Whether you’re considering downsizing, upsizing or a lateral move to a new location, you’re likely going to need to start the process with some decluttering tips, and finish the process with learning the best way to pack for moving. And if you’re inheriting a house, the process is similar but has some special considerations, particularly if you have been assigned executor of estate duties.
The South Florida real estate market has entered a buyer’s market. For home sellers, that is not considered great news. Simply put, a housing buyer’s market is a supply and demand condition where there are more homes for sale than buyers. That means more inventory and typically a longer selling window.
While the current market can change, it is presently better news for buyers than sellers. Sellers need to take that extra step in a buyer’s market to make their home stand out from the crowd. Did you know that buyers typically make a decision on a property within 90 seconds of entering a home? Here are a few ideas to get a jump on the competition:
1. Check out the competition – Go to the experts such as Realtor.com to see photos of similar homes in your area. You’ll quickly see how your home’s decor and features compare. Remember, home buyers are most likely going to visit those homes as well as yours, once your home is on the market. You’ll want your home to make a great first impression online as well as a great impression when they walk through your front door.
2. Declutter and depersonalize – I can’t emphasize this enough! Go through your home and remove personal and family photos; not only from the bookshelves and coffee table but from the walls too. Don’t worry about leaving an empty spot on the wall, you’ll tackle that problem later. Next remove any other small knick-knacks. Move on to larger items such as vases and figurines. If these items make the decor look dated, consider removing some or all of them. Sometimes, replacing dried flowers with fresh flowers will help. If you haven’t done so already, pack-up any paperwork laying around such as bills and mail to cut down on clutter. Tackle your bathroom countertops as well. Keep out only the bare necessities. Lastly, if you have small children, you’ll need to find a way to store their toys out of sight as much as possible, or at least have bins where the toys can be easily tucked away when potential buyers come calling.
3. Repair and upgrade – Be on the lookout for necessary repairs and upgrades you’ll need to tackle before listing. You’ve probably been living with more than a few things that you’d repair if you had the time. Well, now’s the time! A home buyer doesn’t want to walk through your home ticking off the items that they’ll have to take care of if they purchase this house. Walk through your home, room by room, with a notepad and create a to-do list. It’s likely that you’ll need to call in a professional or two to get some of these items done. Check every electrical outlet and replace every burned out bulb. Open and close every window. Check for leaks in the bathroom and replace old or stained caulking. Optimally, you’ll want to make sure all aspects of the home are functioning properly.
4. Staging – The basic idea is that you’re styling your home’s interior to look like it’s ready for a department store catalog shoot or at least you’ll want it to look better than the competition. At this point, you’ve already decluttered and depersonalized your home. Now is the time to refresh and restyle your decor. You can hire a professional stager to do the whole job or get a staging consultation. You may wish to rent furniture and décor or make do with your current belongings depending on the condition. To easily freshen up the look of your home replace or remove soft goods such as bath mats, towels, bedding, area rugs and heavy drapes. Now’s the time to replace that family portrait with an inexpensive but tasteful piece of wall art. If you can’t stage the home with new or rented furniture, at least remove items such as excess occasional tables. If possible, eliminate any extra pieces of large furniture. Too many dressers in a bedroom or a large armoire can make even a decent sized room appear small. Reconfigure the layout of furniture in a room to make the room look as appealing and as large as possible. Another item to consider at this point is painting the interior of your home with a neutral palette. Or painting any accent colored walls with a neutral color. Lighter colored walls make a home appear cleaner and larger.
5. Cabinets, closets and the garage – I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about the spaces that might not be visible in your listing photos and won’t be noticeable at first glance but still hold an important place in getting your home ready to sell. That’s the inside of your cabinets, closets and garage. Buyers WILL open closets doors, drawers, etc. Sort through every one of these spaces. Don’t just straighten up. Think about what you’d like to take to your new home. Donate, sell or discard the rest. Less “stuffed” storage spaces not only look larger but organized spaces give the impression to buyers that your home is well maintained.
6. Deep clean your home inside and out – Approach the project as if you’re out to eliminate every last speck of dust from your house—even the dust bunnies under the bed. Why? Because buyers are apt to look in, around and under things that typical guests would leave alone—and if they find dirt, they’ll suspect your home isn’t properly maintained. If a buyer has doubts about your home’s condition in a buyer’s market, they won’t make an offer. They’ll simply move on to one of the many other homes available. Lastly, take a deep breath (you’ve done so much and you’re almost at the finish line!). Make sure your home actually smells fresh and clean. This is especially important if you have a pet.
7. Curb appeal – In a buyer’s market the most attractive house from the street may convert more home lookers to home buyers. Bottom line is that a home sale offer is apt to be much better if the home is looking good. Some things to consider are power washing the home (including the roof and pavers), adding new landscaping like bright flowers and fresh shrubbery (especially by the front door and walkway), trimming trees and bushes and making sure the pool is clean and clear. I’m going to include beautifying your back patio or lanai area in this category as well. Adding fresh seat cushions and pillows can really make a difference. Here in South Florida, we enjoy outdoor living all year long so I pay special attention to these areas. I had a client whose back patio was very neglected. Once the pavers were washed, new pillows were added along with a few accessories, she exclaimed that it looked so good she wished she had done something like that years ago! She certainly didn’t have time to enjoy it then because the home sold 2 weeks later.
8. Inherited homes: (Special mention) – Although everything stated earlier in this article holds true for inheriting a house, I want to include the special steps needed in this situation. If you’ve inherited a home, you’re also likely to be the executor of the will. The executor has some important responsibilities, which may include selling the decedent’s home and the contents of the home. These jobs require extra sensitivity and compassion. When working in an inherited home, extra precautions should be taken when sorting through the home’s contents. A good first step is to decide what large items will be sent to family members. Separate other items into groups such as high value items which can be assigned to an auction house, personal items such as family photos, and birth certificates which will be photographed and sent to the inheritor for decisions on how to handle if you are not the inheritor, items to donate such as clothing, books and knick-knacks and lastly those items to dispose of. Take special care to go through pockets of all clothes and open every book (you’d be surprised at what has been found in those pockets and books!) before delegating them to the donation pile. Touch base with the inheritor (if you are not the inheritor) to go over all findings before anything leaves the home. Check with your realtor to find out if they would like the home completely emptied, staged with existing items, or professionally staged before having anything removed from the home.
Decluttering, repairing, staging and cleaning are all important to make a great first impression with potential buyers. And when your home sells, make sure you’re ready to pack up and move on! If you want to learn more about how Ready, Set, Move Group can help, contact us today for a free phone consultation.
