Thinking of Renting an Apartment While We Sell Our House

[Anonymous]

How bad is it, OP?

Like, you have three-kids-and-their-toys-are-everywhere-and-you-can't-keep-up-with-the-laundry bad? Or is the clutter level one horde (or above) bad? Because if it's the first one you focus and double down and get it fully organized yourselves then have a professional cleaning and get pictures done for the listing, then do it again for the open house. If it's the latter, then you will probably need to move out (with your junk) to a short-term rental or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just sold a house in 22046 in Va. It was on the market for 3 days before it went under contract (it hit the mls as for sale and agents were able to make appointments on a Sunday, and our agent set an offer deadline of Tues at 5pm). If you could get the house cleaned and organized well enough for a few days, that might be enough? Ask your agent.

This - just leave town (or even just the house) for a long weekend while it’s being shown, Thursday to late Sunday evening. That should be enough time if priced right. You can live there after you accept an offer without needing to keep it “open house neat.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could also get cleaners to come more often until you sell it.

DP but it sounds like daily life clutter would be a bigger problem than cleanliness, and most cleaners wouldn't be able to help with that?

Yes, this is OP and this is the problem.

If the problem is insane clutter and too much stuff then moving 2x more times would be even more difficult. People whose lives are chaotic and messy have a harder time moving and find it more stressful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How bad is it, OP?

Like, you have three-kids-and-their-toys-are-everywhere-and-you-can't-keep-up-with-the-laundry bad? Or is the clutter level one horde (or above) bad? Because if it's the first one you focus and double down and get it fully organized yourselves then have a professional cleaning and get pictures done for the listing, then do it again for the open house. If it's the latter, then you will probably need to move out (with your junk) to a short-term rental or something.

In the latter case you will have to get rid of a lot of junk just to be able to move. Rental apartments aren't big enough to accommodate the level of junk of an SFH.

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of places in the 20878 zip code that you can do short term. Cadence at Crown (walking distance to Starbucks) will do 3 month leases as I have known people who were renovating that stayed there. Also, there are corporate apartments nearby too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How bad is it, OP?

Like, you have three-kids-and-their-toys-are-everywhere-and-you-can't-keep-up-with-the-laundry bad? Or is the clutter level one horde (or above) bad? Because if it's the first one you focus and double down and get it fully organized yourselves then have a professional cleaning and get pictures done for the listing, then do it again for the open house. If it's the latter, then you will probably need to move out (with your junk) to a short-term rental or something.

This is OP. Kids I can handle. Hubby is a sentimental hoarder so 2 rooms are extremely cluttered and garage is full for same reason. Living areas and kitchen are clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How bad is it, OP?

Like, you have three-kids-and-their-toys-are-everywhere-and-you-can't-keep-up-with-the-laundry bad? Or is the clutter level one horde (or above) bad? Because if it's the first one you focus and double down and get it fully organized yourselves then have a professional cleaning and get pictures done for the listing, then do it again for the open house. If it's the latter, then you will probably need to move out (with your junk) to a short-term rental or something.

This is OP. Kids I can handle. Hubby is a sentimental hoarder so 2 rooms are extremely cluttered and garage is full for same reason. Living areas and kitchen are clear.

Hmmm. That is going to turn buyers off, even if it doesn't get in the way of them being able to see the house.

Yeah, you probably can't show the house like that. I mean, you can. But not without taking a hit -- and what that hit will be depends on how desirable your home is. Inside the beltway, walking distance from a metro and lovely amenities in the neighborhood, everything folks want in a house, and a reasonable price point? It's going to sell right away even with the junky rooms, the only question is how much of a discount there will be for it not showing well. If your house is not an extremely desirable location and property? It could sit unsold for a long time even though there are lots of showings, which can be a huge financial hit. Either way, you can't get good pictures, not of every room anyway. Unless they can AI stage them, but then people show up to the real property and it's not what they were expecting and that's a problem.

Extremely desirable location and property? You could just list it, and show it as the mess it is and understand you will need to price it accordingly knowing it will show very poorly. Otherwise, you probably need to move out -- with your junk. Might want to do that to force DH to deal with his junk, anyway. (In fact, this should be an oppty to put your foot down about the horde, but that's a different topic).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How bad is it, OP?

Like, you have three-kids-and-their-toys-are-everywhere-and-you-can't-keep-up-with-the-laundry bad? Or is the clutter level one horde (or above) bad? Because if it's the first one you focus and double down and get it fully organized yourselves then have a professional cleaning and get pictures done for the listing, then do it again for the open house. If it's the latter, then you will probably need to move out (with your junk) to a short-term rental or something.

This is OP. Kids I can handle. Hubby is a sentimental hoarder so 2 rooms are extremely cluttered and garage is full for same reason. Living areas and kitchen are clear.

Hmmm. That is going to turn buyers off, even if it doesn't get in the way of them being able to see the house.

