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Tips on having house on market with kids
I have worked my butt off for the last 6 to 7 weeks getting our house "show ready". Filling out all the paperwork today and it should be on the market on Saturday. Taking final pictures tonight.
But, as soon as I clean and perfect a room, two little tornadoes come by and destroy it. I'm functioning on about 4-hours a sleep a night. Not a lot of patience. Any tips for having your home on the market with children in the house? I'm buying more decorative baskets to throw toys in and in a hurry. And we've cut their toy stash in half. But they LOVE all the Star Wars figures and cars which make a huge mess. I'm anticipating this being horrible.
TIA!
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Re: Tips on having house on market with kids
It is exhausting!!! Go ahead and clean out your closets and pack up as much stuff as you can. Buy some of those huge rubbermaid tubs and fill them up and stack them neatly in the garage or somewhere out of the way. You're going to have to pack anyway- might as well do some of it now. This frees up the closet space for you to cram in the bigger items quickly. Honestly, I think it would be easier dealing with toddler toys than all the baby stuff. It's really hard finding a place to hide a walker, exersaucer, swing, bouncy chair, and play mat! Most of Gavin's toys have been moved to his room and all the ones left downstairs are hidden in an armoire or one of those leather ottoman chests. And truthfully, we have really realized how little plays with his toys. We will be doing a huge purge soon.
Oh another good tip is to buy one of those rubbermade carts w/ drawers and stick that in a closet/pantry to hold diapers/wipes/other baby items that you need everyday but don't want to leave lying around. I have also taken to hiding stuff on the counters inside the cabinets. Our cabinets were full so I had to purge some stuff that never gets used and packed away other stuff. We pick everything up at night so we don't have to worry about it in the morning when we are already rushing to get out the door. Oh and we also just try to stay out of the house as much as possible- lol! On the weekends, we go to our parents or something just to keep it clean. It sucks and I can't wait for it to be over- either to move or just take it off the market!
You do the best you can! We bought a big toy chest so that things could get slung in there quickly, close the lid, and the mess is contained inside. I also had to take the mind set that hopefully people understand that keeping toys totally organized is hard with small kids. You can also put in a request with your realtor that people should call you when they're 30 minutes out so that you have some extra time pick-up.
I know they don't advise this, but we have them call before they come. We don't have a lock box on the door. This way we can clean up quickly before anyone comes by.
Of course we live way OTP and don't have many lookers which is very depressing.
pic by http://www.southernportraitanddesign.com/
Okay...sounds like we are on the right track then.
We have a storage unit and cleaned out the basement and garage with stuff. Put several toys and ride on things in there.
I have lots of baskets around the house to throw stuff in and just bought more for the things they take out and play with every day. I want to put them in nicer looking things.
It is just hard with two kids and running a business from home. I mean, I have 6 huge tubs of just blankets. I need a room just for my props....some are now in storage.
I'm going to ask for appointment only. That is a good idea.
What do you do with the stroller? We have our double in the living room because we go on walks pretty often...garage? It is just so big and not easy to put in the car.
Yes, our stroller is in the garage. In fact, our garage could probably use some work- it's not very clean/organized. But then again, when I'm looking at houses, I'm not really paying too much attention to the garage. It's more like... 2 car garage? Check. Now show me the kitchen!
We also do by appointment only. I don't think that is uncommon at all. Actually, we haven't had a problem with surprise visits. We've had pretty good notice for all of them and they usually give us like a 2 hour window for when they will arrive. So I just pack up the kiddos and go somewhere.
We did appointment only and kept the lock box inside our house. That way if we went out, and the house was clean, I could pop the lock box on the front porch and if someone called I could say "go ahead and take a look". But if the house was a mess when I left, I wouldn't have any realtors going in without calling first. (I know I said appointment only, but the first time we had the house on the market I came home to find sneaker imprints all over the carpets, even though I didn't have an appointment and I had a sign asking them to remove shoes AND shoe covers at the front door.)
We also pick up every night but some mornings when the breakfast dishes piled up and pajamas were thrown on the floor and beds were unmade so we could run to an early playdate (that was when we lived an hour from everything), it didn't look show ready. On those days we didn't take appointments.
All that said, the day we found our renter, was during snowmaggeddon. My house was a wreck when I got the call asking if they could come in one hour. I said no way and they pleaded with me. I barely got the vacuum run over the rugs and stuff stashed away. Everything was basically upside down. They did not care about that stuff. They were looking at room sizes, layout, yard, etc. An hour later they asked if they could move in within the next two weeks.
Do the best you can. You have kids. You cannot live in a staged house. People have to understand that.
I think you got some great advice but I also say that I think most serious buyers are pretty realistic with the fact someone is actually LIVING in the house and doesn't expect it to looks like a magazine spread.
I would make sure your house is super clean, like baseboards, touch up scuff marks on walls, no dust bunnies, clean ceiling fans etc. Make sure your closets are decluttered. The only new piece of advice I've heard of recently was to quickly toss some everyday things around the house like shoes, coats, etc.into a garbage bag and throw it in the trunk of your car just to have it out of the house during a showing. Pretty good idea I think.
Other than that, you've already done so much by getting a storage unit and cleaing stuff out. Try to relax and not stress out. The person that buys your house isn't going to let where your stroller is parked keep them from it, know what I mean?
Good luck! I hope it sells quickly for you.
I have my clients with kids do a few things:
1) We put in FMLS that it is appointment only and they have to give at least 24 hours notice. This is really common and should not detract people from seeing your home.
2) Pack up as much of your stuff as possible and put it into storage. I encourage all my clients to do this. You want your house as uncluttered and Pottery Barn-esque as possible. Think minimalist in every room. Obviously you can't get rid of all the toys/kid stuff, but you can cut it in half.
3) Get a few big Rubbermaid bins, one for each room that the kids play in (so, like one in the family room, basement, one in each bedroom). Keep all their toys in there, and take the time to throw everything back in the bins at the end of the day, and store the bins in a convenient closet. For spillover toys that need to be out all the time, get a bunch of cute decorative baskets that you can actually leave out and have them still look nice.
4) Hire a maid. It is worth it to have a professional come in and get the floors/windows/bathroom sparkling every week or two.
5) Make the beds well. This sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how often it isn't done. Don't just pull the covers up over the pillows. Take the time to make the beds properly, it immediately makes a bedroom look pulled together.
6) Don't forget about the yard! Have a bin for all your outdoor toys as well and make sure things aren't strewn about when you have a showing. If you have a decrepit old swing set that no one uses, take it down.
While buyers know logically that someone lives there, in their hearts they want to walk into some version of Pottery Barn. Do your best to give them that reality. It is worth it, my well-staged homes always sell faster and for more money than the ones who for whatever reason are not able to stage. Good luck!