1. De-personalize Your Home
If you’re selling your home, then you’re likely also looking for one, which makes it easier to place yourself in the buyer’s shoes. Buying a home is a major decision which costs a pretty penny. When people are looking to buy a house, they want to envision it as their own. Family photos, eclectic artwork/decor, and personal possessions detract from this vision. The last thing you want is potential buyers to feel like they’re invading your space. So leave some (literal and figurative) room for imagination and place unneeded personal items in storage.Remember, you’re selling your house, not your story.
2. Organize Room By Room
As with anything, selling your home requires putting your best foot forward. To the buyer, an organized and decluttered home is a well-nurtured home. So keep each room clean, fresh, and in “move-in ready” condition. While decluttering is certainly a task, especially if you’ve lived in your house for a long time, the earlier you start, the more manageable it will be. After all, you’re going to have to deal with those items, one way or another. That being said, you don’t have to do everything all at once. Work on one room at a time, getting the most cluttered rooms out of the way first. As you make your way through each room, change your mindset from “I might need this” to “I probably won’t need this”. Moreover, getting rid of clutter or unnecessary items is as simple as setting up regular donation drop-offs or scheduling pick-up dates. This strategy not only reduces moving costs, it also yields a better return on investment.
3. Keep surfaces clear
Two of the biggest factors in purchasing a house are square footage and storage space. But regardless of how these details look on paper, your home needs to accurately reflect them. You can enhance the look, feel, and space within your home by keeping surfaces as clear as possible, such as floors, counters, tables, and islands. Doing so creates opportunities for buyers to imagine your home as their own. For example, you might want to remove all the magnets off your fridge, which also helps with step 1, de-personalization. Moreover, cluttered surfaces – including cupboards – create the illusion of less space. Because buying a home is no small feat, interested buyers are going to be on the lookout for any drawbacks. Clear surfaces ensure your home looks clean, fresh, and give off the impression that your house is well-maintained.