Make a list. Organize it into priorities. Consult more than one a realtor and discuss to do list. Get started yesterday.

Some people will advise you to have a home inspection done. I'm on both sides of the fence about this. Now is the time to make repairs. You have a stucco house. You may only need to pressure wash.

Declutter all over again. Have a yard sale to get rid of clutter. Make donations during this month to take advantage of changing tax laws. You may not be able to deduct donations next year.

Clean, clean and clean again. Less is more.

When I have sold my homes in the past, I usually start making preparations about six months in advance. This way I'm not overwhelmed with the process and I can develop an organized plan of action.

One more thing. Timing. If you get your act together and everything is just how you want it, go ahead and list it. Listing in a traditionally off period can be very successful. Anyone viewing your home during this period will be a serious buyer and there will be less competition. There is no need to wait. Just list when you are ready.

Yes, if we got done early we would definitely do that. I think I am going to do some basic decluttering that I need to do in any event and then get in some agents before the end of the year.

A question. Unless your worn pieces of furniture are very expensive and you like them why place them in storage? Replacing them when you have your new residence may be another option. Cost of storage and shipping to new location is perhaps an expense you do not need. Having visited several retirement homes the rooms are often too big for most peoples existing furniture.

There are some barstools that we may do that with (replace). However, we have a couple of expensive couches (they recline with a lot of bells and whistles) but the fabric is worn. They are expensive because of the electronics in them. The couches function well, however, and cost enough that we don't want to get rid of them.

We will probably move somewhere slightly smaller. Our big downsize was the house before this one which was 4500 SF compared to about 3000 SF with this house. We will probably go down to closer to 2500 but are more likely to give up an extra bedroom than give up family room space.

Do you really have to sell it? Going through all these trouble just for 500 sq ft difference......but I can understand if you really want to move out of there.

Oh, it isn't the 500 SF at ALL. It is the location. When we bought the house we had large dogs plus indoor cats. We needed a house were we wouldn't run afoul of pet limits. So we bought this house which is in an acreage subdivision. I actually really like the house. I loved it when I first saw it. From a pure house standpoint I wouldn't move even though it is a little larger than we need at this point. But...

1. We are farther away from amenities than we will want to be when we are older. Right now it is fine. We are in good health and can drive everywhere. And, you have to drive everywhere. But, DH is 70 and I am in my 60s. I can imagine that 10 years from now we might not want to drive that far everywhere. That is the trade off you make with a house on acreage like this. The subdivision is beautiful with custom homes and beautiful deer, etc. It has been great to look at and live in from when we are home. And lots of people here like the acreage or have horses or have lots of pets. They make that trade off to live in this kind of subdivision. I am not sorry we did it. But...some of our dogs have passed on and the 2 left are old and we won't replace them so we don't need to be in a subdivision like this one.
2. We no longer have a lot of ties to the part of the state we live in. Kids are adults and mostly not here. We have much more family in another part of the state and we would like to be closer to them. Basically, there is no real reason to stay in this general area at all.

So the idea is to move to another part of the state. We will need some flexibility on pets but don't require a subdivision like this one. We will be picking a house that is much closer to amenities and that will be convenient to them for the long term. We could wait years to move I guess but we figure better to do it now while we are both in good health.

We always pick houses based on our pets need. There are more of us than you can imagine.

Your list of things to do is reasonable and the timetable is realistic.

As for decluttering: plan for charity pickups every week for a month. When you put things in storage, make *sure* it's all sealed up to prevent rats and bugs from getting in.

As for when to interview three agents: after you have decluttered, after you have made repairs, after you have moved things to storage, and before you hire a stager to pick paint colors and carpet colors. You can get estimates for painting inside and out before interviewing agents. The stager and agents will know what colors are on-trend and which are past-trend for your area (for example, gray is trending out where I live).

I totally understand. Good luck with everything. Hope you find a beautiful home! :-)

I think you're being smart making the move now while you can enjoy learning about your new neighborhood, and enjoy it.

