Selling your home is one of the biggest undertakings you’re likely to go through in your life, and between dealing with realtors, the market, potential buyers – and everything in between – it’s likely to come with a certain amount of stress.
Selling your home while your children are still living with you can compound that stress, adding another level of anxiety around the whole process.
Luckily, we’ve come up with the absolute best way to sell your home when living with children.
Declutter As Much as Possible
The first step we recommend is to organize (or simply get rid of) all the clutter your children have left around the home over the weeks/months/years.
When living with kids, often their toys and games stray from their designated bedrooms and end up having a permanent residence in common areas like living rooms and family rooms. Now’s the perfect time to organize and put those toys back.
This tip especially holds true for newly renovated areas of your home that you’d like to highlight to potential buyers – if you’ve just remodeled your kitchen and upgraded to the latest and greatest appliances and countertops, then your child’s plastic play kitchen kitchen sets needs to find a new home.
The decluttering phase of preparing to sell your home is also an ideal time to throw away or donate any old, unused toys that you (and your kids!) have forgotten about.
Clean, Clean, and Clean Some More
Although this tip also applies to sellers who aren’t living with children, it’s even more important for sellers who are. Yes, cleaning is a vital aspect of preparing your home for a sale. But as every parent knows: it’s a job that never is fully completed.
Well, now’s the time to finally deep clean every part of your home that you put off just because “it’s just going to get dirty again.”
We recommend deep cleaning your floors and carpets, as these parts of a home are known for undergoing extreme wear and tear thanks to children. Have a laser-eye focus on crayon marks, mud stains, and especially handprints on windows and doors.
Don’t forget to paint over any kid-themed walls in the house as well. Prospective buyers don’t want to imagine how their family will look in your home, they want a blank slate to imagine how their family will look in their home.
Keep the Excitement Up and Involve Them (If They Want!)
Be prepared for the fact that despite your best intentions, your children may simply just not want to move – and this could cause a good amount of anxiety for your kids. That’s why it’s extra-important to keep your excitement level up and give them as much responsibility as they want to undertake.
Assign them specific tasks (“You’re going to be the captain of finding all the crayon marks on the walls!”) which will make them feel like they are part of the whole adventure. Of course, be prepared for a scenario where they don’t want to do certain tasks – and that’s okay too.
No matter what the reasons are for selling your house, always make sure that you are keeping your children in the loop and always share the plan for your future home with enthusiasm that will keep their anxiety levels low and their interest levels high.
Plan Fun Activities For Your Kids When Needed
When it comes to staging your home and eventually showing it to prospective buyers, make sure your children are out of the house and occupied – preferably by arranging them to participate in some of their favorite activities.
Generally having a game plan for your kids when these important dates arrive will go a long way in ensuring that you have less stress and your kids are out of the way while still having fun – exactly what kids should be doing.
This article is intended to be accurate, but the information is not guaranteed. Please reach out to us directly if you have any specific real estate or mortgage questions or would like help from a local professional. The article was written by Sparkling Marketing, Inc. with information from resources like Realtor.com, Homelight, Redfin.
