Advice on selling a house with kids (2014, agent, sale)
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We're going up for sale within the week (haven't got an agent yet) but I'm using this week to 'prep' the house for sale. Advice? We are not first-time sellers, but the last time we just had one immobile small baby who caused no fuss. Now, we've got 2 kids under 4 and it is just a nightmare to keep clean on a daily basis Have you seen any major faux-pas? Any people without kids with advice too? Because sometimes childless folks zero-in on things that I wouldn't normally notice.
My first tongue-in-cheek thought when I read your title "Selling a house with kids" was "Oh, do the kids convey?"
But on a more serious note.. I'm child free, bought my last house within the past 2 years, and have bought/sold several times in the past.
The things that really jump out at me and make me cringe a bit and can sometimes be obstacles for me to overcome in terms of falling in love with a house are:
* stuff like giant cartoon character/kid decor friendly decals and murals on the walls (usually a bedroom or play room). I see that sort of thing and just start thinking about how long it would take me to paint over and make the room look suitable for an adult guest bedroom or something. Some buyers might be turned off by even plain, solid colored paint jobs in very vivid, kid-friendly colors (i.e., bright pink.)
* stickers stuck to the kids' bedroom doors and the wood trim around the door. I can't tell you how many times I've seen this. I bought a house with a sticker-covered bedroom door once and it was an absolute nightmare to clean up.
* I realize this probably sounds obvious, but houses with young kids often have a bunch of stuff like photographs and kids' artwork stuck to the fridge with magnets. Be sure to take a look at the fridge and see if it could use some decluttering.
* look at your walls, floors, carpets with a very critical eye and deal with any scuffs, dings, paint scrapes, etc. You might be used to seeing them, but they could give a potential buyer the wrong impression that your house is not well maintained.
The kids probably won't like it, but it would make your life easier if you could pack up a large amount of their toys and put them in storage, keeping out only a few. It'll help reduce clutter and will make it a lot easier to do a quick pick-up when you get that "I'd like to show your house and I'll be there in 20 minutes" phone call. I've seen a lot of kids' rooms and playrooms that are stuffed with toys and it makes the rooms look so much smaller.
When I was house hunting last time, I ran across a few listings that specified showings needed to be between specific hours and/or only on specific days of the week. I assumed these were homes with small children and this was to make things easier for the sellers/parents. The timeframes were usually something like between 10 am and 4 pm, or no showing before 11 am. I'd ask your realtor for their thoughts on if it would be a gamble to do this in your local market (the market here was a seller's market), but it might be worth considering to have the peace of mind of knowing you wouldn't have any showings when you were less prepared.
If you can afford it, I'd also look into having a weekly or bi-weekly housecleaner come to help with the more deep-cleaning.
I can point you to some helpful blogs and articles about ways to keep the house clean (even when you have kids) in as little time as possible, if that would be helpful.
Just clean, clean, clean. You will be just fine! This is where decluttering and organizing your house are key. If everything has a place, it is a quick easy clean, wipe off counters and sweep floors.
When selling I put on the showing statement nothing after 7:30 because my kids went to bed. You'll get through it. Good luck!
The biggest faux paus I see as an agent is smells. Kids wet their beds, and sometimes their pants. Some people are clearly oblivious to the pee smell. Diaper genies need to be empty and any wet sheets have to go into the wash right away. Even a small accident smells up an entire room. Teen rooms that smell like sweat socks are just nasty too.
Another is failing to remove toys. Your kids will have to deal with their toys being in bins. You need to pack some up and rotate them if needed but the nightmare closet of clothes and toys isn't okay. Rubbermaid bins are your friend when you have small kids and trying to sell your home.
Agree on the decal thing. Remove those sticks, decals, all of that stuff. They make products that remove stickers. Get some and remove them if you have them.
Hot bright colors make buyers think about how many coats of paint they will need to get that coated properly. High hiding primer is your friend as well.
