Let’s face it – moving is hard. Whether up sizing, downsizing, rightsizing or for other reasons, moving is a huge inconvenience.
From the time you decide to invite that pesky agent in until the last box is unpacked, everything about it will be disruptive and inconvenient to your day-to-day living.
Once you’ve accepted that moving is hard, how can you ease the pain and suffering?
1 – Hire the right Realtor® for you
This may sound simple, but ensuring you hire someone who will treat your asset (your home) with as much respect and care as you do is important. Is your Realtor® someone you can trust, who will work hard for you, and value your relationship? Is your Realtor® someone who will make the process less inconvenient?
2 – Prepare your home
Studies show that homes that are styled and/or staged sell quicker for more money. Ask your Realtor® if their service includes bringing in someone to help you style the home to show off its best features. As well, you will be packing everything up anyway. Make sure you de-clutter and make necessary repairs, especially one’s that buyers notice. We have some great tips pinned here.
3 – Find the right price
We all want to maximize our return on our big investment. But, the reality is that the market will be what the market will be. So to reduce the inconvenience, make sure you pick a price that has the highest probability of being able to sell at. Is your Realtor® honest with you regarding pricing with a full report to support their findings?
4- Let work know
Disruptions don’t just occur in your home life. As you go through the process, your work schedule may need some flexibility. Make sure you discuss with your boss, your staff, or anyone else at work who needs to be aware of the need for adjustments to your schedule. While some communication can wait until outside of your work hours, you will need to be able to communicate with your Realtor® at inconvenient times as well.
5 – Clean as you go
You will get requests for showings that will intrude on your regular routines. Every day clean a little bit so that it is ready to go when you get a request to show in an hour. And, remember, cooking with simple, non-aromatic foods that require little time to cook and clean up will help.
6 – Take care of your pets
Pets are happier with routines. Having a home on the market disrupts those routines. For pets, if you can find a short term home like a kennel or friend’s house, that is ideal. Then you don’t have to worry about declining valuable daytime showings or racing home and missing work to get them out of the house.
7 – Remember the kids
Children also thrive with routines. Showings will interrupt this. Having a list of out of home activities that can be done on the spur of the moment is critical. As well, set up clear showing guidelines when the listing goes live, to do your best to provide bedtime routines that are consistent. And, make sure you reward the kids for behaviours that make life easier (tidying up, cooperating, etc.)
8 – Find great professionals
Your Realtor® is not the only professional you’ll need. A good real estate lawyer is critical. Find someone whose office and office hours complement your schedule. Also, make sure they are specialists in real estate. They’ll know the nuances, traps and best practices of real estate.
9 – Be aware there could be additional repairs to discuss
Whether your home is new or well lived in, odds are that an inspection will find things that need to be looked after. In many cases, once these issues are found, there may be additional negotiation talks.
10 – Move with the right people
Whoever you choose to help you move, they must be able to do the job well. Having willing friends sounds great. But if they are not physically capable and able to protect your goods, what does that cost you? Hiring a moving company that minds your assets, your time and your money is invaluable. Your back and the backs of your friends and family will thank you.
Let’s face it – moving is a pain the asterisk. We’ve done a number of them ourselves. Nothing will completely eliminate the inconvenience. But, these simple things will reduce the stress and make the process more bearable.