Selling in the Spring? 5 Things to Do Now

This is a very unpopular saying here in the Chicagoland area, but "WINTER is COMING"! We are about a week away from school starting which means, pumpkin spice everything, apple cider and Halloween are right around the corner (my neighborhood grocery store has a GIANT Halloween candy display already).  With Halloween right around the corner it may as well be Thanksgiving which bleeds seamlessly into the holiday season and then all of a sudden it is the new year!

If you are thinking of selling in the Spring, here are the top 5 things I recommend to start now to have a less stressful transition into selling your home.

1. Take professional exterior photos of your home now! Almost everyone starts their home buying journey online and the first picture they will see of your home is the exterior. lt is a BIG part of a buyers decision to look at a home in person. Take a look at some  (totally amateur) pictures below.   

Contact me here to request your professional exterior photos today. This is a complimentary service for all of my clients!

2. Organize and Declutter. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up did not make it on the #1 New York Times Best Seller list because people like clutter and disorganization. While you do not have to do a complete KonMari on your home, it always helps to assess your current living space and see where less is more.  I recommend starting with the entrance.  This is a simple area of the home that can have a big impact on a potential buyer.  Check out my Pinterest board here for some ideas and inspiration and please share your favorite ideas below!

After you tackle the entrance, go straight for the closets. Get rid of those roller blades you have been holding on to since college, the retro 3/4 trench that you are hoping will come back in style and all of the things that are in the closet that you cannot remember how they got there (this may or may not be a description of a current closet in my home).

Take on the kitchen counter tops and other surfaces in your home next.  Your toaster, banana tree and knife block can all find new homes while you will find a lot more counter space to cook all of those gourmet meals every night; or just extra space for the tray of fishsticks when they come out of the oven.  "Other surfaces" also includes the walls, so lighten up the gallery wall and add some simple, non-family pictures to the remaining frames.  Clear off the top of dressers, and operation declutter is almost finished!

Finally, organize anything that is left over, especially areas like book shelves and china cabinets. Recruit a friend and have fun with it! My dear friend Lisa helped me spruce up my built in china cabinet shelves and they make me smile every time I look at them now! It took the two of us all of 15 minutes to put this together.  Before she came over, I was playing around with it for at least 45 and it still wasn't right.  

3. Make a "to-do" list.  Sit down and make a list of all of the little things that need to be repaired that have fallen through the cracks.  Some things I recommend that buyers always seem to notice?


Start outside while it is still nice out.  Do some simple landscaping, fix peeling paint or cracks in stucco, add grass seed to spotty areas of your lawn and wash windows. You will most likely have to do the windows again in the Spring, but why not enjoy them while you are still in your home!?

Over the fall and winter months there are still lots of little projects that can be done inside. Re-caulk sinks and tubs, fix cracked or broken tiles, paint walls neutral colors and tackle any half finished projects. Take them on one by one, set realistic timelines and do not beat yourself up if you do not finish them all. The point of this is to create less stress for household!

Use this awesome download from Rachel Basinger to check off your completed projects, go ahead and even buy yourself some gold stars if it helps motivate you!

4. Check your finances! Remember when you bought your current house? The same rules apply the second time around. Check your credit and fix anything that you can, including, but not limited to:

• Paying off credit card debt and keeping charges below 10% of your credit limit 
• Avoid, if possible, any new credit inquiries
• Paying off any bad debts in full
• Making sure everything on your credit report is actually from you and not the time you left your wallet in the Target parking lot
• Dispute any errors
• Settle any liens or judgements, these could take away from the final sale price of your home
• Pull your credit score, because the better it is, the better your new mortgage rates will be

Ask for a mortgage payoff quote; make the phone call for this one because it is not always the same as what you see on-line. The payoff quote combined with a competitive market analysis will help you see approximately how much equity you have in your home.

Finally, build your reserves.  I know this one is tough, but selling your home can be costly.  Be sure that at a minimum you have enough funds to cover your move and your mortgage or rent for your new home. Meet with your local RealtorⓇ for an explanation of all of the costs you may incur when selling your home. Some fees you will need to be prepared for: attorney, closing costs, transfer stamps, commission to broker, and potential repairs.     

5. Request a competitive market analysis (CMA) today.  While home prices will fluctuate from now until the Spring, getting a snapshot of where your home value stands now will help you get a better idea of what to expect come listing time. A CMA is a complimentary service provided by a RealtorⓇ to a client.

If you have any questions about the local real estate market, local happenings, or your home, please feel free to contact me any time or post them below!

- Aubrey
#homevalue #realestate #livehere #aubreyjacknowhomes