One of my favorite memories of home showing was a house with the giant mounted tyrannosaurus rex head. It was freakily realistic with beady eyes that watched you wherever you went in the room. We also found a giant iguana (this was real!!!) in the back bedroom that startled the living bejeezus out of my client and me...one of us actually screamed! Thereafter, we referred to that house as the reptile room. Needless to say, my client also did not buy it!
While the above case is a bit extreme it does point out that when people are getting ready to sell a home, the hardest part has to be decluttering and depersonalizing their home!
When I help a client stage their home for sale, the first thing we do is walk through each room and talk about what's in each space and the image it creates in a buyer's mind. For most homes, we're looking for space -- after all this is America where bigger is better! Make your house look half-full (as opposed to half-empty)! The more organized and neutral you can bethe better. Your goal is to make people picture themselves living in your house and have that be a good thing.
In the kitchen, clear the counters -- move off the food processor, the fax machine (my house!) and gadget holders, etc. Clean out cabinets and put away the things you know you really won't use in the next month or so in a box. Eat down the pantry!
Closets -- and yes people do go in your closets. They aren't looking for skeletons, just trying to make sure their stuff will fit in there. This is a great time to get rid of all those clothes you never wear and donate them to a worthy cause. Closets should only be half-full with lots of space between what's in there.
Family Room/Den/Living Room -- Can people move through these rooms, or does your furniture block their access ways? Sometimes our furniture it too big for the room -- you can remedy this by taking out one piece of a sectional or moving an extra chair or coffee table out of the way. Minimize, minimize. Less is more and worth the sacrifice of going without if it makes your home sell faster! Remember to depersonalize these areas. The less a buyer knows about you from your stuff--the easier it is for them to picture themselves instead of you in the house.
Okay, and how about just plain cleaning. Nothing helps a house sell faster in my opinion than being well-maintained and sparklingly clean! One of my favorite websites for the housekeeping challenge (of which I definitely include myself!) is http://www.flylady.net/ The Flylady has fantastic advice about managing all the things that clutter our homes and our lives.
Don't forget to share if you have any great tips, horror or success stories of getting your own house ready to show!
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