5 Tips for Living in Your For-Sale Home

How can you continue to live in your house once you put it on the market? Your home has always been your sanctuary, your one true personal space, but now it’s listed for sale and will soon get a ton of foot traffic. This can get very stressful and make it difficult to continue living your normal life in your house, especially if you have young children. So here are five tips to help you continue living your life in your for-sale home and keep things a bit less hectic:  

1. Improve Your Credit

You may think your credit score is already as good as it can be, but there is always room for improvement. Start by paying off your debt little by little. This will lower your debt-to-income ratio, which is what lenders use to determine your creditworthiness. You can also save up for a bigger down payment to improve your credit and lower your rate. The results may seem small, but even a tiny difference can add up to a huge amount over the course of a loan. 

2. Sell, Donate, or Throw It Away

While you’re packing, try to get rid of things you don’t need. My recommendation is if you haven’t touched an item in a year and it’s not an heirloom or memory, it’s time to part with it. Try to at least donate items that are still in decent condition.  

"Packing and storing boxes in the basement or garage is completely acceptable."

3. Get Squeaky Clean

A clean, cared-for house can net you $5,000 to $10,000 more for your sale. Shoot for five-star hotel perfection when cleaning, and focus particularly on bathrooms, the kitchen, windows, and floors. Make it sparkle! 

4. Maintain Privacy and Safety

Buyers are going to be looking through closets and other areas people wouldn’t typically see. Ensure there’s nothing valuable or personal anywhere that they could find. If you’re unsure about an item, be on the safe side and lock it away somewhere secure (this includes medications).

5. Involve Your Kids

Nothing is better than having your kids be part of the selling process. The easiest way to get them involved is through games or a reward system so they’ll help you clean the house and prepare it for showings. You won’t believe how motivated kids can get when there’s something fun tied to a chore!

If you’d like to dig deeper into the tips above or have any questions about real estate in general, please shoot me an email or give me a call. I would love to help in any way I can.

If you’d like to take a look at what’s presently available on the market, you can view our multiple listing service here:

Click here to see all available homes in your area.

More Questions? Follow-up With Us!

If you have more questions about what to expect from the markets around the Bay Area, don’t be afraid to reach out to us today. Our experts are experienced in all property types and the entire San Francisco Bay Area, and we can help you to find what you need to know today.