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Sell Your Home While Still Living In It…With Kids

Posted by Blog Admin on Wednesday, July 12th, 2017 at 11:25am.

Are you thinking of selling your home but worry that your kids could ruin the process before it even starts?  It’s summer, so the kids are home more often, and they like to leave their mark. Cheerios under the couch, giant toy boxes in the living room, and messy kids’ bedrooms can indeed be turn-offs to buyers, so here are a few tips to help parents sell quickly without all the stress:

Invite Kids to Help De-Clutter

Cleaning up and packing the clutter is the first step in any plan to sell a home, but with kids involved, it gets a little tricky.  A great way to avoid the tantrums caused by packing their favorite stuffed friends is to let them choose what stays and what gets packed and put into storage.  Explain that their things are not disappearing forever, but will come back out to play when you unpack in the new house. Providing a “Donate” Box is also a great idea; kids like the idea that their old toys will be played with again by others, not simply thrown in the trash and forgotten.

Allow Children to Pack Their Own Belongings & Decorate the Boxes

Kids, especially those 10 and under, just want the process to be fun.  Let them pack their own toys when it’s time to move and let them get creative when it comes to marking the boxes.  Decorating the boxes with markers, stickers, and even colored duct tape serves two purposes: It lets kids participate in a fun way, and it certainly lets everyone know whose boxes are theirs on moving day!

Give Rewards for Keeping It Clean

Once you’ve de-cluttered and scrubbed your home clean, it can be difficult to keep things spic and span while living in it with youngsters.  Even teenagers respond to rewards, if they’re the right kind.  Offer a special shopping trip, prize, or trip to the movies for keeping rooms in order while your home is on the market.

Get OUT for Showings

Even if you don’t have kids, it’s important to leave while your home is being shown.  You will only be a distraction to potential homebuyers, and your kids could be an outright disturbance.  Plan some easy field trips – to the park, to the local ice cream parlor, or even to the dollar store – to keep kids busy and out of the way when it matters.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

While you can try your very best to keep things tidy and encourage kids to do the same, life is sometimes messy.  Keep the beds made, the shelves dusted, and the carpet vacuumed, and don’t fret over the little things that look out of place.  Home shoppers will understand that the home is lived in and loved, not just a showroom.

Peggy Slappey Properties, Inc. is a Metro Atlanta real estate brokerage with 35 years of experience in real estate sales and marketing.  From new home construction to resales, we can help you find the home of your dreams.  To see our current listings, visit www.psponline.com and call us for expert advice at 770-271-5555.  Keep up to date with the latest PSP events and offers by checking in on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/peggyslappeyproperties and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/psponline.

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