How Do I Keep My Home "Perfectly Clean" When For Sale? (negotiating, mortgages)
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.
You cleaned for 9 hours so it should be easy to pick up stuff as you go now. You need to stay on top of it while showings can be going on. Adulting can be hard
My realtor says that cats are not a worry but I am concerned about their presence. You won't smell them ever (thank God!), but they have a tall cat tree in the upstairs guest bedroom that's very hard to hide. There litter boxes will always be clean but I can't hide them b/c the cats will need them when I'm out of my home.
If you don't have kids then you can keep your home clean. We sold our home last year with two cats and two kids. Make sure you have no dirty dishes in sink, beds made, bathrooms clean, carpets vacuumed. Clothes put away. Cat liter cleaned and no cat hair on furniture. Make sure the cat food isn't all over the floor. I would put the cat tree away. Either in a basement or garage. Even in storage. They're just not appealing to buyers.
I had a request once to remove my cats for a showing and I told them no. They don't bother anyone and it was going to be too hard to take them out. My realtor said that the people who wanted to see my home asked if we had pets and wanted them removed for the showing. I told her they will be removed when the home closes. As long as you keep the liter clean, no one will care about the cats!
If you don't have kids then you can keep your home clean. We sold our home last year with two cats and two kids. Make sure you have no dirty dishes in sink, beds made, bathrooms clean, carpets vacuumed. Clothes put away. Cat liter cleaned and no cat hair on furniture. Make sure the cat food isn't all over the floor. I would put the cat tree away. Either in a basement or garage. Even in storage. They're just not appealing to buyers.
I had a request once to remove my cats for a showing and I told them no. They don't bother anyone and it was going to be too hard to take them out. My realtor said that the people who wanted to see my home asked if we had pets and wanted them removed for the showing. I told her they will be removed when the home closes. As long as you keep the liter clean, no one will care about the cats!
I once had a request to remove my daughter for a showing, then 18 mo old! It wasn't even a scheduled showing! Just dropped by without even calling, with a couple on their way to the airport and wanted to see the house on their way! Agent knocked first, breezed in like it was her house, and said well, I suppose this will do for now for the short notice, but is there any way you can get that kid (she actually said that kid) out for awhile? Her screaming is bound to be annoying to my clients. "That kid" had an ear infection, and it was pouring rain outside! No way would I take her out in that for their convenience! I totally lost it, I was exhausted from taking care of my little girl, and I had a boy, too. I ended up cursing her out of MY house. After all, isn't that why one has a house? As shelter from the cold, cruel world? Geez
You don't have to obsess over it. I didn't as a buyer or a seller. I'm not an idiot, I knew people were living in the houses I looked at and I expected my buyers to know we were living in ours.
I can't believe all the people on here saying "MOVE OUT" while the house is on the market. I don't know anybody that could afford to do that and have their lives upended by living in a hotel when they have to go to work or have kids in school.
When my house was for sale I kept it clean & picked up. I didn't have to worry much about clutter as I am not one for knick knacks everywhere.
On the other hand, I have to say it drove me crazy when I was house hunting and the sellers didn't even bother to make the bed, put laundry away or put dirty dishes away. And the realtors that posted pictures of this kind of mess always had me shaking my head.
Really?
I cannot imagine selling a house I am living in, and this is what I do for a living.
Note that I said, "If possible..."
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJaquish
If possible, financially and logistically, I always recommend buying or renting first, moving, then selling the existing house.
You have SO much more control over your destiny and you have a property to market wherein you don't have to "follow people with a paper towel."
The OP came back and says that it is not possible. That is unfortunate.
It is SO much less stressful, IF POSSIBLE, to carry two payments for a month or two than to entangle two transactions.
I didn't make this point up. I learned it myself, and from clients.
People love their pets.
A lot of buyers turn away at the odor, and it is astounding how sensitive some people are to smells that the owner is accustomed to.
Really?
I cannot imagine selling a house I am living in, and this is what I do for a living.
