Today we're speaking directly to those of you that are thinking about moving in 2022! Is it time to move to a new school district or finally time to get a real home office set up? Maybe you're ready to have a yard or it's time to downsize completely. Today we’ll share everything when it comes to selling your home, preparation, planning, and managing your honey-do list. We know it's the busy holiday season, but even a conversation or two with your spouse or significant other can go a long way in making sure you're on the same page and not racing to get to your next home.
4 Steps to Prepare You for Moving in 2022
Let us preface this with, start sooner rather than later. Especially if this is your first time going through this process we don't want you to feel under prepared or rushed when it comes to short term things to overcome, not to mention there are often longer term items that we want to make sure you have in a row.
Step 1: Talk to Your Real Estate Agent
We will help you out with determining what items need to be taken care of in your house that will give you the biggest bang for your buck, the general timeline for when these things can be done, your home’s value, and when you can go on the market. Our goal is awalsy to try to decrease your stress level when doing anything related to real estate and I've found that it's better not to all of a sudden have to do a bunch of home improvement projects and move right at the same time; so earlier rather than later is good and you can start checking off the projects.
Step 2: Determine Your Financial Readiness
The next conversation should be with your lender. We say that our lenders are our most important coworkers in the real estate process. This is going to be a very individual and circumstantial conversation to have, so we're not going to be able to tell you exactly what you qualify for and what order you need to sell your house. This is the number one thing that I think pays off in the long run if you need to get something right with your credit, paying off loans, or saving money. The worst thing that we see happen is people thought they had a certain budget, they start falling in love on Zillow, and then they find out that that's not even at all the price range that they can move up into. Check it up front and have a game plan.
Step 3: Prep Your Home to Sell
Don't spend your money in a way that is not going to be beneficial to you, especially if you're wanting to sell soon. We're going to direct you to quite a few episodes that we've gone in deep dives, resources for sellers in specifics below. In general though we want to make sure that we get the best price for your house and things such as curb appeal, little fixes, and updates can go a long way. So say it gets to January, you're really gung ho about doing some projects, we want to make sure your time and money is going to the right place.
Step 4: Keep Refining the Vision of Your Dream House
So your price point is going to be affirmed by your lender, now it’s time to really start seeing what’s out there, monitoring the market, and understanding what you want your life to look like. Open houses are awesome for this and you can get a real feel versus just looking at beautiful pictures online. Look on a map, walk through the neighborhood, see which views you like, what direction you like the sun in your home, and get really dialed in on your location preference. We want you to know what your dream house is so that we can help you find it. You'd be surprised how detailed the dream is sometimes.
What to Consider When Preparing to Move
We want to give you some food for thought. There are so many little pieces that go into moving and the move of those little things you consider and having conversations about on the front end the easier the process will be! Of course, during out
Can you stay in your current house until you find your next house?
Do we need to get you out of your current house?
How long will larger home improvements take to prepare my house to sell?
Is there paperwork that I need that will take a certain amount of time?
Did you get a new job? Will it affect your budget, location, or home needs?
Do you want your kids to be in a certain school district or stay at a certain school until the end of the year?
Do you need to apply or enroll to the school in the area you’re looking to buy?
Resources for Preparing to Buy/Sell
We know we’ve thrown a lot of information at you today and you have a lot to think about; don’t get overwhelmed! We want you to feel confident going into the process and have more in depth episodes on the topics we’ve touched on today that will help you with what to look for in a realtor, how to choose a lender, how-to’s during the home-buying process, ways to prepare your home, and tips for house hunting. We’ve got you covered, check out these past episodes.
Episode 4: Top 5 Home Improvement Mistakes
Episode 22: How to Sell Your Home with Multiple Offers
Episode 32: How to Buy and Sell a Home Simultaneously
Episode 39: What to look for in a Realtor when Buying a Home
Episode 40: How to Choose a Lender
Episode 42: First Impressions From The Curb
Episode 48: Use Your Time Wisely: Effective House Hunting
We Want to Help You Find Your 2022 Dream House
Hopefully today we’ve answered some of your questions and after exploring past episodes we can answer other ones as well; if not, reach out to us! We're happy to walk you through it. We can answer even further questions like should I sell my home in the spring? When should I sell if I need to be in a new school by next year? We want to have a conversation with you specific to what your situation looks like, so please reach out. If you're thinking of selling your home in 2020 we are more than happy to help guide you through the next steps.
Let us be your guide — we'd love to join you in dreaming about where you’ll be at this time next year!
Until next time,
Brianna & Keelie