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Preparing Your Home to Sell or Downsize
There are so many things we cannot control when selling our home, such as the state of the real estate market or what mortgage rates are. However, we can control how ready our home is when it goes up for sale. In a buyer’s market, a properly staged home becomes even more important. Consumers are more educated than ever before and with the influx of so many television programs on interior design and home staging, people are shopping with very high expectations.
Don't wait until you are about to put your house on the market to start thinking about what changes need to be made. We accumulate so much over the years that it becomes a tremendous task to begin. Most sellers need an outside point of view on their home as it is difficult to see it objectively. When buyers are viewing your home they have extremely critical eyes. Your home is such a personal part of you and it is full of things that you love or that have a sentimental value. For example, your collection of family photos may make it difficult for a prospective buyer to see themselves living in your home. It is also important to consider that when you have been living in a space for a long time it is not easy for you to see the unattractive outdated wallpaper in the kitchen or that your decor dates back to the 1980’s. Maybe your bedroom has become an extra storage room for laundry or the furniture and accessories that you don’t have the heart to retire. It is natural to convince yourself that everything is okay when you have no idea where to start or how to deal with the situation.
The easiest way to begin is to work through one room at a time. Create areas within the room; one area for things to donate, one for things to give away to loved ones and finally one area for things to sell. If you haven’t used an item within the last 6 months to 1 year, generally, you don’t need it. However, there are many families who could enjoy the usefulness of the item if donated or sold in a garage sale.
This process can become even more difficult for adult children of elderly parents. Often the situation arises when we are met with a tragedy like a loss or illness, leaving an adult child who is struggling with a busy life of their own to assist their elderly parents with the process. It all can become very stressful. The adult children can become so overwhelmed with the process that the elderly parent’s emotional and physical comforts can be overlooked due to the crushing need to get the job done. Many home stagers and organizational companies offer services to assist people in this very situation by helping senior’s plan ahead or assisting them during this transitional time.
Think of your home as a product that must be carefully packaged to draw consumer interest and security that the house has been well maintained. This is especially important when the competition is high. Your house is generally, your most valuable asset and should be packaged well whether you choose to prepare on your own or seek the services and advice of a professional in the field.
