About this video. The person on screen is an AI-generated avatar in my likeness. The voice is mine, cloned from recordings of my own voice, and the edit adjusts the sound. The image and voice may therefore differ from my real appearance and speech. The text is written and approved by me, and I am fully accountable for it. This method lets me publish regularly; it changes nothing about what is said.
Hello. How long does it take to get your house ready to sell. It’s one of the questions I’m asked most often. And the real answer surprises almost everyone.
The question, as people ask it: “how long does it take to get your house ready to sell”
Why the preparation timeline belongs to others
Getting your house ready to sell isn’t your calendar’s call. It’s everyone else’s.
Let’s start with the real answer to the question of preparation time. The timeline isn’t yours. It belongs to third parties.
Repainting a room. Emptying a garage. Washing windows. That’s you. You decide which Saturday you do it.
Booking an appointment with a structural engineer. Getting a certificate of location from a land surveyor — your notary will tell you which one is required in your case. Getting a roofer up on a roof. Requesting a record from your municipality. That’s not you. That’s their schedule, their process, their season.
An owner who plans their preparation often plans only their own part. And their part is the shorter of the two.
So the useful question isn’t “how long does it take me.” It’s “how long does it take the people I’m going to have to call.” And there’s only one way to find out. You phone, and you ask. It’s a call, and it gives you a date.
Reverse planning: building your calendar backwards
Write a single date at the top of a sheet, and work back in time. That’s how you plan a sale.
A preparation calendar is built backwards. It’s a calendar you build in reverse.
Most sellers do the opposite. They start from today and move forward. We’ll begin with the cleanup, and then we’ll see.
Do the reverse. Write a single date at the top of a sheet. The one when you want your house to be on the market. Then work back.
Before listing, there are the photos. Before the photos, the house has to be ready and cleared. Before that, the work you’ve chosen to do. Before the work, the quotes. Before the quotes, the contractor visits. Before the visits, the calls. And alongside all of this, the documents, which don’t depend on you.
Each arrow backwards adds days. When you reach the bottom of the sheet, you have your starting date.
It’s not a date you choose. It’s a date the calendar gives you.
Expert appointments: two lead times to ask about, not one
When you call an expert, there are two lead times to ask about. Almost no one asks about the second.
Expert appointments go first, and there’s a reason.
A structural engineer. A master electrician who is a member of the CMEQ. An accredited laboratory. Each one has their own appointment book. The lead time varies from one office to another, from one region to another, from one month to another. I won’t give you a number, because no number would be true everywhere.
What I can give you is the method. Call three offices. Ask two questions. The lead time to get a visit. And the lead time to receive the written report after the visit. These are two different lead times, and the second is the one people forget.
And here’s why they come first in the calendar. Everything else depends on their answer. You don’t ask for a quote on something that hasn’t yet been looked at by the right person.
The trades’ season: roofer, drainage, landscaping
The same call, in January or in May, doesn’t get you the same appointment date.
Season matters, more than people think. Because the trades aren’t available in the same way depending on the month you call.
A roofer works outside, on a roof. Their working season is short, and their book fills up as soon as it opens. The drainage contractor, on the other hand, works in the soil around the foundation. Frozen ground changes their whole calendar. A landscaping contractor often takes on their commitments well before the thaw.
Those three don’t have the same busy weeks. And you might need all three.
The same call, made in January or made in May, doesn’t get you the same visit date.
So in your reverse plan, don’t just write “call a roofer.” Write “call a roofer in such-and-such month.” And check with them what that month means for their own schedule.
What winter keeps you from seeing around a house
Under the snow, there are four things around your house that no one can look at.
Winter keeps you from looking at certain things around a house.
Under the snow, there are things you simply can’t see. The slope of the ground around the foundation. The part of the concrete that rises out of the ground. The path water takes during a rainfall. And a snow-covered roof is a roof you don’t look at from the ground.
There’s also what can’t be done in frozen ground or on a cold surface. Excavation work. Certain roofing work. Certain products that need a minimum temperature to be applied.
