Buy my house (kids not included) (maybe)

Susan, you have no idea how weird it was to see another site with pics of my living room on it! But you flatter me so and maybe one of your readers is looking for a nice house south of San Francisco? Eh?

I think the only way we are doing it is a) we have one child who is only 2 and b) he is in daycare during the day so really only needs his toys in the morning and at night. But see that nice piece of furniture with the fake grass and stars on it? It is filled to the brim with toys and books that we take out in the morning and shove away before we leave for work/daycare.

I tell you, this thong is so uncomfortable and digging in places I don't even want to know I own! I want my granny panties back!

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I sold my house last April, and even in this terrible market we were able to sell it in 11 days.

Rule number one: price it right.
Rule number two: lose all personal effects (take down ALL your family photos)
Rule number three: De-clutter (is that a word?) We put half our belongings in storage. Our livingroom was how do you say it in the real estate market...cozy? Just plain small if you ask me. Our furniture overburdened the area. We downsized to one chair and a love seat. It opened things up considerably. It was uncomfortable but I truly believe it sold the house.

Rule number four: colors. Add color to your front stoop with potted plants (these are the same plants you can take with you when you leave) Buy one bouquet of flowers every week (cost about $8) and spread it throughout the bathrooms, dining area and master bedroom. Since you have removed nearly everything from your nightstands, counter tops etc, it will really stand out and brighten the place up.

These are the tips and tricks we used to sell quickly. We were motivated and priced our house accordingly. I wasn't going to sit on the market three, six or nine months longer just to hope to squeeze an extra ten grand from a buyer.

Oh, and I have twins, at the time of the sale they were 18 months old. I packed the majority of their toys and books away, keeping just one toybox full of toys. I could run around the house in less than 15 minutes and "hide" things in the toybox and all the extra space I had prepared in my drawers. The most helpful thing was cleaning out half my appliances (like rice steamers, skillets, kitchen aid mixer etc. All the bulky stuff I could make due without for a couple months)

Good luck!

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I sold my house 6 months ago. I had two children under 3 when I listed it, so I put a "24 hours notice" on all showings. Usually it wasn't a problem, but occasionally someone would call and want to show it right away. If I thought I could get it straightened enough and out of the house in time, I'd say yes. Otherwise, I told them no - they almost always understood. No matter how good of a housekeeper you are, with two little ones, there's absolutely no way you can keep the house "showing ready" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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For me, the only way I could have done it and kept my sanity was move out for 2 weeks. Luckily, my parents live nearby in a large house, so it wasn't a problem for us. I am not a neat person, and we had a small child at the time who still napped, so there was no way I could have dealt with those calls like: "We're coming to look at your house today at 1:00 . . ." If you have any options to go somewhere else, or even a hotel for a few nights, I'd do that.

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I'm doing it right now -- my kids are two years apart, the oldest being 3 and a half. And man, am I tired. I just keep trying to stay on top of it...constantly tidying, picking up and wiping down. I gotta admit, it's getting old, and my house has only been up for about two and a half weeks.

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We put most of our "junk" into storage prior to the first viewing. Its amazing how few of those toys they actually *need* to get by.

We also had a notice requirement so that we could prepare for visits. Prior to any visit, all of the extra kid stuff was packed away and only the essentials were left tidy and visible. Kept it simple and neutral. It took about two months, but we did sell for a great price.

Also, we sold to an older couple, as our house was on the high end of the market for an average family, so it was good that it didn't scream KID when they toured.

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Man... it was stressful selling our house last year with our 1 and 3 year old children. Luckily in only took a month to sell, but my poor kids were hardly allowed to bring out any toys and I was cleaning like a madwoman every night. I also work from home and the kids weren't in daycare, so it sucked.
We were supposed to get 24 hour notice before showings, but people mostly ignored that.
We painted most of the rooms after the kids were in bed. We purchased new bedding for the master bedroom and changed a few light fixtures, which really made a big difference. Packing up most of the toys, paperwork and small appliances really helped.
We sold during good weather, so I just tried to be outside with the kids as much as possible so that we didn't mess the house up too much.

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I had a showing once during nap time, and the people were really quiet and peeked into the baby's room. I didn't want to loose a buyer to another house. In then end, we took it off the market, waited a year and then sold FSBO and got an offer we loved from the first person who looked at it. I think sometimes that the stagers & realtors make us hysterical about selling the house. How I would love to have my house staged once a year and then just live in it.. I don't think that I would tie my towels with raffia..

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My boy was 17 months old when we sold a little over a year ago. I think the key isn't to make it look like kids don't live there, just to not have kids be the focus of the house. I tried to keep the toys in one place for showings and turned people away when my kiddo was sleeping. I twas still my house and I had every right to not let people in my house.

Tara had good tips - closets with little in them give the illusion of more space, btw. Good luck! Get lots of moeny so you can get your DREAM house!

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I can't wait until I have a 'success' story to share.

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