Note that I said, "If possible..."
The OP came back and says that it is not possible. That is unfortunate.
It is SO much less stressful, IF POSSIBLE, to carry two payments for a month or two than to entangle two transactions.
I didn't make this point up. I learned it myself, and from clients.
People love their pets.
A lot of buyers turn away at the odor, and it is astounding how sensitive some people are to smells that the owner is accustomed to.
I could not agree more. People love THEIR pets and THEIR kids. Others don't like the smell (or may be allergic like me) or the noise of a screaming baby. Honestly I didn't even want to listen to MY baby scream. Its not a pleasant noise. Yes, the poster who had the baby probably should have taken her for a little drive while the realtor showed her place. Again, its about making your house READY TO SELL.
OP, this is ultimately not about you and what is convenient for you. Its about getting your house sold. Sounds like you have some constraints-- everyone does. But it might help to start framing this in a different way-- what can I do to make my house sell as quickly as possible? And then take the advice you are given.
Really?
I cannot imagine selling a house I am living in, and this is what I do for a living.
Note that I said, "If possible..."
The OP came back and says that it is not possible. That is unfortunate.
It is SO much less stressful, IF POSSIBLE, to carry two payments for a month or two than to entangle two transactions.
I didn't make this point up. I learned it myself, and from clients.
People love their pets.
A lot of buyers turn away at the odor, and it is astounding how sensitive some people are to smells that the owner is accustomed to.
This is so true. I've entered homes where people have pets and the home smells like a wet dog. Gross!
It is surprising that people will get accustomed to the rancid smells in their homes and not blink twice when others seem to react with disgust..
I'm obsessive about keeping the litter boxes clean and changing the litter regularly b/c I hate the smell of excrement and urine that much. That being said, I am slightly nervous about the cats taking a poop in the box while I'm not here and a showing occurs. One of the two cats, in particular, does not bury her droppings inside of litter, but rather allows it to sit right on top of it. Argh!
I once had a request to remove my daughter for a showing, then 18 mo old! It wasn't even a scheduled showing! Just dropped by without even calling, with a couple on their way to the airport and wanted to see the house on their way! Agent knocked first, breezed in like it was her house, and said well, I suppose this will do for now for the short notice, but is there any way you can get that kid (she actually said that kid) out for awhile? Her screaming is bound to be annoying to my clients. "That kid" had an ear infection, and it was pouring rain outside! No way would I take her out in that for their convenience! I totally lost it, I was exhausted from taking care of my little girl, and I had a boy, too. I ended up cursing her out of MY house. After all, isn't that why one has a house? As shelter from the cold, cruel world? Geez
That's horrible, Marylee!!!! There is no justification for her asking you to remove your own child to have the home shown! She deserved the tongue lashing she got from you!!
If you can't move out entirely, do the next best thing.
You will have to move anyway, so get a storage unit, pack boxes, and take stuff over to the storage unit.
The advantage of this is that you get rid of a lot of stuff, you get a head-start on moving so it is much easier when you do move, and your house becomes free of clutter.
The emptier your home is, the better it looks, the bigger it looks.
The more stuff you take OUT of your house, the more appealing it becomes for people to move IN to your house.
Treat your house like a hotel, that is what you want it to look like when you walk in.
This is what I am planning to do even though our agent says "don't bother". My wife is a crafter/quilter and very,very well stocked with all the trappings making her craft area consisting of a whole bedroom,a closet and bonus room full of supplies,tables and crafting furniture. It's not cluttered but it's clear the areas are used to their full extent by someone who's into crafting/quilting.
Agent says "well you do live here" which is fine, but I agree with you, we're moving anyway so might as well get a jump on packing and make the place show the size it really is (not a small house by any means).
We're in a hot market, DOM is 4 to 35 days so how bad could a month or two storage really be, although I do hate moving things twice I think it's worth it.
I do have to say me and the wife come from two different worlds, all the stuff I'd ever need would fit in the trunk of a car and her it's a 20 ft trailer...
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.
