Staging, Selling, and Kids

As the Spring market truly begins to hit the Oklahoma City Metro, staging becomes an important factor in the sale of your home. Staging your home for sale can make a dramatic difference, especially if a flooded market is drowning out your home. First impressions form long lasting opinions & feelings toward a home so you, as a seller, want to make your home as appealing as possible to the largest pool of potential buyers!

Many people who have their home up for sale are needing to upgrade to a larger home for their family. It is common for these people to have children who are involved in the move but who are first involved in all the showings.

Lisa Stitt, Senior Stager for Oklahoma Impressions Home Staging, has shared the following tips with us for help keeping a home show ready in a home with children:

1)  Start out with a family meeting and get excited about the move because everyone will have to help keep the house in tip-top shape.

2)  Clean out excess toys and items. Give the kids an allotted space, (i.e. so many tubs, so many shelves) and box everything else up for storage or giveaway. This cuts down on clutter and makes clean up easier.  It also keeps comfort items or favorite toys close.

3)  Plan on getting everyone up 15 minutes early and divide up chores to make sure the house is in show condition when you leave. These things include loading breakfast dishes into the dishwasher, making beds, picking up bath towels and clothes, and making sure the trash is empty.

4)  Offer a reward system for everyone working together. Do small rewards for extra daily chores and a larger reward for when the house sells.

She also mentions, “Remember: It’s easier to clean lots of small messes often than a huge one once. Often buyers want to see the house immediately, especially if they are from out of town, and you need to be close to show condition at all times. Your hard work will pay off!”

Thanks for your helpful tips, Lisa!