So last year we sold our house, and boy was it a pain.  It took months longer then we planned, and sold for less then we wanted. I won’t bore you with the details here, but I will tell you a few things I wish I would have know before hand.

House / Photo Credit Joshua Edwards

First things first, we were selling and buying at the same time. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but we used the same realtor for both listing and buying. A better plan would be to hire two realtors so they can focus on each item separately.

Back Patio / Photo Credit Joshua Edwards

If you have had pets in the house get all of your carpets professionally steamed cleaned. No amount of home cleaning, or carpet shampooers can compare with what they can do.

Kitchen / Photo Credit Josh Edwards

One thing we did do that worked out well was to rent a storage unit and pack up everything we couldn’t live without while the house was on the market. One thing we didn’t do was to give away, throw out, or sell almost everything we couldn’t live without in the house. After we moved into the new house we ending up doing just that with most of the things we put in storage anyway.

If you are buying and selling, have money set aside to cover the mortgage on your old house for a few months. I can almost guaranty you will find your next house within a month of looking.

The final advice I can give is to just be patient make sure you list your home for what it’s worth, and gradually reduce the price if it is not selling. Also be sure to disclose everything even if there are not categories for what the issue is on the disclosure sheet. The buyers home inspector will find things no matter how great you maintained your home, so try to beat them to the punch.