Over the last 14 years of guiding 2000+ families through successful home transitions, I’ve seen this scenario play out again and again.

Mom Can Do It All - Family Moving Tips

The decision to sell and move is a major emotional, financial and physical life-changing event. Once the initial euphoria has worn off, promises of equitable distribution of duties by other family members can fall by the wayside and who is left holding the bag? Mom, of course. A recent article in Forbes sheds some light on the fact that Women Are Working More Than Ever, But They Still Take On Most Household Responsibilities. No surprise here. Are you ready to add the responsibility for this huge event to your already overflowing list of things to do? If so, you will need to know what to expect over the course of the transition and where to spend your time and money in order to minimize the anxiety that you, the family and even your pets will experience.

If you are like most moms, once the listing agreement is signed, you begin to panic. It’s the first official step in the process of home transition and the beginning of an intense, emotional roller coaster. Your mind goes into overdrive and you ask yourself, now what? You grab a notebook and a pen and then freeze, asking yourself… Where do I start? How do I pack up a lifetime? Who do I call? What do I do first? You realize that you need help-and fast. It’s overwhelming and you need a plan. You are not alone.

No one escapes the uncertainty of the sales and moving process, it’s universal, no matter where you live, the size and price point of your home, what you’re packing or where you’re going. There is no way around the process of selling and moving… only through it. I assure you, you’ve got this.

To begin, take my advice and avoid the 5 biggest mistakes most sellers make when getting their house ready to list and sell. Remember: 

1. It’s not about YOU, it’s about the BUYER
2. Believing your house is the exception to the rule.
3. Not removing your personal footprint.
4. Not conducting an interior and exterior buyer assessment.
5. Believing your buyer will see the value of your home the way you do 

To ensure a successful sale and move, you will need to:

• Strip the emotion from the decision-making process and adopt a business-like approach to the sale.
• Change your mindset from homeowner to house seller and consider your home a house. It is now a marketable asset, so design it to sell for top dollar.
• Understand current buyer expectations and what fast, easy and inexpensive updates will need to be made to meet these expectations and generate immediate interest.
• Consider the sale of the house and move as one continuous process to save both time and money. If you are at least 60% packed to move, you can accept an offer with a faster close date than you anticipated. You’re ready.
• Understand and research local storage and moving company options and compare apples to apples. Take charge of organizing the packing process and explain the way that you want it to be done. Movers are not the decision makers – you are.
• Read all contracts carefully and understand the “fine print” about last minute add on’s, insurance options and damages. Get it in writing!
• Keep a binder or online spreadsheet of all house related information in one place. You will refer to it often throughout the process and way beyond the unpacking of the last box in your new home.
• Breathe. You will get through this, everyone does.

So, are you ready? Do you know all you need to know about the real estate and moving industries to create a successful home transition for your family? If not, you need a secret weapon that thousands of sellers rely on to act as a “cheat sheet”, SMART MOVES: How to Save Time and Money While Transitioning Your Home and Life. Order your copy today. Make the decision to be prepared and be a Smart Mover!

Caroline Carter is the founder and CEO of Done In A Day, a Washington D.C. and Palm Beach Gardens, FL based home transition company that has moved everyone from the Who’s Who in politics, business and media. She is a frequent guest expert on TV, radio, podcasts and in print where she discusses how to take the pain out of moving and moving on. She has just released her first book SMART MOVES – How To Save Time and Money While Transitioning Your Home and Life. Follow her on LinkedIn and Facebook.