Tips on selling your home when you have kids

OK, if there is one area I can claim expertise on, it is kids. I have a few…  Six with us right now, and by the time you read this we could be on the way to the hospital to welcome Baby PIO, who will be added to the growing flock. Yes, we are Catholic.

Recently a couple of my past clients had children. This is often an event that will trigger people to sell their home and look to move. Three bedroom houses are great when you have one kid, sometimes even when you have two, but when kid number four rolls around, you have usually outgrown the house.

So now you want to sell your house. There are things you can do to help you sell a house, but what about when you have kids? It is not always as easy.

Selling your home when you have kids

When it is just you and your spouse, or maybe you have one kid, allowing a one hour notice to show your house often will work. When you start adding in a few kids, maybe nap times and a dog, one hour becomes a really short window. Getting the kids ready, getting the house clean, and getting everyone out the door can take longer when you have kids. That is why it is alright to ask for a longer notice. Two or even three hours notice is not being unreasonable.

Here we are almost a month after Christmas. Hopefully you have taken down both the interior decorations and the exterior illumination by now. One thing that may have happened though. Those twelve new new toys that Jr received from Santa, Grandam and Uncle Bob. And when there are three Juniors, that can be a lot of new clutter added to your house. Plan ahead and use the following spaces. It is very common to see a garage, attic or closet full of kids toys and “stuff.”  Use those spaces ahead of time to store some of the clutter. It is much better to have a kids bedroom closet full of stuffed animals than it is to see them all over the kitchen, and dining room, and living room, and bathroom, and any other room you may have. The attic and garage are better options for storing than a bedroom closet, but if needed get it anywhere that is not in obvious plain sight.

Storage bins can be your best friend. Now is a great time to get them too. Those red and green storage bins at Walmart or Home Depot  that were out for Christmas are now likely on sale. Storage bins are great because, if you need to pick up quickly, you can just scoop the kids toys into those bins, put the lids on, and everything is easily out of sight. Not only does it make cleanup easy, but as soon as the showing is over the kids love dumping the whole container back on the floor and making a bigger mess than before. Just watch out for the Lego land mines that are left on the floor. You know, the ones you step on in the dark at 2 am when Jr is crying. You would think I have been through this before.

Oh the places you will go. No, we are not talking about the Dr Seuss classic here, although I bet someone could write a book on the creative places they go during showings. You need to get out of the house for an hour so where do you go? Some of the favorites for my clients are the library. A library is great because the kids can wreak total havoc and someone else gets to pick up. There is always the option of  taking the kids for a walk to the local park, you know, so you can get your extra 3,500 steps in for the day and pass your cousin who totally kicked your butt yesterday. Or the more practical option of going to the grocery store. It has to be done sometime.

There you have it. Creative tips on selling your home when you have kids. We hope these help.

So what are some creative places you have taken kids to when you had get out of the house?

Below the infographic here are a list of current active 5+ bedroom houses for your growing family.