I went on 8 Listing Appointments this past week!! Two of the eight are listing NOW, the other 6 called me in for suggestions on how to get their homes ready for the SPRING market. WHAT?? Yes 4-6 months in advance. You CANNOT wait until February or March to discuss you selling plans with your Realtor. First of all, your Realtor will educate you on the current market trends
and product (homes) availability. You need to know, for example, that locally as well as nationwide, we are in an inventory crisis in many price ranges. You also need to know that interest rates are projected to hit 5.5% by spring. You need to see what homes like yours are selling for right now. That is all information you need to decide if now is actually the right time for you to sell.
Even more importantly you need to PREPARE for the spring market. CLEAN AND CLUTTER FREE are the most important items on your lists. It is dumpster time. DUMPSTERS ARE OUR FRIENDS as I tell all of my clients. You need to Donate It, Box is Up, Get the Kids to take it or DUMP IT. Be ruthless!! There should be almost nothing on any surfaces and the garage-attic-basement cleaned out. Do it NOW!! (Call Advanced Roll Off at 860 350-9400).
There may also be some deferred maintenance that needs to be addressed. Things like staining decks, replacing rotten wood by the garage doors, woodpecker holes, crumbling chimneys, refinishing really worn floors, deteriorated walkways and overgrown shrubs. You will be taking a financial hit probably double what it would cost to take care of these. Your Realtor will help you with a TO DO LIST. Call me if you need suggestions for contractors.
Your Realtor will also check with the building department to make sure all COs for additions and improvements have been taken care of. You do NOT want a missing document on a pool or new roof coming up at the last minute. Same is true of documentation of an oil tank pull.
Finally, your Realtor will advise you of cosmetic items that will help you to get the most for your money. Notice I did not say UPGRADES. Things like new kitchens are nice but will only get you a small return on your dollar. Consider PAINTING the cabinets instead and replacing hardware. (Call Laszlo Nagy at ALaszlo Painting 203 788-3097)Wallpaper need to go. The only upgrades I MIGHT encourage, based on the house, would be new windows, painting woodwork white and adding central AC (Call Dean Demague at High Performance Energy 203 448-8585). I might also recommend replacing utilities, roof, if really past their serviceable life.
PLEASE call your Realtor (hopefully me) now so that you are READY to rock and roll come spring. Plan on 4-6 months of preparation and $5,000+ of expenses.