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'Hurry up and wait!'

Sometimes, that's the feeling homeowners have once their property has been made 'live' on the market, leaving them to wonder, 'What can and should we do now?

Once the decision is made to sell your home, the preparation phase becomes an overwhelming flurry of activity. Now that the property has been launched, there's a lull that often follows as the pace of showing activity wanes and balances. This stage of the listing is often a state of flux that leaves homeowners feeling abruptly empty. What to do? Here are a few simple ideas to keep the process moving along while avoiding becoming unnecessarily anxious, and to resist the temptation to over-manage your real estate professional (see previous blog article, 'What's Helpful and What's Not?')

 1) Estate Sale - Why wait until the property sells? You're moving anyway, so take the reins in an area that you need to address eventually--it'll make the end game on moving day a less stressful event. If you do not reside in the property, or have an alternate living arrangement while your home is on the market, this could be the ideal time to hold an estate sale. First, take away the things that you need for your new home. Secondly, stage the existing living spaces for showings. Thirdly, sell off what you can and have a charitable organization collect the rest. We recommend having a flyer available for every person that comes to your estate sale--reserve your brochures for showings.

2) Pack - Once the process of readying the home for the market is underway, the realization of just how much stuff we've accummulated over the years settles in. Likely, your property will be on the market for a while before an offer commences the negotiation process. Wouldn't it be a shame if after all of your time and investment to launch your property on the market, you couldn't come to an agreement because you weren't able to facilitate a fast closing? Rather than spin your wheels trying to manage the listing process by insisting your realtor take more pictures of 'the peonies because they really are popping and make the house lovely' or phone calls fretting over whether or not '...should I have painted the floor in the laundry room?!'...sink your teeth into projects that will assist you in the closing process--pack. The nesting and purging of packing away supplemental and seasonal items is not only cleansing and emotionally therapeutic, it puts you into position to be able to move quickly (literally) when a buyer needs a fast closing date.

3) Pay Attention to the Details - Not all improvements are spendy, nor do they necessarily need to absorb an entire weekend. Small fixes can mean the difference to a potential buyer between your property and that of your competing comparable properties on the market. Note this Tips & Advice article as it provides suggestions for small improvements with large impact,

bobvila.com article '20 Insanely Easy 60-Minute Home Improvements'