You've decided to sell your home, exciting! But what happens next?

Before your home hits the market, there is a lot that happens behind the scenes. The process looks a little different for every seller depending on your timeline, your goals, the condition of your home, and whether you need to find your next home first.

My goal during our initial consultations is to learn what is important to you, help you understand what to expect, and create a plan that makes sense for your particular situation. Here is what that process typically looks like.

The Initial Visit

The first step is for me to come to your home, meet with you, and learn more about your plans!

We'll talk about things like:

How soon you'd like to sell
Whether you need to purchase another home first
Whether you'll be living in the home while it's on the market
Your goals and priorities for the sale
Any circumstances that may affect your timeline

This conversation helps me understand the big picture so we can create a listing timeline and strategy that works for you.

We'll also talk about what you can expect once your home is on the market. I'll walk you through my marketing plan, explain the listing process, and go over the costs associated with getting your home ready and on the market, including things like photography and staging.

Walking Through Your Home

One of the most important parts of our first meeting is simply walking through your house together.

I'll look at your home from a buyer's perspective and point out things that could make a difference in how it shows. That might mean a few simple cosmetic updates, or it could involve larger projects. Some examples include:

Touch-up paint
Replacing damaged trim
Updating light fixtures
Making improvements to the landscaping
Removing or rearranging furniture
Decluttering and depersonalizing

If you'll be living in the home while it's on the market, we'll also talk about how to arrange your furniture and belongings to make the house as appealing as possible for showings. If you're moving out, we'll discuss whether staging makes sense and what that might look like.

Not every house needs a long list of improvements, and I don't want you spending money just for the sake of spending money. We'll talk through which projects are worth your time and investment and which ones aren't.

Researching Your Home and the Market

Before I can recommend a listing price, I need to understand your home and how it compares to the competition.

I'll gather information about your property, including things like:

Square footage, bedrooms and bathrooms
Lot size and location
The layout and overall condition
Recent upgrades and improvements
The age of major systems
Quality of materials and finishes
Features that may make your home stand out
Anything about the location that could affect value

I'll also look at the current market and comparable properties — including homes that are currently for sale, pending, and recently sold.

The goal is to find properties that are as similar to yours as possible, both in terms of the home itself and its location. Ideally, recently sold properties will have closed within the last few months, although sometimes I need to look a little farther back or make adjustments when there aren't enough close comparables.

Pricing isn't based on one number pulled from a website. It's a combination of your home's characteristics, the surrounding neighborhood, current competition, recent sales, buyer demand, and overall market conditions.

I spend a lot of time researching and preparing my Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) so that when we sit down to discuss pricing, I can explain not only what I recommend, but why.

Our Second Visit

Once I've completed my research, we'll meet again to go through everything together.

We'll review the CMA, talk about the comparable properties I used, and discuss where I think your home fits within the current market.

If you're ready to list soon, we'll finalize a listing price. If you're still a month or more away from putting the house on the market, I will revisit the comparable properties closer to your listing date. The market can change, and I want our pricing strategy to reflect what is happening when your home actually goes on the market, not what was happening weeks earlier.

We'll also complete the necessary listing paperwork and go over some of the practical details of selling, including how showings will work and what you can expect once your home is active.

Getting Your Home Ready

Once we have a plan and a timeline, we'll start working through the things that need to happen before your home goes live!

Depending on your situation, that might include:

Completing repairs or improvements
Packing and decluttering
Deep cleaning
Staging
Making final landscaping or exterior improvements
Completing a home energy audit, if appropriate
Scheduling professional photography

Some of these things may happen quickly, while others can take weeks or even months. That's why there isn't one standard timeline for every seller.

The goal isn't to make your house look like someone else's house. It's to make sure it is presented in the best possible way while being thoughtful about how much time and money you put into preparing it.

And Then...We're Ready to List!

Once the work is done, the house is cleaned and staged, the photos are ready, and all of the listing details are finalized, it's time to put your home on the market!

That's when all of the preparation we've done comes together and buyers can finally see your home.

Selling a home is a big process, but you don't have to figure it all out at once. My job is to help you understand what needs to happen, when it needs to happen, and where you can focus your time and money to make the most sense for your particular sale.

Every seller's situation is a little different, and that's exactly why I don't believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. We'll start with where you are, talk through where you want to go, and build the plan from there.