Ready to Win: The Arlington Home Seller's Guide
What to fix, what to skip and how to price your home for the market you are in, before you spend a dollar.
Before You Spend a Dollar, Read This
If you are thinking about selling your Arlington home in the next year or two, you probably have the same three questions most owners have. What is my home worth? What do I have to fix first? And where do I even start?
This guide answers all three in plain words. It comes from Mike and Claudia Webb of The Mike Webb Team, with RE/MAX Allegiance. We have spent more than 34 years in real estate and have helped more than 2,500 families buy and sell homes, and about three out of four of our sales are in Arlington.
Read it now, keep it for later, and use it however it helps. There is no obligation and no timeline but yours.
Get My Free Home Value
Step 1: Find Out What Your Home Is Worth Today
Every good plan starts with a real number. Not a website estimate, and not your county assessment.
An online estimate averages the homes around you, and in Arlington the homes around you may be nothing like yours: different ages, different updates, different lots. Your Arlington County assessment is a different number again. The county assesses property as of January 1, and its 2026 residential assessments were based on sales from September 2024 through August 2025. By the time you read the notice, those sales can be more than a year old.
The number that matters is what a buyer would pay for your home, in its condition, this season. That comes from walking through the house and comparing it with recent sales of homes that truly match it. We do that for free, with no obligation, and we are glad to do it again closer to your sale, because fresh numbers are the ones that count.
Step 2: Fix It or Skip It
Our rule is short: improve what matters, skip what doesn't. Strategy before spending.
Most owners are surprised by how little a home needs to sell well, and by which things matter. Buyers notice the first impression: clean, bright rooms, fresh paint, a tidy yard, a home that feels cared for. Small repairs a buyer can see, like a loose railing, peeling caulk or a dripping faucet, add up in a buyer's mind to “what else is wrong?”
- Usually worth doing: deep cleaning, clearing out clutter and unwanted furniture, fresh paint where it is worn or bold, small visible repairs, caulking, power washing, landscaping and staging.
- Case by case: bigger projects like new flooring, a kitchen or bathroom update, new appliances or a new roof. Sometimes they pay off, often they do not. We look at your house and the homes it will compete with, and tell you which.
- Usually worth skipping: projects done for your own taste rather than the buyer's, and anything a buyer would likely redo anyway.
Every house is different. The point is to spend only where buyers will notice, and to know the answer before you spend anything.
Step 3: Let Someone Else Do the Work
Here is the part most sellers do not expect. When you sell with us, The White Glove Home Sale Method™ covers the preparation at no additional cost to you: painting, handyman repairs, caulking, staging, deep cleaning, carpet and window cleaning, power washing, landscaping, removal of unwanted items or furniture, and taking donations to the charity of your choice.
Claudia plans the work and runs the crews and the timeline, so you are not hiring contractors or chasing schedules while you get ready to move. Micheal Lowney put it this way: “We only had to focus on packing and they handled the rest.”
For bigger updates, our Concierge Services™ can help eligible sellers complete approved renovations, such as flooring, a kitchen, a bathroom or a new roof, with no upfront cost, interest or fees, and payment at closing.
Step 4: Prepared or As-Is? See Both Numbers
Not everyone wants to prepare a house before selling, and that is a fair choice. Before you decide, ask for two numbers side by side: what the house could sell for prepared, and what it might sell for as it is.
Some owners look at the difference and decide the preparation is worth it, especially when it comes at no additional cost. Others decide that skipping the work is worth more to them. Either way, we list it, market it and handle the sale for you.
Thinking about selling as-is? Read selling a home as-is.
Step 5: Price It for the Market You Are In
The market today is not the market of last spring. Arlington County had about 3.9 months of supply in September 2026, up from 3.0 a year earlier, according to Bright MLS, so buyers have more homes to compare. In ZIP code 22204, homes that sold from July through September 2026 took an average of 54 days to sell and received about 97.2% of their original list price.
What you are selling matters too. In September 2026, NVAR reported condo and townhouse listings across its Northern Virginia region up 49.7% from a year earlier, while detached listings rose only 5.7%. A detached house faces less new competition. A condo or townhouse faces a lot more.
Buyers are still out there. In Bright MLS's Home Demand Index for October 2026, based on September activity, buyer demand in Arlington was rated High (150), second of all the counties and cities in the Washington-area report.
Put together, it means this: buyers are looking, and they are comparing carefully. A home priced right from the first day, and ready to move into, gets their attention. A home priced too high tends to sit, and a home that sits starts to look like something is wrong with it. Once you are on the market with us, we check the price with you every month until it sells.
Step 6: Know the Paperwork
Virginia has its own rules. Under the Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act, the seller gives the buyer a notice that makes no promises about the home's condition and advises the buyer to do their own checking. According to the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, some items still require a written disclosure, such as pending building code or zoning violations. That is true even if you sell as-is.
We walk you through the forms as part of the sale. Questions about your specific obligations, taxes or legal matters are for a real estate attorney or your tax advisor. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Your Selling Timeline, Step by Step
Every sale has its own pace, but most follow the same six steps of The White Glove Home Sale Method™:
- Assess. We walk through your home with you, talk about your goals and your timing, and compare your home with what has sold nearby.
- Prepare. We decide together what to keep, fix, improve or skip, then Claudia schedules the crews and handles the work.
- Position. We look at what buyers will see next to your home and recommend a price. The decision is always yours.
- Launch. Professional photography, a 3D tour, floor plans, paid social media advertising and open houses, with more depending on the home.
- Negotiate. Mike and Claudia negotiate every offer for you together, looking at the price, the financing, the terms and the timeline.
- Move. We stay with you through inspections, the appraisal and closing, so moving day is the only thing left on your list.
If you are also buying your next home, we can plan the sale and the purchase together so the timing works. See our home selling process, step by step for every detail.
Your Next Step: A Free Home Value
The best time to call is before you have spent anything on the house. We will come by, walk through it with you, tell you what it would likely sell for today, and tell you what is and is not worth doing. It is free, there is no obligation, and we are not pushy. You move when you are ready, not when we are.
Ask for your free home value, contact The Mike Webb Team, or call or text 703-350-3884.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to fix everything before I sell?
No. Improve what matters and skip what doesn't. Many homes need cleaning, paint, small repairs and landscaping more than big projects, and The White Glove Home Sale Method™ covers that work at no additional cost when you sell with us.
Why is my county assessment different from what my home would sell for?
Arlington County assesses as of January 1 using older sales. For 2026, residential assessments used sales from September 2024 through August 2025. A home value from us uses the most recent sales and looks at your actual house.
Is it a bad time to sell?
Buyers have more to compare than a year ago, but they are still looking. In October 2026's Bright MLS Home Demand Index, Arlington buyer demand was rated High. Homes that are ready and priced right from the start still sell.
Can I sell my home as-is?
Yes. We show you what it could sell for prepared and what it might sell for as it is, and either way we list it, market it and handle the sale.
Keep exploring
Ready to make your move with The Mike Webb Team?