s/o selling a house-Tell me more about it (w/ a child)

Persa · January 2012

We're doing some major decluttering and doing some landscaping and hoping to get the house listed in early February....but everytime I think about it, I get panicky. The last time I sold a house, I was single, now I have a husband, toddler and grandma to deal with. The tips in mollie's post earlier were a helpful starting point.

How do you sell a house while still living in it? I'm thinking of all the more minute details-

Like, do you still cook regularly? We're messy cooks, so that's a lot of clean-up.

We don't have a playroom, her toys are in the living room, so what do I do with those?

Do I really take everything of the counters? Like all the fruit and veggies (tomatoes, potatoes) and the keurig and the knife block? WTF do I do with it, keep them in the cabinets?

What about the baby's naps, do you just tell people they can't come see the house when the baby is asleep? She only takes one nap a day now so it's easier than when she was on a two nap schedule

These are just a few examples. I think I'm just anxious because my husband and I already fight constantly about the upkeep of the house (it's just about the only thing we fight about) and I can see it becoming a hotbed of discontent in our relationship. We already had a huge fight last night when he suggested that we not get a realtor for buying a new house without having ANY clue about what that involves and not having researched it at all ( feel free to comment on that if you have any experience with it)

Also, while I'm obviously hoping we sell quickly but if we don't, I can see us getting "seller's fatigue" and slacking off on keeping the house clean.

intheatx · January 2012

We shared every. single. one. of your concerns. Plus two big barking inside dogs. So we wimped out and found a way to carry two mortgages. Hopefully we haven't screwed ourselves. Honestly, I'd sit down with a realtor you can trust to talk about what's really necessary, how other young families handle it, etc. They may have some creative advice you haven't considered, or insight on what'll be necessary compared to other homes in your area.

august8080 · January 2012

We had our house on the market for a YEAR with a baby (and two golden retrievers), so I feel like I'm an expert on this topic!

Re naps, I just told realtors (or perspective buyers, but I think all of them came w a realtor) something like this, "We would love to have you come see the house. I have a baby that sleeps during that time, so you could come at X time and he'll be awake and we'll leave the house or if you come during X time he'll be asleep and I'll just keep that door shut. As long as your clients don't mind not seeing that room, I am happy to have them come during nap time."

Re toys, we didn't have a playroom either. I went to World Market and got two attractive canvas lined black wicker baskets (large) and had one up and one downstairs-toys would go in there and then they were placed discreetly behind a piece of furniture or in our entertainment center so there were no toys out.

Yes, I cooked almost every night. People occasionally called during dinner and wanted to come in 10 minutes and I'd explain that we were happy to have them, but we were eating dinner and as long as they didn't mind that our kitchen wasn't clean, they could come. I learned to clean as I went. We cleaned up after dinner pretty immediately, but people rarely came after 6 unless it was scheduled in advance and if that was the case, we'd eat early, go out to eat, etc.

We took almost everything off of our counters at the advice of our realtor and stager. It's inconvenient for sure--toaster, knife block--things you use every day. We just kept them in the cabinets. It definitely makes things look better.

My routine was that as soon as we finished breakfast, I'd clean the kitchen and put the dogs outside for the day (they were previously allowed to come and go as they pleased). I'd vacuum the whole house every morning so that it was already done, just in case. I cleaned the kitchen pretty immediately after each meal, or DH would do it while I did bedtime. Bathrooms got cleaned every few days so that they were never very dirty. We squeegeed our shower after each use so the walls always looked nice.

Keep a laundry basket handy so that any disasters can be thrown in there and taken in your car at the last minute if you don't have time to clean up.

For showings, unless DS was asleep, we'd leave the house. I'd turn every single light on and take the dogs with me. I definitely had moments of throwing clothes or anything that was out in a cabinet, behind the couch or something else crazy.

Like I said, it changed my cleaning habits--I was constantly cleaning.

It IS very wearing and I certainly hope that your house sells quickly. What you have to remember about the changes and adaptations that you make while you're living in it (like putting the toaster in a cabinet) is that your house is no longer yours. It's a product you're trying to sell--the most expensive product you'll ever sell--so just look at the time and trouble you spend cleaning it for each showing as an investment that will pay off.

Good luck!

SaraLouiseBride08 · January 2012

I haven't done it yet, and get freaked out even thinking about the idea of it! I'm planning on getting a storage or a POD temporarily, so we can take everything out of the house as possible. That way we'll have more room to put stuff "away" that normally sits out.

Also, someone mentioned this the other day, but those leather ottomans/benches that have storage inside, we have one of those and it seems like a great place to throw toys when people are coming for a showing. You can get them cheap just about anywhere.

Persa · January 2012

August, thanks! That's awesome detail. I get cranky just thinking about it.

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