Putting your home on the market and preparing to transition to a new location are hard enough on their own—combined these situations may feel overwhelming or even insurmountable.
Whether you need to sell and move at once due to a short timeframe or the local real estate market, use the following six tips to make the process go more smoothly.
- Do a Deep Clean
While a buyer is investing in your house itself and not your cleaning or maintenance routines, a dirty home can make a first impression so negative it may turn away buyers entirely. Before you list your home, do a deep clean that includes the tasks you may often put off, including all dusting and surface cleaning.
During your deep clean, fix all cosmetic issues you come across, such as using spackle to close holes and replacing any damaged household hardware. Not only can this deep clean help your house sell faster and at a better price, but having your house mostly clean means less work on moving day.
In addition to your initial cleaning efforts, plan regular cleanings to ensure that the house looks inviting every time potential buyers come through the door.
- Evaluate Your Belongings
Home staging should help people walking through picture themselves living in the space. As you clean and prepare for your upcoming move, evaluate which items should be part of the staging and which should go elsewhere.
For example, tasteful artwork and furnishings can emphasize the good characteristics of the rooms in your home, but niche decor may distract visitors. Make a plan to remove most personal touches and eliminate any clutter in your home.
Decluttering closets and cupboards is particularly important because stuffed drawers and overflowing shelves give the appearance that the home does not have enough storage space.
- Invest in Storage to Optimize Staging
In many cases, as you move and sell simultaneously, you will need an offsite location to keep your belongings that don’t add anything to your staging. These items can be packed up early and moved to a storage facility.
Consider choosing storage offered by your preferred moving company to simplify the process of storing and then shipping your belongings to their final destination.
Create personal supply bags for each member of your family that includes space for toiletries, clothing and personal items. If possible, keep these bags out of the house during showings so your luggage doesn’t distract from the home tour. For example, you may decide to keep these bags in your personal vehicle during the day.
- Make Smart Daily Decisions
Keeping your home beautiful once it’s staged can be difficult, especially with all the chaos that can result from the moving process. The best way to manage your home’s appearance is by developing daily plans that work for your family.
For example, you may decide that paper tableware makes complete cleanup more manageable after family meals or that books and electronics provide simpler alternatives to other toys during the selling process.
- Partner With the Right Professionals
The success of your home sale and your move may depend in part on who you work with. For example, consulting with a reputable real estate agent and a professional stager can ensure that your home looks its best for what buyers prefer in your specific area.
Similarly, it’s smart to work with a trusted mover when you undertake a complex move. In many cases, a full-service package or concierge service is ideal for moves like these where the timeline is crucial and the packing, loading, and travel cannot necessarily all happen in the same day.
Your mover may also be able to provide packing services to help you get superfluous items out before your first open house and room-to-room moving services to make furniture rearrangement easier. Additionally, as mentioned in section three, your mover may offer pods, warehouse space, or self-storage units for client use.
- Schedule Away-From-Home Activities
For homeowners anticipating the expenses of home staging and a move, it’s rarely practical to simply live in a hotel until the house sells. One of the most significant challenges of living in a home you’re attempting to sell is learning how to keep the home looking unlived in.
In addition to the advice in section four, you should also fill your days with away-from-home activities, whether they be visits to relatives or day trips to local attractions. These activities help your staging stay intact without your family feeling frustrated.
Use these guidelines to ensure that you stay safe, sane, and on track as you pass your home on to its next residents and transition your household to a new location.
