survival tips

For one reason or another it’s time to pack up the family and move. That means selling your home with kids around. It doesn’t have to be the nightmare that it sounds. Here are some survival tips for parents.

Clear out the clutter

Before you put the house on the market go through and seriously clear out the clutter. That means all those boxes of keepsakes stored in the attic or garage as well as the clutter in the kids rooms and rest of your home. If you can’t part with some, put them in storage temporarily. Whatever can go should go and if that means multiple trips to Goodwill, good! Then put away in storage the bigger toys from the yard, bedrooms and toy room, artwork on the fridge and most of the things that personalize your home. You can leave a few family pictures up, but thin them out.

Time to stage and photograph

Once things are clean and decluttered call your realtor to have him or her stage and photograph. If that means that you take the kids to the park or out for a treat, do it. Let the realtor have free rein to make your home look like a showplace for your listing photos. Don’t forget that you need to stage the playroom as something else. You can have a small area that is “kid friendly” that buyers will see, but make sure that kids bedrooms and playrooms are made more neutral. The playroom can be staged as a home office, kid decorated bedrooms should be repainted.

Have a checklist

Now that your home is listed, there are more things to do. One is having your Realtor give you enough notice to tidy up the house and get the kids packed up and out of the way for the showing. That may mean requiring an hour or two notice. Discuss it with your Realtor. In order to make sure you get everything back in tip top shape, have a checklist. List everything! In a rush you don’t want to forget anything.

Write a note detailing your home and neighborhood

So how can you let the prospective buyers know how awesome your home and neighborhood is? Write about it. A quick, one page note will be enough to expound upon the details in your listing. Talk about the neighborhood, schools, shopping and so on.

Last tip?

Keep your truck empty so you can “dump and run” with clutter that you can’t successfully put away.

House hunting is exciting, exhausting and stressful… and that’s only for the adults. Throw in a few small children and it can be almost too much. So how do you manage to hunt for your next home with the kids? Here are some survival tips for all the parents out there.

Use a sitter or Grandma

Survival Tips For House Hunting With Kids First, if you can leave the kids at home with a sitter or drop them at grandma’s house, do it. Think about it, your six year old heads in one direction, the four year old in the other, all while the two year old goes directly for the most dangerous thing in each room.

And you’re going to be able to concentrate on the home you are touring? Hardly! So if you can, leave them home. If you want them to see where they might be living, then do a second look through of your narrowed down choices.

If you have to bring the kids, be prepared!

Pack snacks, drinks and their favorite toy. If you have an iPad or tablet with some games, bring that. Then keep the house hunting moving. If you walk into a home that just doesn’t appeal to you from the git-go, tell the Realtor immediately so you can move on.

The other consideration is safety. You never know what may be behind a door, handrail-less stairs or sunken tubs or rooms that kids could hurt themselves with or in. Set basic rules with the kids that they keep their hands to themselves, don’t open doors, hold parental hands and that misbehavior will NOT be tolerated should be reviewed before each house showing.

Also, follow in your own car so you don’t have to move car seats or worry about kids spilling the aforesaid drinks or snacks in the Realtor’s vehicle. The upside? You can discuss the properties without the listening ear of the Realtor!

Older kids can also be helpful in the house hunting

Have them do some of the footwork about the area on the internet, and when at homes have them take pictures or keep a checklist. Younger kids can feel included if you let them have input about what they want in their new house. Their own bedroom? A playroom? Big backyard? BUT, don’t let them think they have the last word. As parents and the people paying for the home, you are in charge. They may want that huge house you saw with the inground pool, but you know it’s out of your budget. Be the parent!