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Prepping Your Home for New Owners

 Leaving your home can be stressful, emotional, and tedious. And so can moving into one. If you have sold your home, you should be a friend and help the new owners transition into your old property.  Since they won't know the place as well as you, you could provide a little helping hand with small gestures that go a long way.


Photo of a white cardboard house, with an oldfashioned key beside it.


Terminate the Vermin

No one wants to live in a home with vermin, and should there be any, it would be nice if you took steps to rid the property of any before you leave. All required is a quick call to your local pest control company for advice or a call out. Some vermin can be severe, and you wouldn't want young children to be subject to pest-carried diseases such as rats or cockroaches.

Spruce Up a Little

The process of getting your stuff out of your old home can be a little messy and unorganized. Once you have packed up all your property, it might be necessary to give the place a quick once over. Tidying like this will help the new owners feel welcome in their new home when they move in and relieve some of the moving stress by removing extra jobs for them. All you need to do is give the kitchen and bathrooms a clean and perhaps vacuum the carpets.

Remove All Personal Items

Since new owners have paid good money to move into a new home, they don't want to see anything from the previous owners. Think how awful it would be to move into a new home with photos, bills, or even underwear from the earlier owners strewn about. Also, any personally identifiable information like usernames and passwords, bank statements, and credit card bills could be used against you in identity theft.

Check the Little Things

While this isn't necessary, it is an excellent gesture on your part. You could help make a move a little easier for a new family by checking the little things around the home. Stray screws and nails, faulty electrical sockets, and dead light bulbs are great examples of small jobs that can help relieve some of the stress for new tenants. With all the stress of moving, no one wants to then have to worry about odd jobs. 

Make Sure Things Still Work

Of course, an even grander gesture is to make sure things still work around the house. Electrical wiring, plumbing, and faulty white goods like the fridge or washing machine (if left) are essential parts of a home. These can be a nightmare for a new owner if not left in working order. These jobs are usually costly, and given that the new owners have probably put all they have into buying your property, you share some responsibility in ensuring it is safe and working.

Leave a Housewarming Gift

While it is optional, leaving a gift for the property's new owners is a lovely welcome and a grand gesture. It doesn't need to be expensive, and some of the more trendy choices include a photo album. Some families leave behind treasured memories in a book with detailed stories. Space is left for a new family to add to it. The point is that if they move out, they can leave it for another family and so on, building a historical record of the home.


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