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Pack up artwork that is expensive or anything that has sentimental value. Buy a cheap piece if artwork at hobby lobby or Burlington coat factory to fill the empty space. (Keep in mind, most homes sell quicker with minimal furnishings...so you dont need to make it completely decorated. Scarcely decorated is better.).
You dont want expensive things or sentimental items broken.
Yes, we've decided. No open house; appointments only; and no pets except service dogs. For first showings, no children under twelve, older children must stay with their parent(s) at all times, and my husband and I will be off the property. For second and/or third showings, all children allowed and must stay with their parent(s) at all times, and my husband or I will be discreetly on the property if young children come. Once closed, and before we move out, the new owners and their children (if any), may come over frequently to look, visit, measure, decide who gets what bedroom, etc.
If someone decides to file a discrimination complaint, so be it. Our new realtor, a sharp young man who's not in full tilt kid-centric mode, doesn't anticipate a problem, especially because keeping young children away from a property with spiky succulents, a steep cliff drop, a three-tiered fountain, and a neighboring dog who will bite hands poked through the fence, among other things, is tantamount to caring about children's safety. Our attorney seconded the realtor's opinion.
Because we sold both of our previous, fully furnished homes within ten days, are asking a fair price, and are in a desirable neighborhood in a hot market (Austin, Texas), we're not unduly worried about selling the house in good time. If half of potential buyers are scared off because they can't bring young children to the first showing, so be it. My husband and I both recently retired and intend to travel overseas for awhile before returning to the U.S. and purchasing a home in another state. So, no hurry ... it sells when it sells. We don't anticipate a problem in that regard.
Many thanks again for all the constructive comments and advice!
I certainly hope that you tell all prospective buyers that your home is an extraordinarily dangerous place for children to live before they even come over. I don't think any families with children would even want to look at such a place, with or without the kids. Tell them about the neighbors ferocious dog, the cliff, the pond, and I don't think you will have any problem with kids.
Vicky3, I live in a very hilly area of Austin, full of steep cliffs, canyons, sheer drops to the lake, huge fallen boulders, and winding trails. Many properties have large, territorial dogs, as well as pools and fountains. During the summer, rattlesnakes, giant centipedes, cicada killer wasps, and stinging insects abound, as do prickly and poisonous plants. This is a beautiful but tough land, yet it is evidently desirable, judging by the number of new residents who pour in every year. My property is not out of the ordinary, danger-wise, for this area. Local adults and older kids quickly learn how to look out for themselves. But small children can indeed get hurt if not constantly attended to.
I was an investment real estate broker from 1972 until I finally retired. So know a little about the problems you face. Here is what I would recommend to anyone with the problem you have.
1: Do not limit families from bringing children. A lot of the best buyers want to have their children see any home they are considering.
2: Place into secure storage valuable art, sculptures, guns, etc. to protect it. No stuffed deer heads, etc., and as I said especially guns, as it will turn a lot of people off of the home. Even pictures of people with guns and dead game is a real turn off to about half the people in the country. If it is outstanding art pieces, it distracts them looking at the art and not the home, and can scare some people from buying thinking the only reason the home looks so good, is you need the high priced art.
Thanks for your advice, oldtrader. We don't own guns, stuffed trophies, or pictures of such. We don't hunt, wear cowboy hats, or say "ain't" -- few people here do. I'm actually that species despised by some native Texans -- a Californian (though most folks here are VERY friendly).
As mentioned in my first post, the house is neat, clean, and uncluttered. Our furnishings aren't a distraction, many are already stored, and all rooms, walls, closets, etc. can be easily viewed. The house was built in 2014 and is in perfect condition. Also as stated above, children under twelve can come to all viewings after the first one.
Would someone please advise about the best solution for this potential problem in selling our home? Our house is very clean, neat, uncluttered, and easy to navigate. My husband and I would like to show our home with most of its furnishings, but we have a large art collection that we don't want kids to get to, including some very heavy, ornate statues, large urns, antique textiles, rare paintings, etc. During the sale of our last two houses, quite a few parents let their kids run through our homes unchecked, resulting in stained carpets and furniture, broken picture frames, uprooted plants, smashed vases, etc. Several children were scraped or gouged from trying to climb large statues, and one little boy had to be rescued from our lily pond by the realtor (the parents didn't notice).
My husband and I would like to avoid a similar experience when selling our present home. I've already packed any small objects that might be tempting for children to touch or pick up, but our home does show better with everything else in it; also, we need many of our furnishings to use while we're still living in the house. Our potential realtor is a very nice lady, but she has three small children and displays a "they're only kids, so put up with it" mindset.
Do any of you have advice about what we should tell our realtor, or how best to handle this situation? My husband adamantly doesn't want any children under the age of twelve anywhere on our property (yes, kids got to our patio and garden stuff, too) and is afraid we could be held liable for any injuries incurred. Is it even legal to ban young children from our property? Any constructive opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Just have your butler stand guard during the showings.
All three realtors advised us to show the house with its furnishings. Our last two houses sold within ten days, at the prices we asked, in part precisely because of the art and antiques.
People had kids back when you sold those other two houses. You said you had art and antiques then. So why exactly is it a problem now?
The kid (actually, non-attentive parent) problems happened with the first two houses, dspguy, so that's why we don't want to repeat that experience a third time.
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