As the school term nears an end, we are approaching the prime season when families begin their search for a new home. One of the best things a seller can do if they live in child friendly home and a family oriented neighborhood, is to have their realtor emphasize this in the marketing information.
A flier can have a summary of the scores and ratings of the schools the children will be attending, it could also emphasize the walkability score of the home to parks, playgrounds and shopping amenities. Providing a city map showing bus routes and the ease of access to bicycle trails is great too. Finally, note the safety of the street you live on if it is a cul-de-sac or a quiet area that is situated so that traffic does not move along your street as a short cut from one major road to another.
Your Realtor Can Make Great Use of the Web
A wonderful way to draw attention to your home is to use web advertising. An example of this is a brief blog I wrote for my website on a family friendly neighborhood. It helped draw attention to a home we had listed there. Another blog I created, which was more detailed, also worked well to draw attention to another prime neighborhood and an individual property as well.
Storage – A Prime Concern to Parents
In the home, help buyers notice places you have stored kid’s stuff. If you have window seats leave one ajar in a bedroom with toys in it. Storage units in closets should be neatly loaded with kid’s stuff that can be easily accessed. Make it look like a child could easily put his/her things away with little effort — so a Mom or Dad would not have to. Kids tend to leave their things everywhere, and if you can illustrate how to keep the clutter of the floor in most of the house, it gives a buyer with little ones hope that they can do the same too.
Safety Outside the Home
In the back yard, make sure it is child safe. Get rid of that nasty metal edging around flowerbeds and replace it with the plastic type. Make sure your trees are trimmed and there are not big branches hanging around that look like they could come down on a windy day. If there are dogs next door, check the fence carefully so it has nothing about it that would potentially allow a neighbor’s dog to charge into your yard. Finally, gates are extremely important to parents. They should have secure latches that cannot be opened from outside the yard. If you have a Neighborhood Watch Program, make sure you have a sign posted prominently in a front window indicating you participate in it. This goes a long way toward making parents feel their family will safe living there.
Please contact us and we will be glad to check out your home so that, when you put it up for sale, you will be marketing it and the neighborhood as not only Family Friendly but Kid Safe too.