it’s time to sell, then you need a professional to assess your property’s condition. Buyers scrutinize your house and property from top to bottom. One question that sellers often ask is, “Should I paint?” And, as you can imagine, the answer is specific to each situation. There is one painting job that you should book right away, however.
In the wake of the historic flooding that resulted in Vermont being declared a Federal Disaster Area many homeowners and buyers have been asking, “Is my house at risk of flooding?” There is no definitive answer to this question, however we have some resources available to help assess risk levels. Remember, though, water takes its own “path” and what may “not” be in a flood zone or high risk area right now could turn into one very quickly depending on the circumstances.
The Weaver Team 