Thinking of Moving This Year? Here’s Your January Checklist

Thinking of Moving This Year? Here’s Your January Checklist

If Christmas brings everyone together under one roof, then January brings perspective. Hopefully not about relations with loved ones, but about whether the home that once held everything effortlessly is still the right backdrop for the chapters to come.

A fuller-than-usual house over Christmas may have highlighted how certain rooms now work harder than they used to, or perhaps with family away at university or overseas, some bedrooms have been left empty this year. If the festive chaos (or quiet) has left you Googling “estate agents near me”, then this blog is for you.

Try as you might, it’s practically impossible to avoid the ‘New Year, New Start’ mentality that January brings with it. Once the decorations are back in the box and those final, stubborn pine needles are hoovered up, the house, and your thoughts, feel a little calmer.

Some might look at their freshly tidied home with renewed affection, while others find the quiet of January highlights spaces that no longer serve them as they once did. Perhaps after the family have flown, rooms seem underused, or following the annual visit, the imminent arrival of grandchildren prompts proactive thoughts of a more open plan, child-friendly layout.

If you’ve been ‘casually’ scrolling Rightmove over the last couple of months, you’re probably in the latter camp. The great news? If you’re thinking of selling in 2026, you’ve picked a great time to make the first move. January is the ideal moment to get ahead of the market before the inevitable Spring boom. Buyers return early, search activity rises sharply and the homes that perform best are the ones prepared with purpose rather than panic.

So, if you’re contemplating selling, here’s a calm and practical checklist to help you map out your next step - whether your home is already on the market or you’re just beginning to explore the idea of moving this year.

1.    Take a closer look at your home’s ‘readiness’

It’s all too easy to think your home is ‘market-ready’ after the Christmas deep-clean. Spaces look bigger, everything sparkles and, well, on one level you’re just ready. However appearances can be deceiving and a fresh pair of eyes in January is invaluable.

It’s common, particularly the longer you’ve lived in a place, to become accustomed to its flaws and even in some cases, stop seeing them entirely. There’s even a word for it: habituation – the brain’s way of dulling or even filtering out constant ‘background noise’ or stimuli.

That hairline crack you meant to fill last Easter, the wallpaper that lifts slightly in the back bedroom, or the paint touch-ups in high-traffic areas…you no longer notice them, but a keen-eyed buyer might.

If in doubt, invite a quality estate agent to view your home with a professional eye. The best agents will offer clear, candid guidance, noticing the details you’ve long since stopped seeing and advising on anything that may hold a buyer’s attention for the wrong reasons. Compile their observations, prioritise what matters and address those points early.

2.    Define your move parameters

This might sound obvious, but like any decision taken on a whim, your future move may become wrought with complications later down the line if you don’t spend a moment now thinking about the bigger picture.

What is it you want to achieve (beyond the obvious goal of selling your home)? Where exactly do you picture yourself moving to? Location – in the local area or further afield? New home – period build or contemporary new build? What are your must-have features? What about the local area and lifestyle? When do you want to move ideally – spring, summer, by autumn?

While there will be eternal arguments about whether it is better to begin house hunting before or after you’ve found a buyer, having at least a clear idea of your vision helps you to take decisive action in terms of offers once the pace picks up – which could of course be very quickly!

3.    Organise your paperwork

It pays to be proactive. In the world of buying and selling homes - with chains, solicitors, surveys and the inevitable conveyancing backlogs - it can sometimes feel as though everything is out of your hands. Stepping in early with a clear plan can streamline the entire process.

Any paperwork you can gather ahead of time will help keep things moving: planning consents, boiler-service records, appliance warranties, guarantees and any building-control documents for extension or renovation work.

4.    Start prepping your home for photos

Absolutely. Right now. Yes - even before you’ve chosen an estate agent.

Take a quick audit of your home: watch for a mixture of warm and cool light that disrupts the room’s cohesion (lighting that isn’t uniform in tone may be a small detail, but it’s one the camera notices instantly). Is pet bedding beginning to encroach on corners you’d prefer kept clear? Are the coat hooks in the boot room carrying a little more than their fair share? Has the hallway storage quietly multiplied, or are wires and chargers finding their way into spaces that should feel calm and uncluttered? And what about the papers on the kitchen counter - the ones that seem to gather there no matter how often they’re sorted?

These aren’t cleaning jobs, they’re the little sorting tasks that have slowly multiplied over time. And if you leave them to the night before the photos, thinking you’ll simply “run around for a clean and tidy”, you’re in for a shock. All those tiny jobs add up, and early prep makes the whole process infinitely calmer.

5.    Which estate agent to choose?

If you’re planning a move this year, January is the ideal moment to start thinking about who you want by your side, representing your home. Choosing your estate agent based on the fact that they are selling the home you want to buy isn’t necessarily the right or wrong move (although it might feel more convenient) – it really all depends on their strategy.

While there is definitely such as thing as the wrong estate agent, the right estate agent really is down to the best personal fit for you and your home. (For an idea of the wrong kind, well, they’re the ones who thrust a contract in front of you and once you’ve signed, simply upload your property and wait, dropping all forms of proactive communication and strategy). The right kind of agent will communicate, guide, prepare and market with precision - from the very first conversation. More on that in another blog…

Consider what will matter most to you:
Clear, consistent communication - not just the occasional phone call, but genuine updates across channels you actually use, including for example WhatsApp groups for quick check-ins, viewing feedback and next steps.

Modern, multi-angle marketing - professional photography, presenter led videography, drone footage and copy that presents your home with clarity, conviction  and a compelling narrative shared over a number of platforms.

Alongside this, beautifully produced brochures bring these elements together in a format more often associated with luxury hotels, travel brands, elite health clubs and prestige chocolateries or wine clubs. Professionally designed and tangible, tactile artefacts to hold, they elevate the experience for potential buyers: something they’ll instinctively want to show to friends and family, linger over and pick up time and again.

A brochure crafted with warmth, striking imagery and refined storytelling does more than inform – it brings a home to life, sparks the imagination for a buyer, creating a sense of anticipation long before a viewing (something that pixels on a screen still can’t replicate).

A joined-up team who know your home intimately - people who collaborate behind the scenes and treat your sale like it’s the sale of their home, not as one of many.

Proactivity - an agent who plans ahead, prepares you properly for launch and doesn’t leave you constantly phoning up asking when they’re coming to take photos.

Still unsure? Here’s a simple test that tells you more than any valuation ever will: mystery shop them.

Enquire about another home they’re marketing and see how they handle you. Do they take your details? Do they ask what you’re looking for? Do they follow up, or simply send a link and disappear?

Remember - whoever answers that phone could one day be speaking to the buyer of your home. Are they enthusiastic, personable and proactive enough to treat every enquiry with curiosity, care and attention?

6. Ask for guidance early

The biggest advantage you can give yourself in January is to arm yourself with information.

A quick conversation with someone who works inside the market every day can help you to:
-    Understand local demand
-    Estimate your likely buyer profile
-    Identify improvements that will actually matter (not just telling you to repaint your kitchen or put a pot plant in front of that dark patch of wall in the corner of the room)
-    Build a realistic plan from now through to completion
-    Prepare for a calm, informed start in January in order to make the whole year’s move easier.

Whether your plans are already warming up, or you’re only just emerging from winter hibernation on the home front, it can be invaluable to talk things through with an expert.

If you’d like some tailored guidance on preparing your home, just want to sense-check your next steps, or want to give that mystery-shop strategy a try, we’re on hand, without pressure (and perhaps still with a mince pie or two in the office) should you wish to talk things through.

Email: 01204 582225
Phone: hello@burtonjames.co.uk