We are getting ready to put our house on the market. The realtor has said that leaving some of her stuff out is reasonable. How much is that? She is only 7months old and uses the swing, exersaucer, highchair, toys, ect. What do we need to part with in order to sell the house quickly?
Dear M.:
You don't have to part, just toss it in a big box and put it into the garage. A box (or a few stacked boxes) looks good, spread out clutter does not. Plus, you can easily get the main toys back after visists.
It should look clean and nice to anyone, including people without kids. They need to feel home, if they want to buy. Leave as little as necessary in plain view.
Regards,
W.
Lets start with the easy part first:
Pick a few favorite toys, and get a nice basket for them. You can put the basket in a closet when folks are looking at the house. The rest, put in clear bins in the garage so that you can get to them if needed.
If you use the swing/exersaucer every day, then leave them out, but make sure they are clean. If you can put them in different rooms, then do so. You can take them to the garage or put in her closet when you are showing, right?
The highchair stays in the kitchen. If someone can't see around that... they weren't buying to begin with.
GOOD LUCK!
Same problem here. I have a 2 year old am due to have another in a month. We plan on listing the house a couple weeks after that. Crazy, yes I know!!! Anyway, our realtor said "Baskets, basket's, baskets!" Put away anything you don't use much and put the rest in cute little baskets. She also pointed out NOT to shove everything into closets or the attic because potential buyers will need to see spacious storage. Honestly, it is all about the trade off of what you can live without. No toys is best - and go from there. I know I am going to have to have things out that aren't ideal, I can only hope and pray buyers can see past it. Best of luck to you. This is a rough market! I just look at it like I am getting a great deal on our next home even though we'll barely make anything off this one.
Get it as organized and minimal as you can.
My husband and I are house shopping right now. It is easier for me to visualize a house as ours even with someone else's things still in it. He can't do that. He has said no to every house that has people's things in it because he can't look past it. We have a 3 year old daughter, and we have looked at several homes with adorable little girl rooms and the first thing he says when he sees the room is that we have to paint it. I think for him he wants the house to feel like his own and not that someone else has lived there. I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but I have to be honest as a home buyer.
Good luck selling your home.
M. you are selling your home get rid of the stuff you do not need any more. When you move you will paid to have all the toys moved. Take them to a resale or ebay them or do a garage sale. That way you will get rid of stuff and earn money to move or decorate your new home.
My mother-in-law gave me some great advice in this area. Pack away most of the toys....say three-quarters. Once a week.... say a Monday morning ritual... you can rotate toys. There will of course be a few that stay out all the time, but at least this will limit the amount of toys, yet you will still use them all. I'm sure that people that are house shopping don't mind Toys being out as long as they're organized and not piled up.
Here is my suggestion...rent a small storage unit. Get rid of big bulky items...pair down on toys, clutter, etc. Dump the high chair and buy a chair that straps to your kitchen table chair. It is SUCH a challenge to have a house on the market with a baby. I know that we did it for about 5 months before I told my husband that enough was enough. You really have to get the BABY feeling out of the house. For some reason people just don't have the vision to get past it!
