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- (898) 787 - 9988
By Sarah Allen
Real estate coordinator, homeowner, and human navigating life’s plot twists
I’m in the thick of getting my house ready to sell. Which, as it turns out, is the ultimate motivation to finally check things off the to-do list I’ve been ignoring since… maybe 2016?
You know the one. Power wash the siding. Fix the deck. Paint that one weird wall. And now, finally, I’m staring down the big ones: updating the flooring, replacing the countertop, and putting in the backsplash I’ve been waiting years to do (but couldn’t, of course, until the new counter was in).
The to-do list has officially become the now-do list.
It’s not that these projects weren’t important before. It’s just that life got in the way. I lived with them. Worked around them. Ignored them. And now that I’m leaving? Suddenly, everything’s urgent.
And let’s be honest—kind of exciting. There’s something satisfying about finally making the home look and feel the way I always imagined it could.
I’ve seen this so many times with sellers over the years. And on our team at Compass, it’s a running theme—we all joke about the way houses get their glow-up just as we’re packing boxes.
It’s not a criticism. We’ve all done it. It’s one of those weird, shared human habits that somehow makes perfect sense and absolutely none at all.
What really gets me is how lovely the house feels now. More polished. More peaceful. Less like something I’ve been negotiating with, and more like something I want to be in.
Which begs the question: why didn’t I do this sooner?
Why do we treat our homes better in the last few weeks than we did in the last few years?
I’m starting to believe we shouldn’t wait. Not for a listing. Not for a move. If your house is begging for fresh paint, or your kitchen backsplash is still a Pinterest board in your head—what if you just did it?
For the joy. For the comfort. For you.
If you’re nodding along because you’ve done the exact same thing—or you’re in the middle of your own pre-sale reno sprint—I get it. I really do.
And you’re not the only one. Around here, we don’t just help people through this—we live it too. Maybe next time, we don’t wait until the end to create a home we actually love living in.
Maybe we just… go ahead and do it now.
And if you’re wondering what’s actually worth doing before you sell—reach out. We’re happy to talk it through, no pressure.
