How early should you put your home on the market?  Maybe three or four months before you want to move out?  Maybe not.

Most home buyers these days want to be able to close on their home purchase within about 30 to 45 days of signing a contract - and they would like to have possession of the house at closing.

As we talk about the timing of when we will list your home for sale we can work things forwards or backwards...

Forwards...

July 15 - list home for sale

July 22 - home under contract (maybe, though could be later)

August 31 - buyer wants to close and move in

July 15 - list home for sale

August 1 - home under contract (slower than expected)

September 15 - buyer wants to close and move in

Does it work to move out of your home by August 15 or September 15?  If so, great.  If not, maybe let's work backwards.

Backwards...

October 31 - earliest date you'd like to move out

September 30 - buyer contracts and asks to close in 30-ish days

September 22 - list home for sale expecting a short time on the market

October 31 - earliest date you'd like to move out

September 15 - buyer contracts and we tell them we need 45-ish days

September 7 - list home for sale expecting a short time on the market

Certainly, there are variables for which we cannot completely control...

1.  How quickly will your home go under contract?

2.  How quickly will a buyer want to close on the home?

3.  Will a buyer be willing to let you stay in the home for a few days or weeks after closing?

We can take our best guess at the answers to these questions and then work the timeline forward or backward to identify the best date for getting your house on the market for sale.