Apple_pie_order - I think I am going to interview agents first. Well, I will do some decluttering and packing away obvious things. But I will hold on doing things like painting or stuff like that until I get a feel from the agents of what they think I need to do. For example, we have a light fixture in the kitchen that I think is dated but would like to get feedback on, etc. Rather than hire a contractor to do some repairs now and then do other stuff later I will wait and do it all at once.

This is a very helpful post as we are also in that situation. I particularly wanted to comment about scheduling the charity pick ups. I do these regularly anyway so our house is not too cluttered, but it's a big house and we have so much stuff that we just don't need. I recently (like 2 weeks ago) had a charity pick up of lots of stuff (like maybe 15 bags full) and decided to schedule one for the end of the month as well. Mostly it is clothing and linens but I also put in small household goods. I find having a pick up scheduled is very helpful.

Soon will be scheduling painter (we already got estimates and decided on who to use). We had planned to get the house inspected before listing and might still, but someone explained to us that since our house is well maintained and all, it;s probable that they would pretty much find stupid nuisance stuff that they always find, and it's no big deal or $. We are reconsidering this as it would cost $$ to get the inspection done.

What we haven't done is interview the realtors. I am so torn and think I will wait until at least the painting is done (which should be by the end of January). I am torn if we have them in before we really put our best foot forward if that will influence them or not. The other thing I am pretty sure I will do within the next few weeks- I think I will replace range and dishwasher. Other appliances have been replaced within the last 2 years and are stainless- the older ones (which still are quite functional) are about 15 years old and white. I just think that it will show the kitchen totally updated when I do that. ( I don't intend to get super high end appliances but just updated and good ones) that will just go with everything else in the house.

We do have carpeting, which is in very good condition but needs cleaning- that will be done right after the painters leave.:)

Would realistically like to have house listed by March/April.

Gotta go get rid of more stuff. Charity pick up is scheduled for next Wednesday!

I wouldn't be concerned with the realtor issue. You aren't trying to impress them. Save that for the potential purchasers. You want their professional opinions. They should be helpful in identifying any issues that you have missed or dismissed while you still have time to correct them. By identifying the appropriate realtor early, you will give them the opportunity to develop a good marketing plan, this includes the all important listing pictures and MLS listing description information.

The paint, appliances and carpet cleaning are all good ideas. It sounds as if you are well on your way to removing the clutter and accumulation.

I was conflicted also about where to put the realtor in there also. I am not worried about impressing the realtor, but I do want her/him to at least see that we won't be slobs and will work to get the house right.

So, I was tempted to do some painting and get the carpet in the bedrooms replaced, first. But, then I realized I want the realtor's feedback on those things. Also, possibly a stagers.

So, what I am concentrating on before having agents in to interview them is decluttering. I am throwing out and packing into boxes those things that I know we won't want to have in the house for the duration. That is actually a big job since I am taking the time as I do this to decide if certain things should just go entirely.

We've done most of the "easy" stuff before. Most of what is left are things that we were ambivalent about and so we kept with a plan to decide later. Well -- later is here.

I had at one point thought we would get agents in before the end of the year but that was unrealistic. I think now early January. Would ideally like to list by March but no later than April.

Well just stopping to say we are having the painters come next week. That's the first step and although I agonize about paint color selections ( still going neutral) I keep reminding myself that clean and freshly painted is just a nice thing and reflects well on the house.

I remember all the years ago when we were in the market (and I guess now when we are looking ) that there is an underlying comfort level to me, when I see clean and fresh. I can deal with thinking I may want to change something to my liking which is different from seeing perhaps a dirty orange wall and thinking I have to get that changed.

One house we looked at- I still remember 35 plus years ago - was so immaculate that you could have performed surgery on their furnace- it was that spotless. We did not buy the house but we both liked it a lot and realized we looked more favorably on the house even though it really didn't suit our needs.

just my food for thought and livening up the discussion.

^This. A clean, organized, decluttered home gets this reaction and sells right away. Buyers associate clean and organized with a well maintained home. Naturally, no one knows the actual condition of the home's systems until the inspection, but the first impression is very important.

In addition a clean house house is easier to envision as your own. Selling a house is marketing just like most other things. We don't live in clean perfect houses but in a subtle way sellers help you entertain the thought that when you live in their house it will be magically clean and organized everday. Fantasy but a nice fantasy