Selling your home with kids
So you’re ready to sell your home! Your house is spruced up to show well! It practically sparkles as you keep it looking it’s best for potential showings, just like your agent suggested, right? Well, aside from the Matchbox cars, and baby stuff, and Barbies that seem to multiply each day . . .
Sell your home without selling your kids (or their toys).
You don’t have to sell the kids first, but let’s contain the chaos. Photo snagged from real life in my real house.
How do you make your house look amazing without resorting to shipping the kids (and all their stuff) off for a few weeks?
RELAX and read on for a few ideas.
People don’t expect perfection
If you are selling a 3bd or 4bd home suitable to a family, they know that kids have toys and life is not perfect all the time. They do want to picture their things in your home, and you do want to sell your home, so it’s worth figuring out what works!
Focus on the big things
Kitchens, baths, and major areas should be tidied.
Wipe the counters free of crumbs, keep the sink free of dishes, but don’t forget the kids’ spaces, too.
Keep the kid chaos minimized
Make it easy for the kids to help and save you some sanity. Consider investing in a small wheeled shelving unit for each kids’ room, something easy to stash items away before they leave for school, and could fit in their closet. Nobody expects perfection, but they want to envision life as it could be.
Safety first
Don’t worry about the features that keep your home safe. Baby gates? People with babies have them. There is no need to make your home unsafe just because it’s on the market. Do, however, leave the gate open when you leave each day or before a showing so a prospective buyer can get down the stairs!
Set limits and expectations
If your kids go to bed at 7:30, and you are desperate to not break that routine, don’t break it. You can set an outer limit on your showing times so agents will not bring buyers by at bedtime. You may miss out on potential showings, but you need to decide if the disruption is worth it!
People do have kids AND sell their homes. I know because I’m one of them. I’m confident you can sell your home, too. The key is to set your expectations on how long this will take. Consider pricing your home to help make this as quick a process as possible!
Want more tips on decluttering before you list? We’ve got expert advice from NeatMethod on our blog How to Declutter Before a Move.
Tiny fingerprints mysteriously appearing on your beautiful stainless steel appliances? Check out our post Keeping Stainless Steel Stainless
