Buying a new house before selling the old one can already create plenty of pressure. For one couple, that pressure was building because they needed to sell their current home quickly or at least get it under contract before school ended and they moved into the house they’d already purchased.
There was just one problem. Every time they looked around their current house, they found another project they thought they needed to finish before they could put it on the market.
They Couldn’t Stop Finding Things to Fix
Painting needed to be done. Small gaps in the flooring, baseboards that needed attention, and outdated light fixtures needed work.
Individually, none of the projects sounded enormous, but together they had become overwhelming. Instead of listing the house, the couple kept pushing the date back because they worried buyers wouldn’t find it appealing enough to pay the minimum price they hoped to get.
Meanwhile, the clock was ticking on something potentially much more expensive than an outdated light fixture: carrying two mortgages.
Related: 12 Bills That Should Never Fall to the Bottom of Your Payment List
The Other Listings Weren’t Helping
Part of the problem was what they were seeing when they compared their house with others for sale nearby. Those listings looked beautifully staged, freshly renovated and, in some cases, recently flipped.
Their lived-in home didn’t look quite as polished, and the comparison made it hard to finally put the house on the market. So they turned to Reddit with a pretty relatable question: How much do you really need to do before listing?
Reddit Thought They Were Doing Too Much
The advice from other homeowners was surprisingly practical. Rather than renovating every dated part of the house, many suggested focusing on decluttering, removing personal belongings, and thoroughly cleaning the house.
One commenter recommended packing away family photos and personal decor, then doing a deep clean and taking strong listing photos.
Another suggested keeping a box handy for the everyday things normally left on bathroom and kitchen counters so they could quickly disappear before a showing.
Maybe the House Didn’t Need to Be Perfect
For these homeowners, trying to make the house perfect had become the very thing keeping them from selling. At some point, another freshly painted baseboard may matter a lot less than simply getting the house in front of buyers.
Would you finish every little project before listing, or clean it up, price it accordingly and let the next owner decide what they want to change?
