Selling your house is stressful no matter what – but when you have children, it’s even more challenging to get everything ready for potential buyers. Every parent with young kids knows that keeping the house clean is a constant struggle. But when prospective buyers come by for an open house, they expect things to be neat and tidy.
If you’re a parent, and you’ve recently listed your home for sale, take a deep breath – you can stage your home beautifully without radically changing your kids’ daily routines. Here are a few tips and tricks to help busy parents prepare their homes for buyers.
Basic Staging Strategies
As you decide how you want to stage your home, do some research on your local real estate market to evaluate buyer expectations. Look at other home listings with comparable prices (note that homes in the Waterford area have a median sale price of $170,000), and view photos online to get an accurate picture. You could even check out a few open houses to get interior design ideas.
If you need to make some alterations to your decor or furniture placement, keep your children’s needs in mind. Avoid any arrangements that might make it hard for a toddler to move around safely.
Fresh Paint Job
An important part of staging your home for buyers is depersonalizing each room. They want to be able to picture themselves living there, so your own family photos and sentimental knick-knacks need to go into storage.
This means it might be time to repaint your kids’ rooms and take down any posters. If your child is feeling emotional about moving, this may result in some tears. Scholastic recommends asking your child about how they would like to decorate their bedroom in your new home to give them something to be excited about.
Organize Toys
You don’t have to toss out your children’s toys in order to maintain a clean house for viewings, but you do have to help your kids get organized. Spend some time sitting down with your kids and let them decide which toys they want to keep and which ones they don’t play with anymore.
Fatherly suggests showing your kids exactly where they should put their toys away when they aren’t using them to avoid any confusion. Get some basic storage containers (you can find them at Lowe’s for under $25) to store their toys when buyers come around. Bulkier items may need to be temporarily put in a storage unit or kept at a relative’s house.
Declutter and Deep Clean
Next, it’s time to take care of all the clutter that kids have a habit of leaving around the house. Everything from snack wrappers to broken Crayons has to go in the trash. After that, it’s finally time to deep clean.
If you want to handle the deep cleaning process yourself, grab your supplies, roll up your sleeves, and get ready to spend the day making every surface in your house sparkle. To save yourself some time, you may want to consider hiring a professional maid service to deep clean your house.
Wipe Down Surfaces
Finally, it’s time to master the art of the five-minute cleanup. If you know you have a buyer coming over soon, drop everything and grab the disinfecting wipes and glass cleaner. Wipe down all of your kitchen appliances, countertops, and sinks. Pay close attention to doorknobs, mirrors, and windows as well – you never know where your kids could leave sticky fingerprints! Give your house a spritz with room spray for a nice finishing touch.
As a parent, you’ve already got a lot on your plate. Selling your house just adds more responsibilities to your packed to-do list. By following these basic guidelines and making a conscious effort to tidy up your home before every open house, you’ll find the right buyer in no time.