Imagine a youngish mom of three kids – a newborn, a toddler and a preschooler, cleaning and packing and moving across states. At first it might sound like no big deal. But when you think about it, just keeping a house clean on a regular basis with little kids at home can feel downright impossible. Add in selling a house to the mess and it would be safe to say, mom was a little stressed.
If this is you, take heart – there are things you can do to make this stage of life easier.
10 Tips For Selling A Home When You Have Small Children
Here we go with the list!
Clear away the clutter
The biggest and best thing you can do when you are getting ready to sell your house is to CLEAN UP.
Get a great photographer
Beautiful, inviting pictures can make or break the sale of your house. Be sure to get an amazing photographer who can show off all the best things about your house an downplay the worst.
Create a gender neutral space
This is especially important for kids rooms. Make sure you gender-neutralize kids rooms. You want your potential buyers to be able to quickly imagine themselves moving in to the house.
Reduce furniture to make rooms seem larger
Large furniture can definitely make a room look small. Downsize your furniture, or simply remove some pieces to make the whole place seem larger.
Reduce closet clutter
Don’t be tempted to shove everything in the closet. This might trick short term guests, but it’s a no-no when selling your house. Potential buyer be looking into every nook and cranny.
Clean clean clean
After you’ve gotten rid of the clutter, clean everything. Everything you’ve only cleaned once the whole time you’ve lived there. Clean everything! It’s easy to overlook little things that get dirty when you live with it every day. But new buys will scrutinize every little thing. Don’t let a little dirt stand in the way of you and selling your house.
Don’t get your feelings hurt
You will probably get feedback from buyers and their realtors after they tour your house. Just remember every potential buyer is looking for “the one” and they are going to be picky. Listen to their feedback with open ears – it might help you prepare for future tours.
Ask a lot of questions
Selling a house can be confusing! Your realtor is there to help you. Don’t be afraid to ask the “stupid questions.” It just might save you a ton of money.
Get it in writing
Contracts are there to protect you and also the buyer. Make sure you read (and understand!) everything you sign. Again, ask questions when you’re not sure.
Don’t Look Back
Final tip – once your house is sold, don’t look back. Leave the past where it belongs and look ahead to your new future home.
What’s your biggest tip when it comes to selling your house? Leave a comment below so we can all make the best move possible.
Thank you for going over some advice for selling a home. I’m glad that you mentioned you should try to have less furniture int he space so that the rooms seem much larger. It seems important to only have what is necessary in the rooms, especially if having a large space would be an important feature for a potential buyer.
Thanks for bringing to my attention that cleaning out your closet and decluttering can be really helpful when selling your house. My husband and I are going to be relocating, so we’re trying to get our house ready to be put up on the market. Some of our closets have a lot of junk in them, so maybe getting rid of some of that clutter would be a good first step for us.
I like how you suggested to gender-neutralize your homes. We are putting our house up for sale this week. Thank you for the tips for selling a home when you have little ones.
My mom has been trying to figure out how to sell her home without a realtor. She needs as many tips as possible to make this possible and happen. I will let her know that she should be sure not to look back thus making the process easier.
I like that you provided some tips for selling a home such as making sure to declutter and keep the house well-maintained. Put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer and ask yourself what you want to see in a house. You certainly would like to come home to a house that is tidy with all things properly arranged. This would surely attract potential buyers when you organize an open house or conduct a staging of your home. If I were to sell my own home, I would make sure to keep this in mind. Thanks.
My brother is thinking about selling his home and needs some tips and insights. I will let him know what you said about not getting your feelings hurt over certain aspects of the process. People who are buying and selling may not meet all the requirements he needs.
I thought that it was really helpful to mention getting rid of furniture to make the room seem larger. That is a great way to help sell a house when putting it online and people only have pictures to see it. Thank you for the awesome information about selling a home that I can take to my husband and we can put it to use.
My husband and I have three small children, and we are looking to sell our current home in order to buy a larger one. We want to make sure we are doing everything possible to help make our home sell quickly. I hadn’t thought about downsizing or removing furniture to make the rooms seem larger, but that is a great idea.
I like how you suggested reducing your furniture to make your rooms appear larger. It makes sense how downsizing your furniture could make your home appear to be more spacious. My sister was recently offered a job that will require her family to move to a new town. It could be beneficial for her to limit her furniture as she presents her home for sale.
You wrote that when you are looking to sell your home, reduce clutter and items as this will make your home seem larger in general. I’d always wondered how someone would best sell their home, as homes are such a big thing in our lives. I’d also think to hire a real estate agent would help, as they have contacts to get your plenty of potential customers looking at the home.
Really best tip to get a great photographer. Because good photographs are therefore required for marketing your home for sale to create the best possible first impression.
As a mom, it has definitely been a challenge to plan a move while also having little kids at home. I’m glad I came across this article because I sometimes forget that when I get a realtor I’ll be able to ask as many questions as I want. While this task may seem difficult, after reading this I feel like it will be possible! Thank you for the tips.
I didn’t realize how important it is to get rid of closet clutter to help potential buyers see the full extent of the home. My sister is moving to a new state soon. Hopefully, she can use these tips to get top dollar for her current home.
I like your tip to find a photographer that really knows how to make your home look its best. Since most buyers find homes using the internet, these photos will be the first things people see. If the photos are bad to begin with, nobody will even make it to your home.
Thanks for the tips for selling a home! My wife and I are going through the process of selling a home, and we want to make the ordeal as easy as possible for our family. I like that you mentioned to make your kids’ rooms gender neutral so potential buyers can imagine their own family in the room. We will give that a try and see if it helps.
Good luck!!
I always find the best method is to create the illusion of space. E.g. a strategically placed mirror can make a room look bigger.
Great idea!
I like how you mentioned reducing the amount of furniture to make your home feel more open when selling. My husband and I are going to be moving this summer for a job opportunity he received. We’d like to sell it as quickly as possible, so we want to make it as appealing to potential buyers as we can. Maybe we could move some of our furniture to a storage unit so we can make the space inside feel bigger and more open.
I had never thought of making the rooms gender-neutral. I can see why this would help the potential buyer envision their child, boy or girl, sleeping there. My sister is wanting to move into a bigger house. I’ll have to suggest this to her for when she puts her house up for sale.
These are great tips to get started. You definitely want to ensure that your home shows well both inside and out to potential buyers. If you aren’t sure of what needs to be done on your own home, I would recommend asking your realtor for tips. Thanks for sharing!
Great advice!