I’m not saying nothing gets done in winter. Plenty gets done. I’m saying that part of what you’d want checked waits for spring.
What that changes for your starting date. If you want to be on the market in spring and you start your preparation in spring, you and the thaw start the same week. The reverse plan, though, starts before the snow.
Six months, three months, four weeks: what each calendar allows
Six months, three months, four weeks. Here’s what each of these calendars lets you have checked.
Here are three calendar scenarios. Six months before listing. Three months before. Four weeks before.
Six months before. You call the experts you want, when you want. You wait for their written report without it blocking anything else. You ask for several quotes. You choose the season for each trade. What you want checked can be checked.
Three months before. You choose. Some of the checks fit into the calendar, others don’t. The order of the calls becomes decisive, because an appointment lead time already takes up a good part of the available time.
Four weeks before. The sorting, the clearing, the photos, and the documents you already have in hand. Expert appointments, though, fall according to the offices’ availability, not according to your date.
These are three different calendars. Each one allows a different set of checks. You choose which one you want.
The first action to take today: three columns and one call
One sheet, three columns, one call. Here’s how you turn an intention into a calendar.
That leaves the first action to take. Just one, and it’s done today, without leaving home.
Take a sheet. Write at the top the date when you’d like your house to be on the market. A real date. A month and a year.
Below it, draw three columns. In the first, what depends on you. The sorting, the clearing, the cleaning. In the second, what depends on an expert. The checks you’d like to have done. In the third, what depends on a third party. The certificate of location from the land surveyor, the records from your municipality, the condo association’s documents if applicable.
Then, a single call. Take the first name in the second column. Call. Ask for the lead time for a visit, and the lead time for the written report.
You’ve just turned an intention into a calendar. That’s all it takes to begin.
Who to call, and for what
I don’t do the inspection. My role is to know where to look and who to call.
- Structural engineer
- Roofer
- Master electrician (CMEQ)
- Accredited laboratory
- Land surveyor
- Notary
Frequently asked questions
Get a value report for your property, and a marketing plan
Get a value report for your property, and a marketing plan — comparables, features, an opinion of value
Full transcript of the video
Full transcript of the video above. Published on September 1, 2026.
Hello. How long does it take to get your house ready to sell. It’s one of the questions I’m asked most often. And the real answer surprises almost everyone.
My name is Ernso Cléus. I’m a residential and commercial real estate broker at RE/MAX Crystal. Before becoming a broker, I earned a diploma in building inspection technology.
It isn’t your house that takes time. It’s everyone else.
The documents to gather, and the lead time for each, are or will be the subject of a separate video on my channel.
I’m not going to tell you what it costs, or what’s serious. I’m going to tell you what order to call in, and why the order changes everything.
The timeline isn’t yours
Let’s start with the real answer to the question of preparation time. The timeline isn’t yours. It belongs to third parties.
Repainting a room. Emptying a garage. Washing windows. That’s you. You decide which Saturday you do it.
Booking an appointment with a structural engineer. Getting a certificate of location from a land surveyor — your notary will tell you which one is required in your case. Getting a roofer up on a roof. Requesting a record from your municipality. That’s not you. That’s their schedule, their process, their season.
An owner who plans their preparation often plans only their own part. And their part is the shorter of the two.
So the useful question isn’t “how long does it take me.” It’s “how long does it take the people I’m going to have to call.” And there’s only one way to find out. You phone, and you ask. It’s a call, and it gives you a date.
Reverse planning: building your calendar backwards
A preparation calendar is built backwards. It’s a calendar you build in reverse.
Most sellers do the opposite. They start from today and move forward. We’ll begin with the cleanup, and then we’ll see.
Do the reverse. Write a single date at the top of a sheet. The one when you want your house to be on the market. Then work back.
Before listing, there are the photos. Before the photos, the house has to be ready and cleared. Before that, the work you’ve chosen to do. Before the work, the quotes. Before the quotes, the contractor visits. Before the visits, the calls. And alongside all of this, the documents, which don’t depend on you.