Stair banisters, corners, trim, doors, door knobs, etc all take a beating with kids. Make yours look good.
I am also child free, but when I was looking, I was looking at urban condos where being child free was the norm. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where your buyers will also have kids. In that case, what I am about to say may not fully apply. Other families with young kids are probably going to be more understanding.
Clutter is a turn off. Get rid of the toys.
Surfaces! Once I looked at a place with a sticky kitchen counter and little handprints all over the appliances. It was gross. Don't neglect your surfaces.
Large baby and kid items (strollers, cribs, etc) are also a turn off.
Paint if you can-- a bright pink child's room is difficult to imagine as my home office.
Hire a housecleaning service. Seriously, its worth every penny.
Ask someone without kids to come in and make suggestions about what to put away.
When you get an agent, sign with someone experienced with staging houses with kids. I am sure they will have helpful tips.
I disagree that making the house less accessible for viewing is really going to help. It only inconveniences your buyer. If you want to sell it, you should have it available as much as possible.
My only thought--how can you get a house ready in a week? I've spent a month and months getting houses ready to sell. You must be a clean, clutter-free god or goddess.
I sold with a small tornado of mess running around. You do the best you can. There were definitely days where I got a call for a showing that day and no one was going to be home before to clean. We always tried to pick up the best we could each night, but if it takes a few months to sell there are going to be days where it just isn't as clean as you want.
The current house we bought was certainly not spotless in the toy department. But we weren't buying their mess so it really didn't bother me.
I also was going to mention odors. Make that your priority. Sour milk smell in the dishwasher, dirty laundry, etc. Those are some of the things we've encountered in our past searches.
NO, on second thought, getting an great agent should be your first priority. You will figure out a clean routine as you go.
Listing a house can take time. In our area, there are two photographers most of the agents like to use for online photos, and they are SO booked up that we had to wait 6 DAYS to list. We lost a good weekend just waiting on something we didn't anticipate.
But seriously, if you choose an inexperienced agent, you won't even get to the showing stage.
We just sold our Florida home in 60 days with kids ages 1 and 3. And I was away on business all that time Monday through Friday the entire time. Got 96% of original list price.
My wife handled the home.
It's tough gotta admit it. Not easy keeping home "show ready". Honestly we had renters lined up and were about to pull the house from the market by thanksgiving and just rent it out in January 2014.
Toys everywhere. We already had cleaning people come 2 times a month before we put it up for sale. So we upped the cleaning people up to once a week. I know some people can't afford cleaners once a week. But u gotta be aggressive if you want to sell it. Kudos to my wife for keeping the house up to par while I worked out of state and just flew home on the weekends.
Our house with the toys appealed to a similar couple with 2 young kids also and they made us a very good offer to close within 30 days. They said one of main selling points was the kids retreat area play area and the bonus room we also used as a large play room!
We just sold our Florida home in 60 days with kids ages 1 and 3. And I was away on business all that time Monday through Friday the entire time. Got 96% of original list price.
My wife handled the home.
It's tough gotta admit it. Not easy keeping home "show ready". Honestly we had renters lined up and were about to pull the house from the market by thanksgiving and just rent it out in January 2014.
Toys everywhere. We already had cleaning people come 2 times a month before we put it up for sale. So we upped the cleaning people up to once a week. I know some people can't afford cleaners once a week. But u gotta be aggressive if you want to sell it. Kudos to my wife for keeping the house up to par while I worked out of state and just flew home on the weekends.
Our house with the toys appealed to a similar couple with 2 young kids also and they made us a very good offer to close within 30 days. They said one of main selling points was the kids retreat area play area and the bonus room we also used as a large play room!
It just takes the right buyer.
I hope you treat your wife to an amazing getaway after that experience. She deserves a medal.
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Have you seen any major faux-pas? Any people without kids with advice too? Because sometimes childless folks zero-in on things that I wouldn't normally notice.
She deserves a medal.
