Each year, around 17 percent of Americans pack up their belongings and move to a new home. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 13 million children are among these moving families. Whether you’re moving a few miles or across the country, house hunting can be stressful, especially if you have kids in tow. What you need to do is develop a plan so your children don’t have to tag along to every single property you want to see. These tips can keep you sane while you’re house hunting with your kids.
paper house with Magnifying Glass, House hunting on wooden background
Start House Hunting Online
Most real estate agents have full property details and photo galleries for all their listings; some even have virtual video tours. This allows you to look at as many houses as you like while you’re kids are in school or hanging out with you at home. Making initial virtual tours of prospective homes will greatly reduce the number of houses you have to go out and visit physically, so it saves time and means the kids won’t get bored while you’re traipsing around a bunch of empty properties. If you’re looking for a home in or around downtown Kirkwood, MO, STL Real Estate is the place to visit. All their listed properties have full details and a photo gallery right there at your fingertips.
Keep Safety in Mind
When you do have to visit properties with your children, safety should be a top priority. Tweens and teens can usually make it through house hunting without much risk of getting hurt, but if you have toddlers and young kids in tow, that’s a different story. Bear in mind that your children are going to be in unfamiliar surroundings. Young children are very inquisitive. They will want to open draws and cupboards. If you can, leave them at home with a relative, or take a babysitter with you to mind them while you are touring the house. Not all properties will be child-friendly. Many may still be furnished, so make sure your young child doesn’t get into mischief and cause some damage. To be on the safe side, leave the crayons and markers at home.
Don’t Push the Limits
You may have a child who is very patient and able to keep him or herself occupied while you spend hours looking at different houses. On the other hand, your child may have had enough after thirty minutes. Plan ahead, if you know your child will be ready to have a meltdown after a couple of viewings, don’t try to squeeze in more. It will just make you child miserable and you’ll feel stressed out.
Let your Child Help Out
Often, with older children, giving them a task related to house hunting can make them feel like they have a role in the whole procedure. Ask them to research the locales you’re thinking of moving to, to find out the demographics and history of the town and to look for family-friendly things to do there. This can also reduce their stress about changing schools and moving away from friends. You could also give them a camera and have them take photos of the houses and surrounding areas.
Find a Kid-friendly Realtor
Yes, they do exist. Some like to put out house-friendly toys for children to play with. Some even do magic tricks. While this can be a great help while you’re house viewing, watch out for a realtor who likes to feed kids with candy. Do you really want your child to be having a sugar rush when you still have three or four more homes to view?
Get them Prepared
It’s probably a good idea to feed the family before you leave for a viewing. That will prevent kids from getting cranky, and younger children may even sleep through the whole experience. If you’re planning to make a whole day of it, bring plenty of healthy snacks and bottles of water to keep them hydrated. If your children are old enough, explain to them what the viewing experience will be like so that there will be no unpleasant surprises.
If you follow these tips house hunting with kids does not have to be a stressful operation. Make sure you have plenty of support from friends and family. Try to leave the kids at home as much as you can. When you really do have to take them to a viewing with you, take someone else along to keep them occupied.
Archie Coles is a real estate agent with years of experience of helping people to buy and sell their family homes. He shares some top tips for making the whole process a little easier.
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