If you are preparing to sell your home, you may be wondering how long it will take and of course the answer varies.

Not only do you need time to find a buyer; there are so many small jobs and pieces of paperwork that need to be done and people who need to be communicated with that the process usually ends up taking at least a few months.

Before you contact an agent, take a look at this outline of how much time you will need at each stage of your home-selling experience.

A timeline to sell your home

1. Make the decision, consider dates and contact an agent (2 weeks)
   
   Sometimes you will think about selling your home for months or even years before you take action.
   
   Once you make the decision, have an idea in mind of when you would like to be out by, even if it is a year or two from now. This will help you make decisions when offers start to come in.
   
   Then it is time to find an agent. Allow around two weeks so you can meet with two or three different agents, find out how they might value your home and decide who to go with. Remember to ask about their recent results, whether or not they have interested buyers and why they think your home is worth the price they put forward.
   
   Before you sell the home, you will need to sign a contract with your agent. This means they can legally start showing it to interested buyers.
   
2. Preparing Your Home for Sale (4-6 weeks)
   
   Now you know you want to sell, you need to make sure that your home is ready for people to come and take a look.
   
   The more time you spend getting ready, the better the home will look and the more likely buyers will be to make a good offer. Yes, you can have the place listed and even potentially take an offer within a fortnight but speak to your agent about whether it is worth investing some time into updates and
   presentation so you can achieve top dollar.
   
   In general, this stage will include:
   • Decluttering
   • Cleaning
   • Staging
   • Repairs and maintenance
   
   During this time, your agent may speak to you about preparing the contract of sale. You will need to have it ready once buyers start making offers so reach out to a solicitor to gather and produce the necessary documentation.
   
   Ask your agent for recommendations about what to improve around the home. They may bring one or two ‘sneak peek’ buyers or buyers agents through at this stage to get their feedback about the property or see if they can secure you an early offer.
   
3. Listing Your Home (1-2 weeks)
   
   Now it’s time to photograph the property (and potentially style it), create your listing and advertise in all the relevant places.
   
   Your agent will be the best person to organise the listing in its entirety as they know everything there is to know about marketing properties. If you decide to style your property, you will also have to meet with the stylist and find time for them to bring in furniture and other items.
   
   Arranging styling, photography, copywriting, video and other marketing collateral will take a couple of weeks.

4. Marketing Your Home (2-6 weeks)
   
   Once your listing is live, you’ll move into the time when your agent is showing the home.
   
   This is the nerve-wracking stage where strangers are coming and going through your home, and you hope that you either receive a good offer or end up with more than one buyer who is willing to bid at auction.
   
   This stage can take 2-4 weeks but will vary depending on the market and how you have priced your property. Ideally, it won’t go for longer than six weeks. If it does, you may need to revisit your price expectations or take some more time to improve the home.
   
5. Receiving Offers/Preparing for Auction Day (2-4 weeks)
   
   If you’re selling by private treaty, this is the time when the market and your agent play their part, and you should start receiving offers.
   
   Work with your agent to decide which offers are worth considering; you don’t want to accept an unreasonably low offer but you also don’t want to miss out on a reasonable price. Often, early offers are the best because they come from people who have been shopping for a home for a while and
   are very keen to secure a property.
   
   Negotiating can take time and require a little patience as people check how much they can borrow and arrange building inspections. With an auction, on the other hand, you should have a result on the day.
   
6. Settlement & Moving out (4-6 weeks)
   
   Once you have accepted an offer, you move on to settlement, which is when you close the deal and the home is transferred to the buyer.
   
   This stage typically takes six weeks and involves several steps, including a home inspection, appraisal from a valuer, and the buyer finalising their mortgage. During this stage, you will work with your real estate agent, lender and solicitor to ensure all the necessary paperwork and documentation are in order.
   
   You need to have vacated the property by the settlement date and removed everything in accordance with the agreement. The buyer may request a final inspection so they can ensure
   the place is as expected.

Want help to sell your home quickly and for an excellent price? Contact me today at teresa@teresaberger.com.au.