I have recently sold several homes where the homeowners lived for decades. I have been in my home for nearly twenty years, and the thought of moving makes me panic (fortunately, we aren’t going anywhere). Where to begin when selling your home?
Phase 1
1) Declutter, donate, sell, eliminate. Furthermore, go through your belongings and then go through them again. 90% of my clients tell me they brought “stuff” to their new home that they threw away.
2) I(n addition, rent a safety deposit box for your valuables and move them before your home goes on the market – why take a chance?
3) Throw away all of the refrigerator magnets.
4) Have your gardener spruce up your landscape, or better yet, contact me for a gardening recommendation.
5) If you have a coin jar, cash the coins in.
Accordingly, after years of living in your home, the transition to it becoming another family’s home has begun. It’s time to prepare for real estate photography and showings:
Phase 2
1) Personal paperwork – In today’s world, identity theft is a concern. File away all your personal paperwork: leave nothing on a bulletin board or readily visible. This includes checks, bank statements, tax documents, etc.
2) Weapons, guns, and ammunition – Potential buyers don’t need to know if you have weapons. The best option – remove them; at a minimum – unload and hide them.
3). Family photos – I typically recommend removing them; most home buyers and their Realtors will just be distracted by them. Buyers need to imagine their family living in your space.
4). Prescription drugs – hide them (not in the medicine chest).
5). Declutter (round two) – Removing almost everything from the countertops makes the home appear more spacious. Your fireplace is the focal of the room, not the collection of Limoges boxes lining the mantle.
Meanwhile, the list is customized when I and my home stager meet with my clients. But for those of you thinking of selling and not ready to commit to a real estate agent, the above will get you started.
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