The Best Move Method isn't a home-selling process. It's a plan for your next chapter, and it may or may not end with selling your house. Most of the money in a move is won or lost before the house ever hits the market, in the decisions you make about timing, taxes, and preparation, so the first half of the method is all about making the right decision. You can stop after any phase, and plenty of my clients start planning years before they're ready to move.
1. Discover → 2. Evaluate → 3. Decide → 4. Prepare → 5. Execute → 6. Thrive
Part One: Plan
Discover, Evaluate, and Decide are about figuring out what to do. You don't need to be ready to sell to start here.
Phase 1: Discover
Get clear on what matters most. We start by listening. What's prompting you to think about a change, what isn't working about the house anymore, and what you want the next ten years to look like. A lot of the most important concerns don't come up until the second or third conversation, so we take our time here.
Where you end up: from "Something needs to change" to "I know what I really want"
Click to see the 5 steps in the Discover phase
- The discovery conversation. Your situation, what's prompting the change, and whether there's any real urgency.
- A lifestyle assessment. How well the house still works for you, including upkeep, stairs and safety, and how close you are to family, friends, and the things you love doing.
- Your financial picture. How the equity in your home fits into your retirement, and what worries you about taxes, income, and future costs.
- The family conversation. Who should be involved, what everyone's hoping for, and where people might disagree, so it gets talked through before it turns into a fight.
- Your ideal outcome. What a successful move would accomplish, what you most want to avoid, and what you want your life to look like five years from now.
Phase 2: Evaluate
Understand your options and the real numbers. This is where guesswork gets replaced with real information. I'll figure out what your home is worth both as-is and prepared for sale, what you'd actually walk away with, and how each of your realistic options compares over the next five to ten years.
Where you end up: from "I don't know what my options are" to "I can see exactly what’s possible"
Click to see the 6 steps in the Evaluate phase
- Market value. A detailed analysis of what the home would sell for as-is and prepared for sale, and who the likely buyers are.
- Net proceeds. Selling costs, any mortgage payoff, and prep and moving costs, so you know what actually lands in your account.
- Tax questions. Capital gains exposure, the Section 121 exclusion, Prop 19 portability, and stepped-up basis, organized into clear questions for your CPA and estate attorney.
- Every housing option. Staying put, aging in place with modifications, downsizing nearby, moving closer to family or somewhere less expensive, renting, senior living, or keeping the house and generating income from it.
- Side-by-side scenarios. What staying costs over the next five to ten years compared with downsizing, how much equity you could free up, and how your monthly expenses would change.
- Timing and risk. Current market conditions, the real cost of waiting, and which choices keep the most doors open if your health or family situation changes.
Phase 3: Decide
Choose your best path forward. With the options and the numbers on the table, we narrow it down to the path that fits you, with no pressure either way. This is where you decide to sell, stay, or plan for a future move. If staying is the right answer, I'll help you put an aging-in-place or long-term housing plan together. If selling is the right answer, we move on to Part Two.
Where you end up: from "I'm afraid of making the wrong decision" to "I know what I'm going to do and why"
Click to see the 5 steps in the Decide phase
- Review the options. Compare the financial and lifestyle outcomes and cross off anything that doesn't fit your priorities.
- Pick a strategy. Stay and improve the home, sell and downsize, sell and relocate, move into senior living, keep the property for investment or estate reasons, or wait while you get ready.
- Settle the open questions. Loop in your tax advisor and estate attorney, work through family concerns, and start looking at where you'd go next.
- Set the timeline. Decide whether anything needs to happen now, pick a target date, and plan around the best seasons to sell.
- Write the plan. The strategy, the action items, who's responsible for what, the budget, the timeline, and a backup plan if things change.
Part Two: Execution
Prepare, Execute, and Thrive are about making it happen, once you've decided that selling is the right move.
Phase 4: Prepare
Get everything ready without wasting money. Now we get the house, your belongings, and the logistics ready, and we protect your equity while we do it. Overspending on a remodel the next buyer will tear out is one of the most common and expensive mistakes I see, so we only do the work that pays.
Where you end up: from "There's too much to do" to "Everything is organized and under control"
Click to see the 6 steps in the Prepare phase
- A property walkthrough. Deferred maintenance, safety issues, and pre-sale inspections, so there are no surprises in escrow.
- A prep strategy. Which repairs, cleaning, landscaping, and staging will pay for themselves, a realistic budget, and permission to skip the rest. Sometimes the smartest answer is selling as-is.
- Your belongings. What to keep, sell, donate, or let go of, with estate sale companies, move managers, and organizers when you need them, on a schedule that doesn't wear you out.
- Contractors and vendors. Estimates, scheduling, and quality control, using people I've worked with for years.
- Your next home. Finding the right place, sorting out financing, and lining up the timing between the sale and moving in.
- Move logistics. Moving dates, movers and storage, keeping the family in the loop, and a backup plan if dates shift.
Phase 5: Execute
Maximize your equity and make your move. This is where 23 years and more than 460 transactions do the heavy lifting. Pricing, launch timing, and marketing get several qualified buyers competing for your home, so an investor lowball is never your only option, and I manage every deadline through closing.
Where you end up: from "I hope everything goes smoothly" to "My move was handled professionally, and I protected my equity"
Click to see the 6 steps in the Execute phase
- Positioning. The most likely buyers, the home’s strongest selling points, the pricing strategy, and the best launch date.
- Marketing. Professional photography and video, a story about the home that buyers connect with, targeted digital outreach, MLS exposure, and private marketing when it makes sense.
- Launch. Showings and open houses, tracking buyer interest, and keeping an eye on competing listings.
- Offers. Encouraging competition, comparing price, terms, financing, and contingencies, checking buyer qualifications, and negotiating the strongest overall deal.
- Escrow. Disclosures, inspections, contingencies, and deadlines, with your interests protected all the way to closing.
- The move. Finalizing your next home, coordinating movers, managing closing and possession dates, and setting up a rent-back if you need more time.
Phase 6: Thrive
Make the most of your next chapter. Closing isn't the finish line. The whole point was a better next chapter, so I stay with you after the move to make sure it delivered what you wanted.
Where you end up: from "I sold my house" to "I made my best move yet"
Click to see the 5 steps in the Thrive phase
- Settling in. Making sure you’re comfortable and handling any loose ends from the move or the sale.
- Your financial outcome. Comparing the actual proceeds with the projections, following up with your financial and tax pros, and keeping an eye on any property tax transfer deadlines.
- Your new community. Connecting you with local resources and trusted referrals for home services or modifications.
- Your long-term goals. Checking that the move did what you hoped it would and looking ahead to any future housing needs.
- An ongoing relationship. A post-move check-in, and a trusted resource for you and your family whenever the next real estate question comes up.
What Happens in Your Strategy Session?
Your free Best Move Strategy Session is the start of the Discover phase. We'll spend about 30 minutes by phone or Zoom talking about your home, your goals, your timeline, and whatever's worrying you. You'll leave with a clearer picture of your options and the next step, with no pressure to list. If it makes sense to keep going, we'll work through Evaluate and Decide together before you commit to anything.
