If you’re planning to put your home on the market, you’ll probably want to receive an offer quickly – and turn the best profit possible,
you can look for a real estate agents striving to provide you with the absolute best home buying and selling experience coast-to-coast like Exprealty.
A key way to achieve this is to get the property looking as clean, tidy and attractive as you can prior to any photographs being taken and, perhaps more importantly, before viewings are arranged.
Decluttering is a vital element of this process. If you can clear away a good amount of the paraphernalia that has been collected over the time you have spent in the home, each space will look fresher, cleaner and ready for someone else’s “stamp”
So – how do you do this effectively? In this article, we examine a few techniques you can use to get your home as clutter-free as possible before putting it up for sale.
Utilize Skip Hire
If you’re planning to throw a lot of items away, a reliable and affordable skip hire company should be your first go-to resource.
Opting for skips will enable you to remove a great deal of waste all at once, without having to plan where and when to transport it yourself.
Most firms of this kind offer a range of styles and sizes of skip, so take your time deciding which is of the most practical size for your purposes.
Remember: if you’re unsure, opt for a larger size, as it’s cheaper to underfill a skip than to have to hire one multiple times over.
Some skip hire companies also offer scrap metal recycling services – so, if you have enough of a particular material, you could even make a small amount of money back and achieve a “greener” means of disposal!
To that end, don’t be overzealous about throwing things out. Donate items to charity where possible and think about the possibilities of upcycling pieces of furniture or other objects – whether to keep, sell or donate – in order to reduce your environmental impact. Make sure you know the nearest dumpster location to dispose of what remains.
Invest in “Off-Site” Storage
There may well be items that you wish to keep, but that are likely to get in the way when it comes to viewings or photography. If this is the case for you, then you may find the use of self-storage companies to be the best recourse.
This option is usually comparatively affordable and provides a fuss-free way of holding on to belongings that aren’t required in your property during viewings – but that you wish to keep in the long term.
Keep Storage Spaces Tidy
Savvy potential buyers will want to look into every nook and cranny – and for many, storage space is particularly important.
To that end, don’t try to get away with simply shifting all of the clutter from your main rooms and cramming it roughly into the property’s built-in cupboards and closets. Ideally, viewing attendees will want to look into these spaces in order to gauge their storage capacity.
Instead, try to get your storage as organized as possible. This includes garages, sheds and even attic space if possible.
You don’t have to clear them out completely; in fact, many potential buyers may be interested to see them “in action” to find out how they can be used.
Of course, it’s a good idea to make sure they are not over-full, as this can make them seem smaller than they really are.
If you can make your storage spaces appear highly functional and convenient by presenting them in an organized and well-ordered manner, you might find that they serve as an unexpected additional selling-point!
Don’t Strip Too Much Out
There’s a fine balance that should be struck between an organized home that is free from clutter and a “bare” or “stark” series of spaces. You want to aim for the former, not the latter.
Domestic properties should still offer a sense of home when they’re up for sale, so don’t feel that you have to remove every single scrap of furniture or decor.
Our advice is to leave enough “dressing” in your spaces to keep them looking attractive and “lived in” – to give viewers an impression of comfort and to help them imagine how it might feel to settle into the property themselves.
Think Functional
If you plan to live in the property while it’s on the market, you’ll need practical items to hand for your day to day activities and weekly tasks.
To that end, it may be a good idea to create a list of vital elements that you wish to keep immediately accessible.
Decide which items should be visible on shelves or surfaces, which can be stowed away in cupboards, drawers and cabinets and which could be packed up and placed into “off-site” storage.
Having this level of organization will also make it easier when the time comes for you to move out!
Remember Visibility
It’s important to try and think from the perspective of a house hunter who is seeing each room in your property for the first time. What would you like them to notice?
Try not to impede the view of key features like windows, or to obscure particularly characterful elements like alcoves by stacking them full of items.
It’s especially important to consider these “sightlines” when photographs are being taken for a website or sales brochure.
A room needs to feel spacious, with key elements visible, in order to make a property as attractive as possible – so try to keep decor and accessories subtle and in a room’s margins.
You could consider placing elements of decor sparingly in key areas to help draw the eye to certain focal points – but remember, too much ornamentation can tip the balance and appear distracting rather than eye-catching!
All of the above suggestions should serve to help you as you declutter your property prior to selling it whether that be through wholesale auction / private sale (see more here) or via the conventional route.
If you get the balance right, your home will seem more appealing and may even elicit higher offers – resulting in an improved chance of turning a good profit when you sell.