We all love our pets, and we actually love our kids, too. But they can both present some problems when you’re trying to sell your house. You can get your house showing ready, though, if you take the right steps. To help you out, we offer these 6 tips for selling your house in Tulsa OK, Jenks OK, Bixby OK, Kiefer OK, Mounds OK, or Glenpool OK when you have kids or pets.
1. Make a Checklist
Even without kids or pets involved, selling a home is a huge undertaking – a complex process with a host of smaller tasks. As with any big job, the way to proceed is in an orderly fashion with a plan. Here’s how industry pros recommend tackling this first step toward selling your house in Tulsa. . .
“When you first decide to sell your Tulsa Metro area home, thinking about everything you need to accomplish can be overwhelming. If you’re looking at your messy house and wondering where to start, use checklists to get organized. The first checklist you make should list everything you need to do to prep your house for sale.”
After that, they advise creating a second checklist of all the things you need to do to get your house ready quickly and keep it that way for showings. These are things you should be able to accomplish in 30 minutes or less – such as sweeping, vacuuming, picking up toys, emptying litter boxes, and so on – so that you can get them done and then get out of the house.
2. Repair Pet (and Kid) Damage
Kids and pets can be . . .well, destructive. (And it’s a toss-up as to which is worse, lol.) So in preparation for selling your house in the Tulsa when you have kids or pets, you’ll need to repair and minimize the damage – such things as holes in the drywall, scratched floors, chewed stair railings, and carpet stains.
Just be sure to keep in mind that, as someone who has live in the same home with the kids and pets for a long time, you may not notice all the problems that need to be taken care of. But you can bet buyers will have a critical eye and will be specifically looking for such things. So look closely and try to be as objective as possible.
You could even have your agent tour your home and point out issues to be addressed. To find out more about how an agent can assist you, just call (918) 637-7826.
3. Deep Clean Everywhere
And, of course, as with any home sale, you should deep clean, everything and everywhere. Both pets and kids make plenty of messes.
Deep cleaning should take care of everything from top to bottom, so begin with the ceiling, move on to walls, and then tackle the floors. When it comes to walls, cleaning may not be enough, so repainting may be in order. And for carpet, you may have to replace some (or all) of it if shampooing doesn’t seem to do the trick. When you have pets, odor elimination will be one of your main goals during the deep cleaning process/
4. Get Pets Out of the Way During Showings
Not only should you remove damage and dirt and stains for selling your house in the Tulsa when you have pets, but you also need to remove your pets (as much as possible) during showings. You may think your pets are the cutest things ever, but buyers may not. And some buyers may be allergic to cats or dogs.
The best-case scenario is to be out of your home while your agent shows it. And in these cases you can take your pets with you. If, however, it isn’t practical to get your pets out of the house, at least confine them to a remote area of your home, or possibly take them to a doggy daycare, we love Noah’s Bed and Biscuit.
5. Remove Kid Evidence
It will, of course, be much harder to remove your kids from the house, and you definitely can’t put them in a crate as you can your pets. So if you can’t get rid of your kids during showings, get rid of their evidence.
Primarily, this means painting over walls in the kids’ room that are painted in the loud colors and strange color combinations that appeal to kids (as well as the crayon artwork they often apply directly to walls). Numerous studies have shown that neutral colored walls (beige, for instance) are much more appealing to buyers. Walls painted in neutral colors and tones achieve the psychological effect of allowing buyers to view your home as a blank palette – allowing them to envision the house filled with their belongings and to imagine themselves living there.
6. Ask Your Agent for More Tips
Do be aware, though, that the tips above just scratch the surface of all the things you can and should do when selling your Tulsa house when you have kids and/or pets. You’re starting off at a disadvantage when competing against sellers who don’t have kids and pets in their homes. So you need to do everything you can to tip the scales in your favor. To find out about the best strategies for selling your house in the Tulsa in this situation, contact me Sabrina Shaw here at Homes by Sabrina today at (918) 637-7826.