How to Live in Your House While Selling It
Living in your house and showing it at the same time can be stressful and overwhelming for both the homeowner and their agent.
But fear not! When unscheduled buyers want to see your home, OFab has a proven system that will help you get more money for your home and sell it fast. Here’s the what, the why, and most importantly, the how. OFab can help you get quick turnaround results while having your house on the market.
1. The What - Showing your home while still living there
Life happens - not every appointment to see your home can be scheduled days in advance and you may need to vacate your house at a moment’s notice, or risk losing the sale!
Homeowners must either discreetly hide or take with them their personal items, important papers, medications etc. whenever the house is shown to potential buyers.
2. The Why - Realtors want to show the house at its best
Agents recommend that your home look like a blank canvas, as if nobody currently lives there. (Is that even possible?) Having worked with Realtors for several years, OFab knows what they want to see in a house they are showing, ie:
All surfaces cleared, with only one decor item on each surface. "Only one? But what about my crystal figurine collections and all of my children’s art from ages 0 - 25?”
Kitchen counters to have only one appliance on each counter surface. "But each of my family members has a different juicer that they like to use. Where is that going to go?"
Family photos to be removed for privacy (entire gallery walls and large portraits). "What about all the holes in the walls that are going to show now? And what can I put there instead?
Absolutely no clutter or personal items anywhere to be seen, including on floors, next to furniture, on counters/tabletops. "But I need to know where all of those things are and be able to see them."
If there’s an over abundance of furniture, plants, art, collectibles, it has to be edited/removed. "Where am I going to put all my things, then?"
3. The How - OFab has a system to make this process easy
We do this with our Home Prep for Sale solution, a personalized organization system, planned and executed in the home.
We provide products, storage and expertise, developing a custom plan with the client directly, by asking what they must have at their fingertips and what can be hidden away or packed (PS: we’re professional packers, too!) We clear out space in cabinets adjacent or underneath areas where personal items are usually placed and ensure that they are still handy (ie, meds/toiletries etc). We create convenient, specific bins for your belongings that can be put away but can also easily be taken along if you must leave unexpectedly.
In our initial complimentary consultation, we will determine what absolutely needs to go into a cabinet or cupboard and what gets the "good real estate”. As part of our Home Prep for Sale service, if you have unnecessary items in the “good real estate” currently, we will shift those to another part of your kitchen or pack away as needed - don’t forget we pack too!
Because OFab has strategically packed or stored less used items, we can create spaces and systems which allow quickly moving these belongings to bins that are hidden away when showing. Similar systems are created for important paperwork and business papers - ie, we designate a location and put a plan in place to know where everything is, where it needs to go when showing and ensure it can be taken with you, if necessary.
Look, OFab understands that taking your personality out of your home means something different to each person. We have figured out a way to make this process as painless as possible, while helping you reach the more important goal of getting more money for your home, as buyers want to envision their own personality and style in each home that they view.
