Selling my house. Should I stay local or leave while it’s on the market?
Hey everyone, I’m selling my house in Denver and trying to decide whether to stay local (in-town/in-state) or leave while it’s on the market.
Quick background:
- No emotional attachment to the place, so part of me wants to get away.
- Low on cash, no family/friends nearby to hold keys or check the house.
- Realtor prefers I be flexible for showings; I’m OK with flexibility but need boundaries.
- I’ve told the agent my baseline: 24-hour notice, ideal showing window 10AM –4 PM, and I’ll consider pre-scheduled exceptions. But she has told me it’s a tough market so most people like to come by after work sometimes at 7pm.
- I’m open to working from a coworking space and using the house mainly to sleep if I stay local.
- Concerned about security, unexpected repairs, and the mental burden of being the on-call person while I’m away.
- Denver market feels slow, but May/early summer seems like the best time to list.
Questions for people who’ve been through this:
If you sold a house with no local backup and low funds, did you stay nearby or leave? Why?
What problems came up when you were away, and how were they handled (realtor, handyman, home-watch, remote cameras, etc.)?
Is 24-hour notice + 10–4 preference reasonable, or will that seriously hurt showings/offers?
Any low-cost services or tactics that made being away workable (cheap home-watch, lockbox setup, authorized spend limits, etc.)?
For Denver sellers specifically: did being local help you get a better sale or faster offers in a slow market?
Thanks 🙏 looking for practical experiences, stories, and any trade-offs you’d recommend.