I received this question on my facebook page

Question:

I have a question… do you have any good online resources that tells about the most important, and inexpensive, things to get a home ready to show for sale? Our biggest problem is that we have 14 people living in here and homeschool. That means that traffic is heavy 24/7 and we cannot get a grip on repairs, but want to sell. Any suggestions? We cannot afford much because this house payment is half our income.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Ruth

Answer:
I would use some of your budget to take the family on a mini vacation. Even if you went to a cheaper type hotel with a pool for a couple of days that would be enough to get things done. Do you have any relatives who have wanted the littler kids to come stay with them for awhile?
Next, pack up everything you don’t need or use on a daily basis. You’re planning to move anyway – yes…even those books! Have enough dishes for one day! It forces the dishes to be done too.

Clutter eats equity more than anything else!
Here is a hint: Stand at the door of each room. Do you feel compelled to walk in? Or do you just want to peak your head in the room? Make the room inviting in a way that pulls you in. If all you want to do is peak into the room, then you have just lost the square footage of that room. The buyer doesn’t see it as usable space if they aren’t even willing to walk into the room.

To eliminate clutter, get two large boxes, one rubbermaid type tote, and one small box. On each of the large boxes write “Give Away” and “Sell.” The tote is to hold everything that you will move with you, but are not keeping at the moment. The small box will be marked “Keep” and is for items you’re keeping during this transition time. Go through each room and declutter! Decluttering doesn’t cost anything except time.
Preparing to move is a great life skill for children. Put the school books aside for a little while and work on life skills.

Personal note: When I moved to Texas with 7 children, we moved from a 6 bedroom house with a basement and an attic to a 4 bedroom apartment. Each child had one tote of items. Trust me, they have acquired more.

I would then hire a cleaning crew (or the older ones in the family if they do a really good job) to clean the house from top to bottom. If the walls have visible signs of children (handprints, coloring, etc) I would recommend painting them.

Without knowing the condition of your home, it’s a little difficult to assess what might need to be done first. Paint is cheap and brightens and covers a lot! Be sure to choose a neutral color that will appeal to the largest number of buyers. Personally I love the current light sage color and a navajo white is also a good color choice. Don’t paint it stark white. (bleck)

Our company website has some great information to make your house perfect to sell. DFWHomes.net

I live in the real world and know that sometimes the best we can do is declutter, clean, and paint if necessary.

If you can’t afford new carpet, you could offer a carpet allowance to the buyer. I would have it professionally cleaned before you put your house on the market.

A local Realtor would be best able to tell you what to do next, but don’t have them come over until you have decluttered and cleaned.

Of course the fastest way to get your home sold is to price it at fair market value based on the location and condition of your home.