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5 Tips for selling your home easily (despite the messy kids!)

So your family is expanding (congratulations!) and you need to upsize from your current home. Moving house is an exciting time, but it can also be a complicated and stressful process. Adding this on top of your already-busy family life can create frustration for parents so I want to help make the process as easy as possible with these handy house-selling tips...

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So your family is expanding (congratulations!) and you need to upsize from your current home. Moving house is an exciting time, but it can also be a complicated and stressful process. Adding this on top of your already-busy family life can create frustration for parents so I want to help make the process as easy as possible.

When it comes to selling you have a few options, you can either go on the open market, go to auction or if you want to avoid the hassle all together you can look at a property buying company to sell your home fast. If you decide to go through the more traditional methods of sale then putting your home on the market may look like an uphill struggle; but I’m hoping that these useful tips will help you to sell your home despite having a house full of messy little treasures..! 

DECLUTTER

You’ve taken the first few steps in the selling process, contacted an agent, had the property valued and your home will soon be listed on the open market. You’ll be expecting viewings to start soon so let’s get cracking on the decluttering!

It’s fair to say over time, many of us manage to accumulate all sorts of things that end up just sitting in our homes. When you have children, it seems that you end up with even more stuff. It’s lovely that your youngsters receive so many toys, books and treats, but staying on top of tidying away those toys and other objects is a full-time job in itself! So, even though it’s daunting, the first thing your will need to do is declutter your home. 

I’m not just talking about the kids rooms – you’ll have to declutter the adult spaces too, but for the purpose of today’s blog post, let’s start by clearing away the toys! Kid’s items seem to just pile in the corner of most rooms, so clear the living room, kitchen and hallway first. If your children are above toddler age, you could try get them involved by creating a tidying up game. Try to rehome your little one’s toys back to the original place before starting the clearing-out process. 

Try to create three piles. Pile one for the objects to be kept and stored, pile two of broken items to throw away or recycle and pile three to donate to charity. Creating piles will not only help with tidying your home to get it ready to sell, it will also help make the packing process easier when it comes to moving out of your current home. 

Buyers will want to try picture their belongings within your home, so getting most of your personal items out of sight is key. Remember, potential buyers will want to look in all areas of your home so, if you have any built-in cupboards (under the stairs or in alcoves, for example) make sure these are tidied out. It’s easy over time to just throw items in but buyers may have plans to use that space if they were to buy the property so they might take a peek. 

CLEAN AND CLEAN AGAIN

Even if you’ve only been living in your home for a short period of time, your home will need a deep clean. Your home will have seen many accidental spills and stains created by your kids so nowhere should be left untouched! Start above and work your way down.

Check the walls for your little one’s arty drawings, wash away the hand prints on the windows, scrub the cabinets and remove splatters from the floor (caused by me, when I spill my tea!) Try to maintain a clean home for every viewing. First impressions always count, so keeping your home clean means that buyers will perceive it to be a well-maintained, much-loved home.

TOUCH UPS

One of the easiest and cheapest ways to give your home added value is to buy a few tins of paint. Over time, your home may have seen many sticky finger prints on walls or your kiddies’ drawings on the woodwork. Adding a fresh coat of paint to walls will give your home a fresh look. If you don’t have time to repaint walls, why not just re-gloss areas of your home? Most homes have their fair share of scratches and chipped paint so updating these areas are crucial to selling. Painting internal areas such as doors, skirting boards and banisters can give your home a brand-new look. 

STAGE YOUR HOME

You’ve cleaned, you’ve de-cluttered, your home is as perfect as possible. What next? Now this is the hardest part: trying to keep your home this clean for viewings! There are two occasions when your home NEEDS to be super-tidy. Firstly, when the photos are taking to go with the listing of your home. Normally, it takes a few hours to have a photographer come in and take photos of your home. So, if you can, ask a family friend or a family member if they can occupy your kids by taking them out for the morning/afternoon while the photos are taken.

The other occasion when your home needs to be clean is for viewings. You don’t have to make your home picture perfect at this point, however it does need to be presentable. It is harder to get your home and children prepared for this, as viewings can be arranged at a drop of a hat. Stay on top of clutter and keep your home neat with an end-of-the-day tidy up before bedtime. This can’t be a one-person job; it must be a family effort to keep your home clean. 

PLAN VIEWINGS AROUND THE KIDS

You need to create a game plan to make viewings go as successfully as possible. See if you can enlist the help of family members to take the children out when viewings are planned. Also, try and work out some specific times when your children are out of the house so you can prepare in advance. For example, if your youngsters get picked up from school and go to Grandma’s until 6:30 on a Wednesday this could be an ideal opportunity to allow viewers into your home.

If you struggle get your home clean and prepared for every viewing why not make a ‘buyers’ book’? The book can showcase your home looking at it’s best and include before and after pictures of areas in the home that you have decorated or renovated. Potential buyers will appreciate the efforts you have put into the property, plus it won’t matter so much if your home isn’t spotless when they’re viewing!

I hope these ideas will help you to prepare your home and sell your property fast! Let me know your tips for keeping on top of clutter while juggling family life in the comments below – I’d love to hear your advice or any tricks you used to sell your home.

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Cassie is a freelance writer with a Masters degree in Lifestyle Promotion Studies and is trained in Personal Money Management. She loves to ‘get the look for less’ so regularly shares thrifty-living advice, DIY interior design ideas and low-cost recipes on her blog.

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