10 Things To Do If You’re Thinking About Selling Your Home Next Year

If selling your home is something you’re considering next year, you don’t need to wait until you’re ready to list to start preparing.

In fact, some of the best things you can do happen 6–12 months before your home ever hits the market.

Planning ahead gives you time to make smart decisions, spread out expenses, understand your local real estate market, and avoid the stress of trying to do everything at once.

Here are 10 things we recommend doing now if a home sale may be in your future.

1. Meet With a Real Estate Professional Early

You don’t have to be ready to sell to meet with a Realtor.

Actually, we recommend doing this well in advance. Have an experienced local real estate professional tour your home and give you an honest assessment of what they would and wouldn’t recommend doing before you sell.

This can help you avoid spending money on improvements that may not give you much return while identifying the projects that could make a meaningful difference.

A good agent should help you create a plan, not pressure you to sell before you’re ready.

2. Start Tracking Home Sales in Your Community

Pay attention to what’s happening in your neighborhood.

What homes are coming on the market? How are they priced? How long are they taking to sell? Are sellers reducing their prices? And most importantly, what are similar homes actually selling for?

Watching the market over several months can give you a much better understanding of where your home may fit when it’s your turn to sell.

Just remember: the asking price isn't necessarily the market value. The sold price is what really tells the story.

3. Start Planning the Financial Side of Your Next Move

Selling your home is only one piece of the puzzle. What happens afterward?

Will you be buying another home? Downsizing? Relocating? Renting for a while? Paying cash for your next property? Will you need the proceeds from this home to purchase the next one?

Start looking at your estimated home equity, selling expenses, potential moving costs, mortgage options, and what your next housing payment may look like.

The more you understand the numbers ahead of time, the easier it is to create a realistic plan.

4. Research Where You Want To Move Next

If you're relocating to another city or state, start researching early.

Learn about neighborhoods, housing prices, property taxes, insurance costs, commute times, amenities, healthcare, weather, and anything else that will affect your lifestyle.

We also recommend finding an experienced local real estate agent in the area you're moving to. Online research is helpful, but nothing replaces advice from someone who works in that market every day.

Your current Realtor should be able to help connect you with a trusted agent in your destination city.

5. Start Purging Now

This is one project almost every seller wishes they had started sooner!

Go through closets, cabinets, the garage, storage areas, and rooms you rarely use. Decide what you want to keep, donate, sell, give away, or throw out.

You don't have to do it all in one weekend. Give yourself several months and tackle one area at a time.

Remember, you're going to have to deal with these belongings when you move anyway. Doing it now will make preparing your home for sale and moving much easier.

6. Take an Honest Look at Your Home's Condition

When you've lived in a home for years, it's easy to stop noticing the little things.

Walk through your home as if you were a buyer seeing it for the first time.

Look for damaged flooring, cracked tiles, worn carpet, dripping faucets, damaged screens, doors that don't close properly, peeling paint, drywall damage, or other deferred maintenance.

Make a list and prioritize what actually needs attention. Starting early gives you the ability to handle projects gradually instead of paying to have everything done right before you list.

7. Consider Repainting in Neutral Colors

Paint is one of the simplest ways to give a home a cleaner, more updated appearance.

If you have very bold colors, dark rooms, heavily marked walls, or paint that hasn't been refreshed in years, consider repainting.

Neutral doesn't mean everything has to be stark white. Warm whites, soft beiges, greiges, and other light neutral tones can help rooms feel brighter and allow buyers to picture their own furniture and style in the home.

8. Clean Up and Refresh Your Landscaping

Buyers start forming an opinion of your home before they ever walk through the front door.

Trim overgrown trees and shrubs, remove dead plants, clean up weeds, refresh mulch or rock, repair irrigation problems, and start improving any areas of the lawn or landscaping that need attention.

You don't necessarily need an expensive landscape makeover.

The goal is simply to make the property look clean, cared for, and inviting.

9. Have the Major Systems of Your Home Checked

Don't wait for the buyer's home inspection to discover something you could have addressed months earlier.

Depending on the age and condition of your home, consider having major systems inspected, serviced, or cleaned.

That may include your:

  • HVAC system
  • Roof
  • Plumbing
  • Sewer or septic system
  • Water heater
  • Fireplace/chimney
  • Electrical components
  • Pool and pool equipment

This doesn't mean you need to replace everything that's old. The goal is to understand the condition of your home so there are fewer surprises when you sell.

Keep receipts and service records, too. Buyers often appreciate seeing that a home has been properly maintained.

10. Update Small, Outdated Features

You may not need a major remodel to make your home feel more current.

Sometimes relatively small changes can make a surprisingly big visual difference.

Look at items like outdated light fixtures, cabinet hardware, bathroom faucets, door handles, switch plates, ceiling fans, and other finishes that make the home feel dated.

Before spending a lot of money, though, talk with your Realtor. Not every update will increase your sales price enough to justify the expense.

The Best Time To Prepare Is Before You're Ready To Sell

Selling a home doesn't have to start with putting it on the market.

It can start months earlier with a conversation and a good plan.

If you're thinking about selling your home in Temecula, Murrieta, or anywhere in the Temecula Valley next year, we’re happy to walk through your home with you well ahead of time.

We can help you identify what may be worth updating, what you probably shouldn't spend money on, what homes in your neighborhood are selling for, and what steps you can take now to make your eventual move easier.

There’s no obligation and no need to be ready to sell today. Sometimes the smartest first step is simply knowing what your options are.

The Cutka Team | Temecula Valley Real Estate Experts
Helping local homeowners plan their next move with 20+ years of real estate experience.