My husband and I are selling our house, because we need something larger after the addition of twin babies to our household. I just got a call from the showing appointment company saying that someone wanted to view my house. I picked up all of the baby stuff in my living room (gates, toys, blankets, etc.) and hauled them out to the garage, got 11 month old babies in their carseats, left the house during their nap time, only to have the company call back and cancel the appointment! What do you do when you are selling your house and you have babies to care for and clean up after??? I am out of breath from trying to get out of the house in time for the showing. I don't think I can do that every time someone wants to see it, especially if they are going to cancel. Any advice about taking appointments to show your home when you have babies/children? Oh and here's the link to the listing if anyone is interested: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/267-Rose-Court_Benson_NC_27504_M62018-12253?source=a20964
That's the only advice I have if you want a quicker sale, as that's what I did with a 3, 5, and 15 YO. I don't know that I would go to the extra effort of moving everything to the garage, I'd probably make a pile on the couch and let the realtor explain the circumstances.
It happens. I've been on both sides of it. Sold my house in TN when DS was an infant, it sucks. But you have to keep it tidy (not sterile, just not gross), no need to put all your baby stuff in the garage. Most people won't think twice, after all, you LIVE there. Sorry about the cancelation, but at least they canceled, which is infinitely better to me than just not showing up. BTW, as an ex-real estate agent, just make sure you do leave. Nothing much worse than trying to show a house while the owner is there. AWKWARD! Your house will sell faster if you are flexible on your showing times. If people can't get in when they want to, most of the time, they won't come back to it.
While we're on the topic of selling homes, I am getting ready to prep mine to do that. I've been the only one there, but I'm debating about repainting the interior, to just get a fresher look. It was freshly painted when I moved in 5 years ago. Do you think you get better resale and maybe have more interest if there is a fresh coat of paint on the walls?
In my opinion, a house with fresh paint shows much better and "cleaner" than one that isn't. So after 5 years if you are showing some wear, I would, esp if you have had small kids.
Years ago we sold our house and to make the quick clean up easier, I bought serveral of the really big brightly colored plastic tubs from Lowes. We set them in several areas of the house, like the kitchen, living room and each bedroom and when in a hurry just picked up all the toys and put them in the buckets. In the bathroom we had a small bucket for the bath toys and put the toys in the bucket after baths were done at night. At least they weren't all over the place. Worked for us-we sold the house in the first month.
I sold my house with twin 1 year olds and a 3 year old. Every nite before bed I did the big sweep and tried to put all back. Buy some large ottomans/pretty storage boxes for quick pile ins. I kept a box in the car with all necessities (pacifiers!, a little cash and food/movies) for a quick exit. I tried to put away any equipment that we absolutely did not need. And I stuffed lots under the couches for quick getaway! It is hard to sell with kids and especially crawlers/walkers who don't know how to clean up yet. And those real estate schedulers were notorious for getting appts. wrong. Once people showed up when I was in the shower! But we sold our house in 4 weeks for full asking price so it was all worth it. Good luck!
Gee, what am I??? Chopped liver??? :jester: Damn, only 12 years of exp, LOL. :lol::lol::lol: I'm just not active NOW.
I definitely don't want to turn down a showing. And now that I've had a chance to breathe, I am thinking I will just minimize the amount of toys that stay in the living room. I just really need to find that happy medium of the house showing well without me having to go through so much to make it look perfect. It was actually pretty funny because I was running around like a mad woman, one of the babies had a messy diaper, and they were both crying because it was nap time. You can imagine the insanity! Thanks for the feedback. I think I just needed to vent.
Sorry I have been out at appointments I second the large baskets/ottomans etc. to throw items in when in a hurry. Being flexible is very important but if you need an extra 10-15 mins for sanity sake we as Realtors can typically accomodate, just ask the CSS rep if they will ask the agent for a few more mintues. I ususally run down the street to another listing since I schedule in 1 hr intervals. Also feel free to stuff things in closets, alot of time we dont look in all the closets in an initial showing. I am sorry they canceled but it was good of them to call, unfortunately not all are as considerate Regarding the paint, a fresh coat of paint always helps but do not paint the walls white. Go with a light tan/neutral. White is uninviting and does not photograph well and dont forget to touch up trim work. Let me know if I can help with anything else!
Thanks! These are my first children so I hadn't even thought about having a bag ready for them in the car. Obviously, I have their diaper bag, but I should probably have more than just that. Did you just drive around or have somewhere to go until the showing was over?
I am definitely doing the storage box idea, and we have fresh paint on our walls in a neutral tan color. I added the link to the listing on my original post, if you have any buyers interested in it. It is priced competitively and it has several perks that other houses this size don't offer like a large laundry room with utility sink, a full walk-in pantry, and an oversized two-car garage. I sure hope we can sell it in this market! We need a bonus room terribly!
While I did not have an infant I took my teenager over to neighbor's yards and decks to hang out while our house was showing as it gets expensive to leave as much as ours was showing. Sherry
That was a PITA when we were selling ours. It was just the 2 of us and 2 pets, Shelby could go with us but Mattiecat couldn't, so I taped signs on the FD & BD that she was in the house and she was deaf and NOT to leave a door open/closed etc... leave it the way it was when I left. I hated that crap.
Thanks for the advice gals! I'll just go ahead and spring for a new paint job. I know the new paint appealed to me when I bought it.
At one point I just couldn't leave for a showing. I felt horrible about it, but it just wasn't possible. THEY are the ones that bought our house! LOL The first time we listed the house, I was VERY pregnant and had just had a new addition of a three year old. It was more than my preggo nerves could handle. We took it off the market and waiting until the new baby was bigger and actually NEEDED more room. It was worth it in the long run.
There are times you just can't leave with little ones, and that it's okay not to, I think. When we sold our first house, I had a 5 year old, a 19 month old and a newborn. And it was the middle of the winter. Whenever Central Showing called, I just advised them I wouldn't be packing up my little ones and leaving but the agent could feel free to come by and I'd keep the kids quiet and all of us out of their way while the prospective buyers where there. I think people understand when there are small chidren involved. It was a little awkward, but we sold ours within a couple of months, regardless. I think it matters more that your house looks decent, is cleaned up nice and doesn't smell like last nites supper. I always had a yummy smelling candle burning when they came in and some classical music on playing softly in the background. Just made it peaceful to induce good "buy me" vibes
To move here, I had to sell our house (DH had already moved per his new job) while finishing the school year and caring for 3 kiddos aged 5, 3, and 2 as well as the 3 dogs (two were Rotties). Every night was cleaning time. If they showed during the day, they couldn't go on the back deck (which was a huge selling point with the mountain view) due to the dogs...I can't tell you how many times I loaded 3 kids and 3 dogs into the van and drove to the end of the street so the house could be shown! We packed away most of the toys except for a few favorites to limit the amount of cleanup necessary.
