It is like those extra pounds that seem to creep back every time you lose them. Slowly but surely.
Clutter. It seems to appear almost overnight, and when your house is on the market it can be deadly to a sale.
Here is the deal...buyers always tell me " they can look past it". But if the truth is known, it is the spic and span homes that sell first, I think even when buyers say they can look past it, subconsciously they can't. Once they go into house beautiful, they quickly pass on the cluttered home even if it is a better deal. I have seen this over and over again.
If your home is on the market- or you are thinking of selling in the near future, here is some advice.
GET A STORAGE UNIT AND PUT A LOT OF YOUR THINGS IN IT!
Store away EVERYTHING that you don't use on a regular basis. Store all of the smaller pieces of furniture that make your rooms look smaller.
Store ALL of you off season clothing, Christmas decor, and all the boxes you are tripping over. Once you get it out of the way you will have an easier time keeping up on the daily grind of papers, books, ect... that creep into our lives.
EMBRACE SIMPLICITY. Less is more when your home is for sale!
ASK FOR HELP! If you are like me...you have WAY TOO MANY THINGS. Ask a trusted friend to HELP YOU GET RID OF THINGS. If you need to- hire a professional. It will pay off!
HAVE A SYSTEM for the stuff and fluff that must remain in the home while it is up for sale.
THIS TOO SHALL PASS! Hang in there, once your home sells and you are in your new place, you can be as messy as you want to! :) It is only temporary.
BethAnn Long ~ Spokane Realtor- Coldwell Banker Tomlinson South Inc.
509-362-4607
...there's no place like your home!
Great blog. How do your clients respond? Margaret C.
Love your blog!!! YOu are right clutter does cree up like those few extra pounds :)
Margaret C: I try to be tactful. Most people have already de-cluttered, but I am usually pretty honest. Most sellers want the truth because they want to sell! :)
Noah- unfortunatley...true!
I've seen homes sell with the clutter intact and included. Of course these are homes that have been in probate for years or otherwise, boarded up by descendants, only to discover that the antiques and depression glass inside the home are all still there. Especially at auction; it could turn out to be a windfall and your stop to becoming a star on the Antiques Roadshow.
Great information for clients ... and for me. Have you noticed that one bag of stuff (trash) goes out and 2 bags come in. Yet we need more stuff!
An ongoing and never ending battle. I've had clients declutter only to find out that they never missed all the "stuff" they had around and end up tossing a lot of it out after paying to store it. Great post.
BethAnn
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on clutter, they are right on the mark.
Good luck and success.
Lou Ludwig
David, yes that is the exception however.
Linda: yup
Dan...yes we don't miss it when it is gone
Lou :) you are welcome.
BethAnn, You are so right. The problem here is people just do not think you are telling them the truth. Even worse is the seller who agrees that the agent is telling them the truth and promises to clean up and then will not get it done. They just do not get around to it. Then they complain that they have no offers.
BethAnn, Great points...
Helping you help others live their American dream...
You're right, of course. It savvy sellers get it. And right now, with so few buyers out there looking, every single thing a seller can do to improve their odds of selling is going to make a huge difference!
BethAnn, Do you think it's a problem if I have 15 of those storage units? Just kidding. I am trying to declutter as I move to a new house. What a job!