As you prepare to sell your home, you are doing everything possible to make it shine. Fresh paint is on the walls, the carpets are newly shampooed and every window is sparkling. Yet, if you have failed to declutter your space before you started all of this work, you may still struggle to find an interested buyer. Here’s what you need to know about decluttering as you prepare to sell your home.
Why Do You Need to Declutter?
Decluttering is not easy, but it is a necessity for a successful home sale. When you have decluttered your home, you will find that it’s much easier to keep it neat and tidy. There’s just less of “stuff” to move and clean around. This makes getting ready for a showing simpler.
Decluttering makes your house seem larger making it more appealing to potential buyers. Also, if you declutter fully, which means moving your stored items out of the house, your home will suddenly seem as if it has ample storage. This is critical to encouraging potential buyers to take another look, so take the time to do it.
When your home is decluttered and your personal mementos have been removed, buyers are able to better picture their own belongings in the house. This is helpful because it makes them feel “at home” in your home, enticing them to put in an offer.
Finally, decluttering will lead to a faster sale, and maybe even a higher price. While no one can fully predict what will make a potential buyer say “yes,” a home that is ready to move in to with minimal work is almost always going to sell faster than one that is jam-packed with the previous owner’s belongings. Even if you have outgrown your home, it shouldn’t look like you have when a potential buyer comes through.
How to Do It
Plain and simple–while decluttering is a big part of preparing a home for sale, it is rarely an easy thing to do. Your value your belongings, and ridding yourself of them can be a difficult process.
First, break down the job by room, starting with the first room a seller will see when entering the front door, and ending with the bedrooms. This will allow the main living areas to be ready for showings, even if the bedrooms are not quite there, so you may be able to list the home before you are done with this process.
As you declutter a room, have bins labeled “keep,” “storage,” “donation,” and “trash.” Pick up each item and put it in one of the bins. Then, put the “keep” items back in the room, ensuring that you aren’t keeping too many things. Remember to put the highly personal items, like your family photos or kids’ artwork in the “storage” bin.
As you tackle this job, work in small amounts of time. Give each task 20 minutes, then do something else for a while. Otherwise, you will get overwhelmed.
Don’t forget about seasonal items. Only keep the items you need for the current season. You can pack away and store seasonal clothing, decor and other items to free up space in your home.
Finally, remember that this is temporary. When you move into your new home, you can pull those items out of storage and start enjoying them again! By spending a little bit of time decluttering now, you will sell your home much faster and for a higher price.
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CBR, SRES - Licensed Real Estate Salesperson
Phone: 516.849.5895 | [email protected]
As an experienced professional Neil will do the leg work, keeping you up-to-date with new listings and the various market conditions that may impact the home purchase process. Sellers can also benefit from his skills in finance, negotiation, contractual agreements, and RE marketing. Call today and allow Neil to guide you through the complexities of buying or selling your home, eliminating hassles, and stress.
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