HELP!  Who would have known that selling a home could suck you dry of all free time, spare money and energy? It all started several months ago when hubby was offered a wonderful new job in sunny and warm California.   Now I am NOT here to sell you a home.  Actually, I won’t even give you the address. But, I do want to educate future home sellers on what I have learned from this grueling process.  So, go ahead and read the list below and then feel free to give help/resources in the comment section.

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR HOME TO SELL (Louise’s list of what I learned, so far)

1. No matter what.. the minute you sign on the dotted line a contract to sell your home in the trusty hands of a realtor, the home ceases to be yours. It may still LEGALLY be yours, but the warm fuzzy feeling it has had will be gone. That is because .. (see 2) So go ahead and photograph your beloved home before others trample through it.

2. You will be asked to put away the things that make a house a home.  Family photos, cute artwork on the fridge, FIDOS favorite toys – they all will be now sharing space in the back of your closet or a storage unit.

3. Get a storage unit. Nothing can make your home feel more “roomy” than a nice big storage unit. Don’t forget to hire local teens to haul your stuff, too! See you are helping out the local economy two-fold!

4. Invest in painting the home.  I love “STRONG” colors.  Evidently, many people can’t vision their own belongings in a home with cranberry accent walls. So, go ahead and paint your favorite rooms with basic beige. By the way, in case you are wondering there are a zillion shades of WHITE.  No, I’m serious. Currently our home is Alabaster White.

5. Bring in a home inspector to fix all the things you didn’t know was wrong with your home before some other person complains or takes “notice”.  This may seem redundant, but truly I wish we had done this FIRST. Then we wouldn’t have needed to be a “rush” call to see why the plumbing was leaking. Same with RADON testing.  Do it asap.

6. Consider moving out before the house is put up for sale. If you can, this really is the best way to go. Stage your home with a few pieces of furniture and then have your days free of needing to race home to grab FIDO before perspective buyers come to visit.

7. This is where you get to respond.  Any words of advice that can be our lucky #7 tip??

A special shout-out and many thanks to the wonderful realtors from Long and Foster who have been quality providers and helped us through the process.  And, for those who are curious- we sold our home in less than a month.  Now on to the next task- BUYING a home!