How to prepare your home for a sale

Don’t be surprised if your Realtor tells you to clean up the clutter, pack up the knickknacks and ship it all off to storage, before you begin to market your home.

What most sellers don’t realize is that buyers are not interested in their personal items – especially items such as family photographs and various treasures a seller has collected over the years. These items can get in the way of a potential buyer’s ability to envision his or her own personal effects in your home.

While sometimes sellers cannot move everything out of their home and into storage, all sellers should consider at least packing away some of the items housed in closets and cupboards. By packing these items away, a seller can easily create space in the potential buyer’s eye.

It is also recommended moving various pieces of furniture out of the house before marketing it as another way to create additional space within a room and help the potential buyer imagine their own furniture in place of yours. If you can’t figure out what to put where, you might ask your Realtor for the name of a home stager to help you make your home look the very best it can.

Sellers can check with their Realtor for contacts of storage facilities and movers in your area. Typically, storage facilities offer large garage-type storage spaces that are weatherproof; some are temperaturecontrolled, and they offer high security with easy access for renters. In some cases, even semi-trailers are being used for portable storage units. These types of storage are very reasonable, with flexible lease terms to fit almost every need.

Sellers should also keep in mind for many potential buyers, curbside appeal is often the determining factor as to whether or not they even venture into a home that is for sale. Keep that in mind and store such items as grills, bikes and children’s other toys.

If you don’t wish to store some of your items, one popular way of cleaning out the clutter is to hold a yard sale. Another option is to donate the items to a local charity.

Sellers should think of themselves as living in a model home when they market their property. That means that in addition to making sure the home is constantly kept clean, they need to be willing to move their favorite chair, end table or couch out. It just makes it easier for a potential buyer to envision a home office in place of the cozy den a seller may have created. Since buying a home is usually the biggest purchase of a consumer’s life, it gets frustrating for

them if they cannot see past someone else’s clutter and envision themselves in the home. Finally, sellers should plan ahead. Too many times, sellers wait until the last minute to get their items moved and they end up paying more for storage or moving services because of last-minute scheduling. Remember, moving out the clutter is an investment in time and money that both experts in the storage business and real estate profession agree is well worth it. For more insights, contact a Realtor today.