Selling this spring or summer? Four reasons to get started now.

If you intend on listing your property in the spring or summer, now is the time to start making plans.

Starting the process early in the year gives you four significant advantages:

1. Ample time to prepare your home. Starting now gives you time to declutter your property, get needed repairs done, and otherwise make your home ready to be seen by buyers.

2. Less stress. Unless you enjoy scrambling to get things done within a tight timeline, you want to give yourself as much time as possible to prepare for your home sale without the stress of a tight timeline. Starting early gives you that.

3. Listing date flexibility. Starting now means you’ll likely get your property prepared for the sale early in the year. Sure, your plan might be to list in the summer. But, if the market changes or some other opportunity presents itself, you’ll be able to list sooner. Your home will be ready.

4. More time to find your next home. If you’ll also be looking for a new home, starting the process now will give you more time to explore neighbourhoods, get financing arranged, and determine the ideal type of home for you.

As you can see, it pays to start the process now, even if you won’t be selling until spring or summer.

The spring market historically yields the highest prices for homeowners but with this means that it's also the time when competition from other homes for sale is the strongest. This is why it's critical to make  sure you're ready in order to get the best price for your home. Consult with a real estate agent to help you with this process.  Here are some tips to get you started:

• Know your plan - It's important to know what you're going to do once you sell.  Are you planning on buying another home? Can you rent if you need to? 

• Interview prospective REALTORS® - Working with right real estate agent will yield you the best results.  Start meeting with propspective agents before the spring because once the spring market hits, the top producing agents will get busier.

• Clean & organize - How your home shows is how people see themselve in it. They can't see beyond the clutter and tend to focus on those things.

• Prioritze repairs - Do a walkthrough of your home and write down anything that doesn't work or is unsightly. Once you have your list, prioritize the smalls things that are quick to fix inexpensively that potential buyers will see first. Consult with an expert if any major repairs are needed.

• Get your papework in order - Buyers and agents are going to ask a lot of questions.  Start digging out the paperwork now: utility bills, renovation details, warranties etc.