Pre-Moving Tips

Selling your home

Should you sell your home yourself or use a realtor?

One big question when it comes to selling your home is whether to do it yourself or use a real estate agent, also called a realtor. Each approach has its advantages:

If you sell your home yourself, you don't pay a realtor's commission, which can save you thousands of dollars. Balanced against this, however, is the time and effort spent in marketing your home and negotiating the deal yourself. Also, buyers will know that you're not paying a realtor's commission and may expect you to reduce your price accordingly.

If you use a realtor, your home will receive better market exposure and may sell more quickly. A realtor may also get a better price than you would, thus making up for his or her commission. A realtor also screens buyers for you and spares you the details of negotiating the sale.

When interviewing a realtor to see if you want him or her to act as your agent in selling your home, be sure to:

Have the realtor show you recent sales information for properties similar to yours. This will help you understand the price the realtor is recommending for your home.

Avoid being misled by realtors who claim that they can get a better price for you than their competitors. Ask them for proof based on actual sales and let this be your guide.

Remember that low commissions are meaningless unless your home is actually sold. Find out how the realtor plans to market your home before committing to the relationship.

Once you've hired a realtor, let him or her do the selling. Don't get in the way, especially during house showings, and don't do anything that might undermine your realtor's sales strategy.

Showing your home

Home staging is simply the system of preparing homes for sale that helps the property sell faster and for more money. It may involve cleaning, painting or decorating. But the first and most important step in home staging is removing clutter and not just hiding it. People shop with logic but buy with emotion. They like to imagine that they can look past a cluttered home, but usually they can't. A potential buyer has often made up their mind within 10 seconds of entering a home. U Need Space – Mobile Self Storage, a division of Quick Transfer, is the perfect solution for your home staging needs. Have a container delivered, fill it with your homes clutter and we'll store it until your home is sold.

Preparing Your Family

A move, even a positive one, is always an upheaval. You can reduce the stress on your family, especially your children, if you can manage to:

Stay positive about the move. Your attitude will influence how your children feel about what's happening.

Keep everyone informed about what's going on. Children don't like being kept in the dark any more than adults do, even though they may not express this in the same way.

Involve your children in the move. They have a stake in it and should be allowed to participate according to their ages and capabilities.

Children of different ages will react differently to a move (except infants, who are not much affected as long as they're comfortable).

Here are some things to keep in mind about the different age groups.

Toddlers
Tell toddlers about the move when it becomes obvious that something's going on, but keep your explanations clear and simple. When you actually do move, try to minimize the changes affecting them. Don't replace their bedroom furniture, for example, even if it's almost time to do so; having familiar objects around will help a toddler adjust to his or her new surroundings. Also, when packing toys and belongings, make sure the child knows that they aren't being discarded, but are being moved to your new home.

Pre-teens
Moving can be difficult for these children because they will be uprooted from their neighbourhood, school and friends. Provide them with as much information as you can about the move and do so as early as possible; this gives them more time to get used to the idea. If you're moving locally, take them to see the new house and to look around the new neighbourhood. If it's a long-distance move, tell them as much as you can about the new place they're going to live

Teenagers
Teenagers usually have close ties to their peer group and may have romantic attachments as well. A move can distress them a great deal, even to the point of open rebellion, so plan to spend a lot of time with them.

When you discuss the move, be sure they understand clearly why you're moving. Don't be dismissive about their distress or try to cheer them up by telling them they'll be just fine in their new environment. Instead, acknowledge what they're feeling and face it squarely. It's also a very good idea to include them in making decisions about the move, and to give them appropriate responsibilities for helping out with it.

In some cases, for example if a teen has only one year of school left, you may be able to arrange for him or her to move in with a relative's or neighbour's family. Under these circumstances, it may be reasonable to let the teen remain in the old area.