Each arrow backwards adds days. When you reach the bottom of the sheet, you have your starting date.
It’s not a date you choose. It’s a date the calendar gives you.
Expert appointments come first
Expert appointments go first, and there’s a reason.
A structural engineer. A master electrician who is a member of the CMEQ. An accredited laboratory. Each one has their own appointment book. The lead time varies from one office to another, from one region to another, from one month to another. I won’t give you a number, because no number would be true everywhere.
What I can give you is the method. Call three offices. Ask two questions. The lead time to get a visit. And the lead time to receive the written report after the visit. These are two different lead times, and the second is the one people forget.
And here’s why they come first in the calendar. Everything else depends on their answer. You don’t ask for a quote on something that hasn’t yet been looked at by the right person.
The trades’ season
Season matters, more than people think. Because the trades aren’t available in the same way depending on the month you call.
A roofer works outside, on a roof. Their working season is short, and their book fills up as soon as it opens. The drainage contractor, on the other hand, works in the soil around the foundation. Frozen ground changes their whole calendar. A landscaping contractor often takes on their commitments well before the thaw.
Those three don’t have the same busy weeks. And you might need all three.
The same call, made in January or made in May, doesn’t get you the same visit date.
So in your reverse plan, don’t just write “call a roofer.” Write “call a roofer in such-and-such month.” And check with them what that month means for their own schedule.
What winter keeps you from seeing
Winter keeps you from looking at certain things around a house.
Under the snow, there are things you simply can’t see. The slope of the ground around the foundation. The part of the concrete that rises out of the ground. The path water takes during a rainfall. And a snow-covered roof is a roof you don’t look at from the ground.
There’s also what can’t be done in frozen ground or on a cold surface. Excavation work. Certain roofing work. Certain products that need a minimum temperature to be applied.
I’m not saying nothing gets done in winter. Plenty gets done. I’m saying that part of what you’d want checked waits for spring.
What that changes for your starting date. If you want to be on the market in spring and you start your preparation in spring, you and the thaw start the same week. The reverse plan, though, starts before the snow.
Three scenarios: six months, three months, four weeks
Here are three calendar scenarios. Six months before listing. Three months before. Four weeks before.
Six months before. You call the experts you want, when you want. You wait for their written report without it blocking anything else. You ask for several quotes. You choose the season for each trade. What you want checked can be checked.
Three months before. You choose. Some of the checks fit into the calendar, others don’t. The order of the calls becomes decisive, because an appointment lead time already takes up a good part of the available time.
Four weeks before. The sorting, the clearing, the photos, and the documents you already have in hand. Expert appointments, though, fall according to the offices’ availability, not according to your date.
These are three different calendars. Each one allows a different set of checks. You choose which one you want.
The first action to take today
That leaves the first action to take. Just one, and it’s done today, without leaving home.
Take a sheet. Write at the top the date when you’d like your house to be on the market. A real date. A month and a year.
Below it, draw three columns. In the first, what depends on you. The sorting, the clearing, the cleaning. In the second, what depends on an expert. The checks you’d like to have done. In the third, what depends on a third party. The certificate of location from the land surveyor, the records from your municipality, the condo association’s documents if applicable.
Then, a single call. Take the first name in the second column. Call. Ask for the lead time for a visit, and the lead time for the written report.
You’ve just turned an intention into a calendar. That’s all it takes to begin.
A reverse plan starts with a walk through your own house, flashlight in hand, noting what you see and the date. Who to call follows from those notes.
Before setting a listing date, a seller’s first question is still the value of their property. I produce a value report: the comparable sales in your area, the features that matter, and what I take from them. And I also offer a marketing plan for your property. Request it through the links below the video.
If you’re already bound by a brokerage contract with another broker, this invitation isn’t for you.
Ernso Cléus, residential and commercial real estate broker, RE/MAX Crystal. Your broker who knows buildings.
Read also: selling your home with a broker · all the seller tips · get in touch
Ernso Cléus, residential and commercial real estate broker — RE/MAX Crystal. Your broker who knows buildings.
