Toddlers: 24 Months+
House on the market with a toddler & newborn
So we have awful timing of making the big move to put our home on the market as I have a 2 year old with a million toys and am due in 4 weeks with a new baby but we wanted to wait until the spring momentum for the market was here to put our place up for sale. I'm just in a panic that I have to keep the place absolutley spotless every single time I leave the house.
My question is do you think people will be ever-so-forgiving if they see we obviously have a newborn in the house with the condition of the place? Also would you be more attracted to a place that had no sign of kids toys?
Any tips or suggestions to make the place more attractive to a buyer would be appreciated!
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Re: House on the market with a toddler & newborn
My house is for sale too. Although I don't have a newborn, I am a SAHM which means constant mess. We are lucky enough to have a play room for our daughter so, when we have a showing, ALL toys go into her playroom. Even if you don't have a playroom, try to limit toys to their bedroom and only one other room of the house.
If you need to, consider renting a storage unit. We don't have a basement so we rented a unit to declutter. It looks so much nicer now!
Honestly, I think it would be best to have it completely spotless. In a buyers market, you want it to be the most attractive. We have ours on the market right now & when I have a showing, the only sign of having a child, is her room. Absolutely everything is put away, even in her room the bookshelf is neat, all the toys are in the toybox & closed, everything to her kitchen is inside it, etc. When DS gets here & we have the newborn things (swing, bouncer, etc) all that will be put neatly into his room.
We have gotten EXCELLENT feedback from other agents on how clean our house is, it's hard work, but it's worth it. Also, it's definitely not spotless everyday or when I leave the house. I require a day notice for showings, there just isn't any other way with a toddler. I did have one call on a Sat at 10:30 & wanted to come at 2:30, I told them 4 at the earliest, but I had DH home to help get the house ready. Every other showing has been 1-2 day notice.
Some other tips...make it looked as not lived in as possible. Walls bare, knick knacks packed away, all extras GONE. Everything off refrigerator, all countertop appliances put away for the showing. I have a few pics of what our house looks like for a showing, if you'd like to see them. It looks very unlived in, which is what you want. You want the buyers to see themselves in your house, not you.
Our house is currently under contract. Honestly, we moved out before we put it on the market because I could not deal with keeping it spotless.
I totally agree with Amy. You need to make it look as unlived in as possible without it looking like it's unlived in...if that makes any sense! Hailey's room was her room and there were no toys. The toys were isolated to a place in the basement and we only left out a handful of things so that it wasn't cluttered. The walls had some pictures on them, but nothing personal. Everything was/is very generic.