The Christmas Countdown Starts Around tHe BBQ
Unless you happen to be reading this in Sydney, where you'll be spending Christmas Day is probably the last thing on your mind at seven o'clock on a warm August evening, one hand on the smoker lid and the other holding a glass.
The sun is still up. Something is sizzling. Corks are popping, ice is chinking, and the children are tearing round the garden squeezing the last drops from another long evening. The nearest thing to a roast potato on the table is your friend's much-discussed potato salad. Christmas? It could hardly feel further away.
But think back to December for a moment. If you have ever pictured yourself cooking a festive dinner in a different kitchen, seating everyone round a bigger table, or opening your eyes on Christmas morning somewhere new, then this is precisely when you should be giving it some thought.
It’s never too early to look ahead.
Don't leave it too late
What catches most homeowners out is how long moving actually takes. Even people who have done it several times tend to look back through rose-tinted glasses. Ask them and they'll usually say it went fine. Memory quietly edits out the difficult parts and leaves us convinced the last move was far more straightforward than it really was.
A clean sale can go from first listing to moving day in around three months. But no two transactions are alike. Chains, mortgage approvals, surveys, legal enquiries and conveyancing can each stretch the timeline by weeks, sometimes months.
Here's the awkward part: deciding to move is rarely a logical or strategic decision. Usually there's simply a moment when the penny drops and you realise the house no longer fits the life happening inside it.
Cast your mind back to last October. As the light faded earlier each evening and Christmas edged into view, did you find yourself imagining somewhere else? A dining table with room for everyone. A kitchen where people could actually gather. A spare room, so guests weren't folded onto a sofa bed. Most likely you let the thought go the moment the last of the wrapping paper went into the recycling and the final relative was waved off on New Year's Day. But autumn comes round quickly, however long these evenings feel, and with it the first hint of woodsmoke and mulled wine.
By then the clock is already running. Choosing an agent, preparing the house, arranging photography, finding a buyer, agreeing terms, instructing solicitors and working through the legal process all take time. If Christmas in a new home is genuinely the goal, summer gives you room to breathe in a way that autumn never will.
Working back from Christmas
If you read this in October, all is not lost, though you’ll be cutting it fine. If you're reading it in August, you're in an enviable position: enough time to take each stage at a pace that suits you rather than one dictated by the calendar. Start now and you give yourself a real chance of cooking Christmas dinner in that new kitchen, whether it's sleek and handleless or classic Shaker.
Every sale is different, but with a head start, the shape of it might look something like this.
1. Early to mid August: lay the foundations
Any athlete will tell you the race is the last chapter. The result is earned in the months of preparation nobody watches. Selling a house works the same way.
There you are at the barbecue, noticing a single early leaf skitter across the patio, nothing dramatic, just a quiet signal that the next season is only weeks away. This is the month to start the conversation: meet agents, ask the awkward questions, begin decluttering, deal with the small jobs you've been stepping around, and get the house into genuinely market-ready shape.
Book valuations with three agents
Get quotes from conveyancers
Choose the agent who best fits your goal, rather than the one who quotes the highest figure
Declutter one room at a time
Finally tackle the small maintenance jobs
Soften bold decor where it's needed
Cut the hedges, mow the lawn, and make the most of the garden at its peak
Pull together warranties, guarantees and planning paperwork
Start browsing the market to see what your budget really buys
2. Mid to late August: get market ready
Groundwork done, agent chosen, house decluttered or nearly there. It looks its best, and now it's time to show it off. First impressions decide a great deal, so this is the month to go further than feels strictly necessary. Long days, warm evening light and gardens at their fullest make late summer the ideal moment for photography — with time still in hand to fine-tune everything before launch.
Arrange professional photography and floorplans
Work with your agent's copywriter on the brochure description
Finish off any outstanding decorating
Style the key rooms ahead of the shoot
Keep the garden looking sharp. Bedding plants buy you late colour
Have EPCs, certificates and paperwork to hand
Launch to market
3. September: find your buyer
The house is live and, all being well, drawing interest. Viewings are underway, feedback is arriving, and the preparation starts to earn its keep. A well-presented house, sensibly priced and properly marketed, gives you momentum from the first weekend.
September is also the month to stay open-minded. Read the feedback, keep talking to your agent, and be ready to negotiate. If Christmas in a new home is the aim, the right buyer matters every bit as much as the right price.
Keep the house viewing-ready
Review the feedback after each viewing
Stay in touch with your agent about strategy
Negotiate and agree an offer
Take the buyer in the strongest overall position, not simply the highest bid
Instruct your solicitor if you haven't already
Keep viewing, and be ready to offer on your own next move
4. October and November: keep things moving
Most of the visible work is behind you now. With an offer accepted, the stage belongs to solicitors, lenders and surveyors, and you could almost relax, although that may be optimistic with this much happening out of sight. Searches to chase, enquiries raised and answered, surveys booked, mortgage offers finalised. It's the least photogenic part of moving.
Much of it now sits in other people's hands, but staying organised and replying quickly keeps things moving your way. Keep in regular contact with your agent and solicitor, and before long you'll be discussing completion dates rather than asking whether anyone has heard anything yet.
Instruct your solicitor if you haven't already
Return property information forms promptly
Arrange your mortgage
Book and complete surveys and valuations
Answer legal enquiries quickly
Stay in touch with agent and solicitor
Start gathering boxes and planning the move itself
Book removals as soon as a completion date is in view
5. December: home for Christmas
Whether it's a first Christmas dinner in a cottage that finally feels like yours, or Boxing Day brunch round the breakfast bar in an open-plan kitchen, this is the point at which you get to congratulate yourself on the decisions you made back in the August sunshine.
No sale comes with guarantees. But giving yourself the gift of time makes it far likelier that you'll spend Christmas making memories in a new house than counting down the calendar and wondering whether you'll complete before the day arrives.
Ready to make this your last summer barbecue here?
If Christmas somewhere new has ever crossed your mind, don't wait for the leaves to turn. It is never too early to talk it through, and summer tends to hand you the time and headspace to prepare properly, decide calmly, and give yourself the best chance of being settled by December.
Whether you're simply curious about what your home is worth, or ready to plan the move in earnest, we'd be glad to help. Get in touch via nick@inghamfox.com, and let's start working backwards from Christmas together.
