If you’re planning to sell your home, remember that the two most important factors that influence whether your house will sell are its presentation and price.
Not every seller is in the position to pay for a staging service to come in and refresh their home by adding furniture, plants, color, etc., but every homeowner can “thin” their home to make it show better. You can make the rooms look bigger, make your home like a model home, make your home look easier to maintain with less furniture, curios and even cars.
Self storage is often the answer for many homeowners putting their homes on the market. To give you an example, you can rent a small self-storage space for as little as $1.76 per day. A space the size of a one-car garage starts at about $8.50 per day (based on a month-to-month use).
Not only will thinning out your house help your home sell more quickly and at a better price, but it should mitigate the stress of moving because you will start the moving process a little earlier and not have so much to do on the days before your actual moving day.
A few suggestions of items to put in storage:
» 1) Box up the items in your garage and sports equipment so your garage is clean of all items except your cars.
» 2) If you have a third car and you aren’t using it daily, put it in your storage space (your garage and driveway will look more ample).
» 3) Get some book boxes and thin your shelves, coffee tables, night stands — and maybe that pile of unread magazines on the floor.
» 4) If you have leftover empty flower pots, planters and vases that you’re not using, box them up.
» 5) If you are done with your heavy winter clothing and ski equipment, empty the closets and make them look more spacious.
» 6) Photo collector? Take down some of your pictures on the tables and walls and box them up. Let your buyer focus on the house, not “who you might know in common.”
» 7) Kitchen clutter? Clear your counters — either box up the items or make room in the cabinets for them. Store those wedding gifts or holiday platters and your good china.
» 8) Furniture: Store the extra chairs in the corner of any rooms that might look small because of them.
» 9) Exercise equipment you are still thinking of using some day? Store it!
» 10) Wine collection under the stairs or in a closet — store that, too!
» 11) In essence, there should be no storage on the floors of your closets, under the bed, etc. If there is, it will make your home look like it doesn’t have enough storage.
» 12) Last but not least, store furniture that doesn’t match in color or style. You may have inherited a great piece from your grandmother, but if it doesn’t match your overall décor, store it.
The last tip of advice: Pick up a Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware catalog and study the pictures, compare their living room to your living room, their bedroom to your bedroom — your buyer is getting the same catalog. You’re likely to find very minimal items each room.
Remember, your storage space at a storage center normally gives you access seven days a week, so use it as your new walk-in closet or garage and help your home sell quicker and at a better value.
— Paul Suding, a real estate agent with Cool Santa Barbara Homes and Village Properties, is president of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors. He can be contacted at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 805.455.8055.
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