Personal items in home

[Tracy1256]

Hello, I am getting ready to list my house and I am unsure of what to do with my personal items (like clothing). I plan on living in the house part time and renting it out part time. Should I just lock everything up in one room? Thanks.

[Sharon1192]

@Tracy1256  Hi there, I have stayed in a house where the woman does this, She has one room at the back end of the house that is locked and separate and not part of the rental. She does live in a back house during the mos its rented and has said she has access to that room but rarely goes in there. I stayed a month and it wasnt an issue, but I wouldnt leave anything valuable in there that your concerned about just to be safe

[Joelle43]

Hello @Tracy1256 

Firstly it needs to be made clear to guests if you will be present or not during their stay to avoid any surprises!

It's also important I think for guests to feel that they have that room/part of the house to themselves where they can store their belongings without coming across clothing that belongs to the owner.  So if  you have that possibility of locking your clothes and other valuable items in a separate room, then yes I think that is the best solution all round.

All the best Tracy
Joëlle

[Greystone0 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Tracy1256 ,

Wishing you success with your upcoming listing! Here's how we handle our home, which we also live in and keep personal items.

- we list our home as the 'whole home' - so the expectation on a guest part is that they are not sharing any spaces. Keeping locked areas off limits is common and anticipated.  Locked areas are for owner belongings, supply closets, storage, etc. Alternatively, if you have a closet filled with your stuff but not locked guests tend to not like this idea as they conclude that this is something that is part of the 'whole house' idea. Same goes for the fridge/freezer and pantry areas, finding owner food is usually not welcome (basics are always welcome, like coffee, oil, sugar, salt/pepper, and so on). If you are sharing a space (like renting just a bedroom in a home), then this would not be unusual).

-in our case we have a locked shed, locked cabinets in the garage & locked storage areas inside the home. All are mentioned in the listing as 'not for guest access' and all have a small sign on the door. Other than decor and a few tools that don't fit inside cabinets, our 'personal' stuff is locked away.  If your home has been a personal home with lots of family photos then I would put those away as well. In our case our photos that we keep out are scenic area photos, family specific are not out. 

-And just to add, if you decide to use an entire space to store items then  on the listing side, you would not include this space. It would just appear as a locked door to a guest.  There are areas in the listing to call out space that is not for guest access - and I would also include this in the 'other things to note'.

- our experience is that if it isn't locked away, guests will rifle thru stuff, so locking up is peace of mind.

Good luck!

[Elisa]

Hi @Tracy1256 😊, 

This is a really interesting question.

Do you have an available room in that house? What do you think of our host’s suggestions?