When you have children, it can be a hassle to sell your home. Showing the home means you need to have it clean and ready for potential buyers. However, children can be messy and make it hard to keep your home show-worthy.
Families with young children can still keep their home ready for showings when it's on the market. Here are a few tips to help you keep your Nashville home show-ready, even with children.
Create a Play Area
If you don't already have a specific area for play in your home, create a designated area. This will help to keep the toys and mess to just one area of the home making it easier to clean. This area can be a small space, as long as it works for play.
When it's time for a showing, you can stage this area of the home as a play area with the toys neatly organized. Not only will this work well to keep your home free of clutter, but it will also show potential buyers how the space can be used.
Remove Personal Decor
You want to show off the pictures of your children and your family, but potential buyers want to imagine themselves in the home. While your home is on the market, don't show off the personal decor. Instead, take it down, pack it up and have it ready to be placed in your new home.
You will want to purge any excess toys or anything your children don't play with. Eliminating things will make moving easier and will help make it easier to stage your home. In addition, it can help to make your home feel larger as there will be less clutter.
It's also time to take down the artwork your children have created for you, along with the magnets holding it onto the fridge. Anything that's personal to you and your family should be removed from the home during showings. Remember, this is just temporary and it can all go back up in your new home.
Clean Before Leaving for the Showing
Cleaning is vital to showing a home. A dirty home doesn't show as well as a clean home. Before you leave for the showing appointment, make sure the home is clean.
In addition, you want to keep your home clean while you are waiting for it to sell. Even if you don't have a showing scheduled, keeping your home clean will make it easier to get ready for a showing. Make sure you dust, vacuum, while down surfaces and make your home smell clean.
Leave During Showings
Since you have children, it's best to have your real estate agent handle the showing. You should simply leave and let the agent take care of business so that your children don't become a distraction. Of course, if you want to be at the showing, you can always send the children to a friend's house or have your spouse take them out while you're there with the agent.
There are several things you can do to make it easier to show your home when you have children. Use these tips and speak to your real estate agent about how to make sure you're ready for the showing appointments.
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