Proper steps to selling a house?

Find a good Realtor

Clean, declutter, fix what may need to be fixed ie general maintenance. Keep the yard mowed/flower beds kept up ... curb appeal is a good thing.

And yes, to find a good realtor.

What location?

Why not go ahead and sell now? It will take 60 days to close and you can find a cheap rental.

And sell it yourself. We'll all help.

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It will take 60 days to close

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I'm curious how on earth you got this number? If someone is bringing cash offer no contingencies they can close in a week. Most conv are closing under 30 days, even FHA's with repairs don't usually take 60.

To OP - declutter, depersonalize, make the house feel big but define every space. Make almost all cosmetic repairs but leave a few things for their inspector to find.

If you have a septic system, you'll need to have evidence it was serviced in the prior calendar year before a sale (in some jurisdictions). You could hire a home inspector now to look at your entire house and grounds and then you'd have the luxury of the interim to repair any items at relative leisure.

Kudos to you for looking this far down the road.

Remove as many taste-specific items or features to appeal to as large a market as possible. Stage the house when you list it.

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Make almost all cosmetic repairs but leave a few things for their inspector to find.

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We are listing our house today. Can you elaborate on the reasoning for this?

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I did without a realtor for my last sale. Didn't want the hassle of showings, ads, people cruising by and peering into the windows. Priced it right and put the word out in the hood...showed it to exactly two people and the second one bought it. I'm not anti-realtor, I just don't think they're always necessary. Depends on your area & demand in your neighborhood.

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+1 on this. I simply started telling my neighbors I was selling my house and had multiple interested people looking at it. Sold it to the brother of a neighbor 5 houses down. It's worth trying before you pay someone 6%.

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I'm in a similar boat right now. I've owned this home for 3 years, and I have an estimated $33,000 in equity right now. It needs a new roof, and I'm debating if I should spend about $6700 right now or not to do that. I'm really not sure if I'd get that back or not. We are starting to repaint some rooms to more neutral colors and I'm trying to keep the landscaping and lawn in good shape, and we are going to refinish the garage floor as well. After what I imagine is going to be $13,000ish in realtor fees and a new roof, I'm not sure how much will be left for me to contribute to a down payment on a new place.

I really wanted to stay here long term, but my wife's career is going to move us far away next year.

This process makes me sick to my stomach. I feel queasy just thinking about it, and I've lost some sleep over it.

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So don't replace the roof. Is it actively leaking? If so, patch those spots. But don't replace the whole thing if you're getting ready to sell...

And start doing the word of mouth thing: tell every person at your gym, church, office, etc. that your house is for sale. Tell the neighbors on all sides that you're selling, and you want to try it without a Realtor. If they help you, it's a chance to pick the new neighbors.

Make a simple flyer w/a few pics, basic stats, and asking price. Make a PDF of the flyer so you can email/text it to people who ask about it. Marketing an appropriately priced house in a decent area isn't exactly rocket science. Making sure you've priced it right is the only tricky part: do a Trulia/Zillow search and find out what sales in your area are doing.

Sounds like your sleep loss & queasiness are more about the larger relocation than about real estate sales.