Yeah, you probably can't show the house like that. I mean, you can. But not without taking a hit -- and what that hit will be depends on how desirable your home is. Inside the beltway, walking distance from a metro and lovely amenities in the neighborhood, everything folks want in a house, and a reasonable price point? It's going to sell right away even with the junky rooms, the only question is how much of a discount there will be for it not showing well. If your house is not an extremely desirable location and property? It could sit unsold for a long time even though there are lots of showings, which can be a huge financial hit. Either way, you can't get good pictures, not of every room anyway. Unless they can AI stage them, but then people show up to the real property and it's not what they were expecting and that's a problem.

Extremely desirable location and property? You could just list it, and show it as the mess it is and understand you will need to price it accordingly knowing it will show very poorly. Otherwise, you probably need to move out -- with your junk. Might want to do that to force DH to deal with his junk, anyway. (In fact, this should be an oppty to put your foot down about the horde, but that's a different topic).

Fortunately, it’s in a very desirable neighborhood, zoned for great schools and right next to our pool/tennis club so less than a minute walk. DH’s idea of cleaning up is moving all of the stuff from one room to another room.

[Anonymous]

I relate to the OP so much! My DH is a hoarder and after 30+ years, I am beyond over it. I fantasize about moving just to clear things out but in reality, we'll never move because he doesn't want to get rid of anything or if we ever did move, he would just take it all with him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I relate to the OP so much! My DH is a hoarder and after 30+ years, I am beyond over it. I fantasize about moving just to clear things out but in reality, we'll never move because he doesn't want to get rid of anything or if we ever did move, he would just take it all with him.

❤️❤️

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I relate to the OP so much! My DH is a hoarder and after 30+ years, I am beyond over it. I fantasize about moving just to clear things out but in reality, we'll never move because he doesn't want to get rid of anything or if we ever did move, he would just take it all with him.

My ADHD hubby would only thrive in a chaotic environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How bad is it, OP?

Like, you have three-kids-and-their-toys-are-everywhere-and-you-can't-keep-up-with-the-laundry bad? Or is the clutter level one horde (or above) bad? Because if it's the first one you focus and double down and get it fully organized yourselves then have a professional cleaning and get pictures done for the listing, then do it again for the open house. If it's the latter, then you will probably need to move out (with your junk) to a short-term rental or something.

This is OP. Kids I can handle. Hubby is a sentimental hoarder so 2 rooms are extremely cluttered and garage is full for same reason. Living areas and kitchen are clear.

Hmmm. That is going to turn buyers off, even if it doesn't get in the way of them being able to see the house.

Yeah, you probably can't show the house like that. I mean, you can. But not without taking a hit -- and what that hit will be depends on how desirable your home is. Inside the beltway, walking distance from a metro and lovely amenities in the neighborhood, everything folks want in a house, and a reasonable price point? It's going to sell right away even with the junky rooms, the only question is how much of a discount there will be for it not showing well. If your house is not an extremely desirable location and property? It could sit unsold for a long time even though there are lots of showings, which can be a huge financial hit. Either way, you can't get good pictures, not of every room anyway. Unless they can AI stage them, but then people show up to the real property and it's not what they were expecting and that's a problem.

Extremely desirable location and property? You could just list it, and show it as the mess it is and understand you will need to price it accordingly knowing it will show very poorly. Otherwise, you probably need to move out -- with your junk. Might want to do that to force DH to deal with his junk, anyway. (In fact, this should be an oppty to put your foot down about the horde, but that's a different topic).

Fortunately, it’s in a very desirable neighborhood, zoned for great schools and right next to our pool/tennis club so less than a minute walk. DH’s idea of cleaning up is moving all of the stuff from one room to another room.

Then just talk to an agent and see what they say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in the 20878 zip code and moving into D.C. - our jobs and kids' private schools are in D.C. Although we have a cleaning person come in every two weeks, my family is very disorganized and I'm worried that they would not keep the house organized/decluttered enough for the home to show at its best. So I'd prefer to empty the house, have it staged and then, we could wait to see what it sells for and determine what our budget allows to purchase in D.C. within the next year. If anyone has done this, how did it work out?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

My friends did this twice, once in 2010 and next in 2023. They moved to rental for one year with month to month contract afterwards, stored some stuff in storage unit and had homes professionally staged. This gave them enough time to sell their house, monitor the market and pounce on the right property at right time.

I personally feel like its too much hassle. I would just declutter my home and get weekly cleaners so home looks good. Try to do few open houses so you can show it to more people on same days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I relate to the OP so much! My DH is a hoarder and after 30+ years, I am beyond over it. I fantasize about moving just to clear things out but in reality, we'll never move because he doesn't want to get rid of anything or if we ever did move, he would just take it all with him.

Give him that book, Die with zero. Also, get him to see a good therapist.