How to Endure Living in a For Sale House

Putting up that “For Sale” sign on the lawn? Soon real estate agents and potential buyers will come to “browse” your property. What this essentially means is, they’re going to scrutinize your house down to every little detail – including your life. But don’t worry, we’ve got you and your sanity.

Let’s begin.

Prepare yourself
Like every soldier heading to war, you need to prepare yourself. Imagine what it’s like selling your house. Studies show that mental preparedness can potentially reduce the stress when undertaking something unfamiliar, in this case, putting a property on sale. Being prepared includes setting expectations and planning ahead of situations, which leads us to…

Plan ahead
Now that you’ve prepped yourself, you are now ready to form your battle plan.

• Prepare a list of things that you need. This includes a short list of things that you or your family will be using every day, and can’t get through the day without.
• Your house will be going through Showings are when potential buyers want to take a look into your property. Prepare a list of the things you don’t want your buyers to see, or stuff that clutter space. This way, you can clean up the house in a jiffy. For more info on showings, check out For Sale for Lease’s guide to Showings.

Pack Up Your Stuff
Whether you already have a new house to move to or not, start packing! Free up some space and remove clutter. It’s quite obvious that houses filled to the brim with stuff – which can potentially be seen as junk – are less appealing than a spacious one. Remember that buyers are looking for space to move into.

Keep your Privacy Safe
The customers are always right! But not in every case. Buyers can be perceived as strangers that are checking your house out. Some “curious” customers or thorough buyers may go through your cabinets and drawers. Keep your mail, computers, wallets, bankbooks safe. Always keep them with you, otherwise, lock them up.

Cleanliness is Next to Sold…Soldiness?
Okay, that word might not be in any dictionary, but the phrase still holds true. Clean your house like you’ve never cleaned before! Scrub your floors, clean the kitchen sink, purge those pesky cobwebs! It might be a lot of work, but trust us! Maintaining it is harder. *wink*

What about Pets?
Pets are fun and cute. But not everyone is an animal lover. They can kill deals with their incessant barking, pooping and wetting operations, or if you’re really unlucky, customer allergy problems. Avoid these awkward situations by asking your good neighbours, fellow pet lovers, or professional animal day care centres to look after your babies for a good one to two hours.

Keep your kids in the Loop
If you have kids, let them in on what’s going on. You’re not the only one who’ll get stressed during these trying times. Explain to them the situation. In contrast to a lot of what professionals say, let your kids help! Turn putting stuff away a game and give them rewards when due. You’ll be surprised what help they can be.

At the end of the day, selling properties can be a hassle, and needs lots of effort and patience. However, it still doable and the rewards it yields are too good to pass up. With these tips, you’ll survive and reap what you sold, err, sow.