Selling your home this spring? Now is the time to get ready for the busiest season in real estate. Planning ahead not only lowers your stress levels at listing time, it may even sell your home faster.

To help, we’ve put together a few suggestions to keep your timeline on track as you navigate your way toward a successful closing.

Research The Market

Hopefully you have already begun familiarizing yourself with the local real estate market. If not, don’t wait any longer. Go online to find similar homes in your neighborhood to research listing and selling prices, as well as how long they spend on the market.

Find A Realtor

It’s not too early to start looking for a realtor if you don’t have one already in mind. As you research other home sales, keep an eye out for agents familiar with your neighborhood or ask friends and family for referrals. Selling a house can be stressful, so meet with more than one to make sure they’ll be a good fit for you throughout the process.

Proactive Repairs

One to two months before your home hits the market, make sure to take care of any home repairs that haven’t yet been fixed. Consider hiring an inspector to look over the house for any issues, just in case. You’ll avoid surprises and be better prepared for the negotiating that takes place after an offer is made on your home.

Planning & Packing

Three to four weeks out is when you should start packing up items you can live without for the next several months. It’s also an excellent time to get quotes from potential moving companies. Similarly, if the transition will take more than a few days, make storage arrangements for after the sale.

Deep Cleaning & Staging – With the clutter out of the way, spend the last two weeks before listing doing a deep clean and staging your home. First impressions can make or break in real estate, so a sparkling house and tidy landscaping are incredibly important. And remember, at this point, it’s about appealing to as many people as possible, not your personal style.

The Next House – After all that prep work, and with a proven agent working on your behalf, it shouldn’t take long for the right offer to arrive. Once your current home is on the market, it’s definitely time to start thinking about your next one.

Start by reaching out to one of our Loan Origination Specialists at Open Mortgage to discuss the mortgage options available to you. In fact, it’s never too early to ask how our experience can save you time, money and headaches when buying a home. Call us today at 888-602-6626.