We finally have our house up for sale and in the *listings*. Having never sold a home before, everything is a new experience for both of us. The cleaning, the maintenance, the staging—it's all a lot of work plus keeping a business running on top of all that.
One of the first things I read while preparing to sell our home, is to de-clutter it. Needless to say, we had a lot of clutter, mostly in the form of toys on L's part. Oh man, does he have a lot of toy robots! We also removed extraneous furnishings, all family photos and anything that could be conceivably offensive or questionable to a potential home buyer—including but not limited to diplomas, books, nick-knacks and more. It all went into storage or to the donation bin.
We moved all our furniture to best maximize the space in the house. It doesn't feel very comfortable anymore but it does feel large in our modest house. I also painted our bedroom, bathroom and will likely paint my office.
Another thing I read is that if you have pets, to remove or at the very least contain them while showing the house. We had a test run of that yesterday with our first showing. I left our oldest cat, Moses, in the house as he just hangs out on the bed. I bundled the three little ones into one cat carrier and drove around the neighborhood with them, blasting the A/C in my truck. This did not go so well. Their nerves, coupled with the heat had them panting in quick order. Our littlest—Jupiter—looked like he was starting to show signs of heat stroke so I drove them over to their vet. He did much better when we weren't moving around, but they will now be bundled into their carrier and left in my office. It will just be a lot less stressful for all of them.
Our realtors, and a few others that we've talked to assure us our house is poised to sell well. It's at a price point that is currently selling, it's clean, it's move-in ready and we're offering a home warranty with the sale. So, here's hoping for a quick sale.
One of the first things I read while preparing to sell our home, is to de-clutter it. Needless to say, we had a lot of clutter, mostly in the form of toys on L's part. Oh man, does he have a lot of toy robots! We also removed extraneous furnishings, all family photos and anything that could be conceivably offensive or questionable to a potential home buyer—including but not limited to diplomas, books, nick-knacks and more. It all went into storage or to the donation bin.
We moved all our furniture to best maximize the space in the house. It doesn't feel very comfortable anymore but it does feel large in our modest house. I also painted our bedroom, bathroom and will likely paint my office.
Another thing I read is that if you have pets, to remove or at the very least contain them while showing the house. We had a test run of that yesterday with our first showing. I left our oldest cat, Moses, in the house as he just hangs out on the bed. I bundled the three little ones into one cat carrier and drove around the neighborhood with them, blasting the A/C in my truck. This did not go so well. Their nerves, coupled with the heat had them panting in quick order. Our littlest—Jupiter—looked like he was starting to show signs of heat stroke so I drove them over to their vet. He did much better when we weren't moving around, but they will now be bundled into their carrier and left in my office. It will just be a lot less stressful for all of them.
Our realtors, and a few others that we've talked to assure us our house is poised to sell well. It's at a price point that is currently selling, it's clean, it's move-in ready and we're offering a home warranty with the sale. So, here's hoping for a quick sale.
