There are pros and cons to selling a home while living in it, or selling it vacant if you moved out. This applies just as much to estate sales.
Pro: No Need for an Interim Move
You could sell without needing to make an interim move. There’s value to that because it’s more convenient.
There’s also more certainty, without risking homelessness if you were to sell without knowing exactly where you would go next.
Con: More Friction for Buyers
Estate Sale While Home Is Occupied
The more convenient it is for a seller to occupy a home, typically that means more friction for a buyer to actually come see the home. That means ultimately fewer people will be able to see it in a shorter period of time.
Con: Limited Scope of Preparation
The scope of work to prepare a home to sell for the most would be limited, because there’s going to be personal belongings, and of course you’re going to be living there.
Con: Valuables at Home During Showings
There’s a very small chance that, because you’re living there, your valuables at home during private showings could be at risk. As much as each respective buyer’s agent should be looking after what their buyers are doing, more focus tends to go toward looking at the house. With valuables at home, you just never know.
Living Through the Sale and Cleanup Afterward
After the estate sale, a lot of things sold and a lot of things didn’t. Big pieces were left: a bookcase, a couple of tables, and an antique dresser still upstairs, needing to be sold separately after the sale.
People still came to pick up items they bought and didn’t get to bring home the same day. They went shopping in the house after the sale, which was interesting. A team of people came to empty the house of stuff that didn’t sell, taking all the tables away.
Packing up life continued for weeks while transitioning to a new home. Clothes stayed hanging in the closet, with garbage bags put over them so hangers could stick out and be moved easily to the next closet. Everything else wasn’t too much work, just a lot of little stuff and clutter still out, making it hard to grasp how little stuff was actually left.
Later, there was a lot less stuff in the house, and the last couple of days at that home could be enjoyed with the reduced clutter.
What to Know Before Living Through the Sale
Keeping a vacuum matters, because the house is going to be a mess after the sale. The house being a mess after the sale is something worth knowing ahead of time.
After selling everything, feeling lighter comes from not having all of that stuff anymore, stuff that was hidden in closets and cabinets. Pulling it all out in preparation for the sale and seeing how much stuff there was proved pretty shocking. Once none of it belongs to you anymore and it’s hauled away, that feels really good.
Physical and Emotional Demands of Being Present
Whether doing an estate sale yourself while still living in the home, physical ability matters. It’s a lot of work, usually about four to five hours a day for several weeks. There’s a lot of lifting, kneeling, getting up on ladders, and moving heavy things around.
Emotional readiness also matters when living through a sale of a childhood home or items that mean something. It’s not like having a garage sale where items no longer matter. Estate sale items really do mean something, and getting rid of a childhood bedroom or an item tied to memory can be very difficult for some people while still occupying that same space.
Time Commitment While Living in the Home
Working on an estate sale about 25 to 35 hours a week still takes about five weeks to get accomplished. That requires a lot of time and energy, especially while continuing to live in the home throughout preparation, sorting, and pricing.
Considering Whether Occupancy Makes Sense
Whether to sell a home occupied or hire help to manage a sale while still living there depends on physical ability, emotional readiness, time available, and how well family members work together during the process. Living through a sale means dealing with mess, clutter, strangers coming through the space, and personal belongings staying in view throughout the process, right up until moving day.
