There are several strategies available to make your house more appealing to potential buyers. These quick fixes don’t cost much money and can improve the value of your home. An easy way increase your home’s salability is to remove excess furniture and items and de-clutter.
You’ve all seen the house that has too much stuff in it. The sight of clutter can bring negative feelings to potential buyers who are touring your home.
Try these suggestions to improve your home’s salability by de-cluttering:
- Start with the front view of your home from the street. Are there too many items in the yard or on the front porch?
* The first impression of your home is how it looks on the outside. If you de-clutter your front yard or doorstep area, you’re most likely helping potential buyers to experience a more positive first impression of your house.
- Continue with first impressions of your home’s interior. As you step inside your front door and enter the foyer, living room or great room area, how does it look to you?
* Can you see open spaces between furniture where you see the trim board?
* Have you tastefully hung one or two art items on each wall?
* Look at the surfaces of all your furniture, like the dining table, the entertainment center, end tables, cocktail table, and even the kitchen countertops if they’re within your view. If the furniture surfaces are overloaded, removing some of the items will help the buyer see the space you have without getting distracted by all the items you display.
* Simplifying what your visitors will see makes it easier for them to look beyond your personal items and see what your home actually has to offer.
- Conduct the same examination of each room in the house. Look for too many items in a space.
* Notice if furniture pieces are scrunched in together to fit in a space. Re-arrange or move pieces of furniture if you can’t see wall space in every room between each piece of furniture.
* Remove excess personal items.
* Think of de-cluttering as making your home more attractive to people who might want to buy it.
- Put away most small items. A quick and handy method to clear out the “small item” clutter is to grab a large laundry basket or cardboard box and walk through each room, plucking up items that don’t need to be there. Deposit them in your basket or box. Then, put them all away.
* If you do this activity periodically, you’ll find that surfaces won’t get cluttered as quickly as they used to.
* Furthermore, this is a great technique to use once your home is actually up for sale. Just before your home will be shown, you can do a quick “sweep” of each room to improve the look of your home to potential buyers.
* Seriously consider whether you must display the personal items that are cluttering your living areas. Improving your home’s salability means you’re helping potential buyers to see themselves living in the home. Too many of your personal items tend to hamper that vision.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to improve the salability of your house, use a discerning eye to see if you have an excess of clutter. Ridding your yard and home of unnecessary items will make your home shine for prospective buyers.
