Selling your current home while building your new home may seem overwhelming which is why we do everything we can to make to make your home building experience as simple as possible. Once the contract is signed, you can leave the building to us. Paragon Homes will also get the construction load to take a huge stress factor out of the building process for you so you can concentrate on making finishing selections and selling your current home.
While we build your dream home, here are the steps to selling your current house:
Declutter
It’s never too early to start decluttering your home. Clearing out worn and unnecessary belongings not only makes your home easier to sell, it also means you’ll spend less money moving those items to your new home. Clearing out closets and clearing off countertops will make a huge difference in the first impression of your home to potential buyers.
During this process, it’s not uncommon to feel overwhelmed by the amount of ‘stuff’ we all tend to keep around in our homes. When going through your items, ask yourself these questions:
1. How recently have I used this?
(e.g. You find a storage container you can’t even remember opening in the last year. It’s a pretty safe bet that you don’t need it.)
2. How often have I used this?
(e.g. You find a 1000-piece puzzle you worked once and will likely never work again)
3. Do I really need this?
(e.g. You have worn furniture you don’t plan to use in your new home)
Keep in mind that buyers will look in closets, cabinets, and storage spaces, so it’s important to give some love to those areas too.
You also may want to consider renting a storage unit for seasonal items Christmas decorations, or anything you won’t likely need between now and moving day.
Depersonalize
You want buyers to see themselves as the homeowner which means not seeing your personal items. It may not be the first thing you want to do, but you’ll want to box up pictures of family and friends, unusual decor, and knick knacks that can clutter a room. The beginning of this process, is the perfect time to rent that storage unit for things you don’t need on a daily basis.
Stage your home
Right before you put the ‘For Sale’ sign in the yard, you’ll want to make sure your home is properly staged to make a great first impression. You’ll want to turn rooms back into their originally intended purpose. For example, you may have been using an office space as a play room for the kids. You’ll want to box up those toys and turn the room back into an office.
You’ll also want to remove worn furniture and replace it with newly bought or rental furniture. Focus on the most important rooms – like the kitchen and living rooms – first.
In staging, don’t forget the outside of your home which gives the buyers their first impression. Remove dead and overgrown greenery, wash your windows, sweep off the porch, mow the lawn and lay fresh mulch. You may also consider power washing the outside of your home to really help it shine.
If the idea of this overwhelms you, you can always hire a professional and let them take care of the details.
Timing the sale
The timing the sale can be tricky. After all, no one wants to be stuck with 2 mortgages or couch-surfing while waiting for your new home to be completed.
You’ll want to think about how you will handle your house selling too quickly or too slowly and ask yourself if you’d rather look for transitional housing than have your current house for sale when you move into your new home.
Although there’s no way to time it perfectly – we cannot predict how quickly, or slowly it will take to sell your house – our general rule of thumb is to put your current house on the market once we have finished the drywall on your new dream home. This will give you 2-3 months to have your home on the market while we finish up the final details.
We are always here to help you in any way we can.
