Selling Your Home Is A Family Affair - Best Practice
If you are thinking about putting your home on the market and you have children, I'm sure it's crossed your mind...."How in the world am I going to keep this place in top showing condition ready for buyers at all times".
Well, I have the answer to help with that problem. I believe selling a home is a family affair and it involves the help of the entire household. So I've included in my marketing plan a way to get the kids involved. Yes of course it involves bribing. :-) but it's well worth it.
The parents and I set the rules based on the ages of the children and we assign points to the chores the children can preform to help with the upkeep or preparation before a showing. For example, a 6 year old may earn points for going around and turning on all lights as the family is heading out of the home just before the potential buyers arrive while the 10 year old is earning points for picking up all the toys in the living room and the 15 year old is finishing putting the dishes away. When the property goes to settlement, the children can "cash in" their earnings for some rewards and look forward to their new home.
This helps to keep them involved in the process, they understand the importance of keeping things together and they really feel a part of the decisions being made. With the parent's permission, I actually have the children sign an agreement with me that they will participate and uphold their end of the deal. It is their home too, and this can be a difficult time for some children even as exciting as it may seem. I have found this to really work well especially with larger families. I work with the parents concerning the rewards, nothing outrageous. If it's solely on me, we are talking Chuck E Cheese certificates and the like. But one time the parents wanted in on the action and donated IPods for their twin teens. It's only limited to our imagination.
Have questions about buying or selling a home in Northern Dauphin County? I'll be glad to help. Check out MelissaStahlRealtor.com.
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