So, you want to live in your house while it's on the market......

If you intend to live in your home while it’s on the market it’s going to take a lot of commitment on your part. Being a Realtor, I will tell you talk to a Realtor, but not any Realtor. Find a Realtor that can give you expert advice about what you need to do to present your property in the best possible light. Find a Realtor who is honest and will not be hesitant to tell you what to do. You will need at the minimum three weeks to get all this done. Moving out, unless you already have someplace to go, and staging is expensive.
With your Realtor, go through your home and let her tell you how and what you need to do. You also might want to go around to Open Houses that are staged to get ideas of how your home should end up looking. You can make it appear staged without actually going through the expense and having to move out while it’s on the market.
First you will have to de-clutter. Prospective buyers have to imagine themselves living there with their stuff, not with your stuff. Hopefully you will be moving soon anyway and if you do all this right you will be. So put all those tchotchkes in a box tape it up and start stacking them in a storage area. This means pictures too. Anything that personalizes the property as yours pack it up! If it’s an item that reminds you of a person, place or thing, pack it up! If you have books on bookshelves take 2/3 of them away. Keep the pretty ones. The rest are too personal. Pack ‘em up! Leave room on the shelves. The less you have laying around the easier it will be to keep it clean and spotless (I will get to that later) Once the clutter is all picked up you are ready for the next step.
Take a good look at your furniture. Is any of it looking shabby? Do you have a futon in that back bedroom that the slipcover is slipping off? Are the cushions on the couch and chairs saggy and worn? Can you have the covers dry cleaned or washed? Will just turning them make it look better? Do this with your Realtor, you need an objective eye when making these assessments. Now, what can you put in storage to make the rooms look more spacious? If you have furniture that is too big for the room it is especially important. If it’s a large sectional, get rid of one of those sections. For instance, in a living room you only need a sofa, a chair, a coffee table, an end table and a lamp and possibly a floor lamp. Buy a few new throw pillows, keep it neutral.
Do the same for the bedrooms. One bedside table with a lamp is enough. One dresser or bureau might be allowable if the room is big enough. Pack the clothes in boxes, label them carefully and add them to your storage area. Nothing should be left on the surfaces. You will need to purchase a new bed set; duvet, pillow shams, a couple of throw pillows. Ask your realtor for advice.
If you have a home office again, de-clutter, only the essentials get to stay. Pack it up label the boxes carefully and put them in your storage area in case you need something from them.
Now the kitchen, this is usually the one a lot of people have the most trouble with. Because home means comfort and comfort is centered on food and the place where it is prepared and eaten. It’s the heart of the home. First of all, the kitchen has to be cleaned. Tooth brushed clean. Walls cleaned, floors are spotless. If you have linoleum on the floor and it’s worn it needs to be replaced. You might have to hire some very obsessive compulsive cleaning person to help. All the fronts of the cabinets have to be spotless and cleaned. If you have cabinets with glass doors take out 2/3 of the stuff. Again, pack and label the boxes put in your storage area in case you need something. Hanging pots need to be put away, it’s too much clutter and again it personalizes the property too much. Prospective buyers have to imagine themselves living there with their stuff, not with your stuff. Counter tops should be bare with the exception of maybe a couple decorative neutral pieces. While you are living there, it will need to be devoid of cooking odors.
Bathrooms have to be spotless. If you have a shower curtain replace it. Buy a new set of towels to put up for Open Houses. If the vanity is old and worn replace it. You don’t have to remodel the bath and you don’t have to spend a lot of money. Just go to Home Depot and buy a new sink or vanity that is more current. If you need a new mirror get that too! This is all easy stuff and fun! A handy man can install them for you or you can do it yourself. It’s not hard.
If you own a single family house rather than a condo you may have to consider having the exterior painted. Again, have your Realtor give you an honest assessment. And don’t go crazy with some color scheme. Realize you are not going to be living there; it won’t be your home anymore. You need to make it neutral so buyers can see themselves owning the property. This sounds like a huge investment, but it has a huge return on your investment.
If you can have all the rooms re-painted then you should definitely do it. The smell of fresh paint has a psychological effect on buyers. Fill all the nail holes where pictures were hanging. If you recently painted, like within the last 2-3 years, you can go around the house with a paint brush and the paint from each room and lightly feather over any spots, dings, gouges and nail holes that you patched. You could hire a handyman to do this. Your Realtor should know someone. On all the baseboards, door and window casings do the same thing with the trim color on any dings or paint chips. If you don’t have the trim color you can take a sample to any paint store and they will match it.
Now for the cleaning. You might want to hire someone to do this but it has to be someone that knows how to clean a property for the market. Windows need to be washed, preferably both inside and out if possible. Windows are very important. They have to be free of any paint on the glass if the room has been painted recently. Floors need to be spotless. If they are carpeted, the carpet needs to be cleaned. If the carpet won’t get clean then you have to replace it. If you have hardwood floors they need to be cleaned and shiny. If they need a coat of urethane to make them that way, then have it done. It’s a small expense with a bigger return on your investment.
Now your house is almost ready! Now you can put a very few accent pieces and hang a couple of pictures on the walls. Don’t go crazy. They still have to be neutral and non-personal. And no more than ONE per wall. If you can live without window coverings take them down, unless they are very neutral and add to the room. You can put 2-3 magazines or coffee table type books on the coffee table. Stack them neatly. Your house should look staged by now.
For every Sunday Open House and all other showings, the house has to be cleaned and spotless. Tell your Realtor to always give you a 24 hour notice for any other showings. It should be devoid of cooking odors, pet smells; dirty laundry in the hamper smells too. Dust and polish the furniture clean off any fingerprints anywhere, Swiffer the floors or vacuum if you have carpet. Put the new bed coverings on the bed. Kitchen cabinets have to be spotless. The stove has to be clean. The refrigerator should not have any fingerprints on the door. And of course you don’t have anything on the front of the refrigerator by now so keeping the front clean will be easy. No kitchen towels hanging around. The counters are clean. The bathroom needs to shine. Put the new towels out. There are a lot of convenience cleaning products that will make this easier on you. While you’re doing this keep telling yourself about all the money that will be in your pocket by not having to move out and stage. When you are done, spray the whole house with a light and almost odorless room deodorizer.
Now go out and enjoy the rest of your day! Your property will sell more quickly.