Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Definitely confine the dog to crate or best, take her with you or take a walk with her. This is a bigger negative than anything else you have mentioned. I'm sure you will clean up the yard every day after her, so no one might have to watch for doggie land mines!
A very small dog, or cat, in a crate isn't too big a deal but a dog as large as yours will garner way too much attention away from your home. And, like one poster said some people are deathly afraid of large dogs and might not even want to come in if they see it. What breed is this dog?
Best wishes on the sale of your home. Sounds like you are planning well for the most part.
Thanks alot gang..keep em coming...maybe with a few more positive posts on what WORKED for people in getting homes sold and getting buyers homes they wanted...we can get rid of the "Delusional Seller and Delusional Buyer" posts.
I would love to have had every one of you for sellers. Having been in a myriad of houses lately, I find, and in this market to boot, sellers pretty much don't give a rip. The beds are unmade, toilets remain unflushed, dishes remain undone and the house smells like the Russian Army just went through. These are expensive homes I might add...so, congratulations for all of you who care about getting your home sold....it is a joint effort....you keep the product in sellable condition and your realtor promises to leave no marketing stone unturned.
As a seller for way to long I have found that just putting things away immediately after use has saved a bunch of time, a habit that will hopefully follow us to the next home. If a call comes I need 10 mins to put the house show ready, mostly to run the vacumn and straighten the pillows. I keep a basket with cleaning necessities on ready and can make a quick run room to room and then deposit the basket in the closet. For the dog odors, sprinkle baking soda in the carpets and let set for 5-10 min and then vacumn up, no odor no fussy smells. Bunches of luck selling....
1. We didn't have any set showing times. I feel the easier it is to see, the easier it will be to sell.
2. Cook easy meals that are quick to clean up. One of our favorites was noodles (with sauce for adults, without for kids!) and ready made meatballs that just take a minute to heat in the microwave. One pot and plates - can be cleaned up in 5 minutes. And my kids considered it a treat to eat noodles so much!
Dirty laundry was kept in just one basket and was thrown into the car for showings and every time I would leave the home. I would start a load before bed. Put it in the dryer at 7am folded and put away by 8am.
3 & 4. The dogs ALWAYS left with me (90lbs & 70lbs). To be honest, some people just don't understand animals - I wasn't worried about the dogs interacting with the buyers as much as the buyers interacting with the dogs. But our dogs are treated like our kids... Our buyers commented at the closing that they didn't even realize we had dogs. But I do think it can be turnoff to some buyers, so why take the chance?
The other thing we have done with our past two home sales is to set the date to go on the MLS to be Wednesday (plenty of time for realtors to get it out to customers for the weekend) and schedule an open house for Sunday, then we plan a family "vacation" and leave Wednesday morning. We are lucky to have a camper, so we usually pick a place that is within easy commuting distance from the home. I go to the house in the morning and turn on lights and pretty up, then head back to the camper. Same at night - go turn off the lights and make sure everything is locked up. We stay out of the house totally for the first week on the market. And our realtor can put it on the MLS of "call and show" for at least the first week.
It is stressful enough on the kids to move, but to have a Mom and Dad stressed out about keeping everything clean and tidy.... Just leaving for the week keeps everyone happier. We also price VERY competitively so the traffic is usually very high that first week, but we don't worry about it since we are out of there.
If it hasn't sold by that first week, at least the traffic has slowed a bit and is more manageable. But if your goal is to sell, price it to sell within the first month - that will keep your stress the lowest! Price is everything in this market - don't test the water. If you are too low, you will probably get multiple offers, but I would rather deal with that than a stale listing because I "tested" the market.
2. Cook easy meals that are quick to clean up. One of our favorites was noodles (with sauce for adults, without for kids!) and ready made meatballs that just take a minute to heat in the microwave. One pot and plates - can be cleaned up in 5 minutes. And my kids considered it a treat to eat noodles so much!
If it hasn't sold by that first week, at least the traffic has slowed a bit and is more manageable. But if your goal is to sell, price it to sell within the first month - that will keep your stress the lowest! Price is everything in this market - don't test the water. If you are too low, you will probably get multiple offers, but I would rather deal with that than a stale listing because I "tested" the market.
What did your husband eat while you were making noodles & sauce for the kids?
We were on for 10 months, a lot of the stuff you wrote would never happen in most markets.
Just curious - if you have a real estate agent why don't you ask for his/her advice? We can give you suggestions based on what works in our area but your agent will know the little tricks that might work in your locale.
Just curious - if you have a real estate agent why don't you ask for his/her advice? We can give you suggestions based on what works in our area but your agent will know the little tricks that might work in your locale.
My agent is WONDERFUL and has given me the usuals, my question was simply not from making the house "show better" standpoint...but more of a "how did you keep your life and sanity" running smoothly standpoint..specifically if you had kids. I.E. how did you navigate homework times, how did you get the housework done, so you werent running around 20 minutes before a showing, did you crate the dog, or put them on the run, did you adjust your cooking (and not do a stir fry chinese...yumm).
I was looking for positive tried and true suggestions on how to open our home for showings, while still maintaining a manageable routine with the kids.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But our dogs are treated like our kids... Our buyers commented at the closing that they didn't even realize we had dogs. But I do think it can be turnoff to some buyers, so why take the chance?
Just leaving for the week keeps everyone happier. We also price VERY competitively so the traffic is usually very high that first week, but we don't worry about it since we are out of there. 
