By Myra Nourmand
One person’s junk is another’s treasure. After doing your preliminary walk through, you realize that your client’s home needs help.
On the one hand, you want to say, “Toss those magazines in the recycle bin, and while you’re at it get rid of that purple paisley sofa.”
On the other hand, you don’t want to offend. So how do you get your point across in a kind, professional way?
Successful Selling Requires Being Aware of Your Audience
Imagine that your client, Steve, is a hunter. His home showcases his greatest conquests—it’s a proud display of his surf and turf treasures. A married couple tours Steve’s home. Their horrified expressions reveal their animal rights lifestyle. No sooner than you can say “PETA” — the deal is off.
To avoid this, first, compliment Steve on his pursuit. Then share that for the sake of selling the home at the highest possible price it’s in his best interest to put his trophies away.
How to Clear Closets of Clutter
By Myra Nourmand
Photo credit: Myra Nourmand
From cabinets and closets to attics and garages—when a home’s storage spaces seem like they’re ready to burst at the hinges, listings look cluttered and messy, and they risk losing the interest of prospective buyers.
So what are some quick, easy tips that will expand a home’s appearance and result in a faster, more successful sale? Here are a few common “problem” areas you’ll want to tackle.
By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine
Lorie Marrero
In honor of National Moving Month, the two experts have teamed up to help provide tips on how to improve your listings’ showings to get the house sold so your sellers can finally move on.
Ashley Whittenberger
Marrero and Whittenberger recently answered some questions for Styled, Staged & Sold on everything from getting a home ready to sell, how to intervene with your seller’s messy ways, and how to show your sellers how they can live in a staged house and keep it clutter-free and sparkling while it’s on the market (which is no easy task!).
Marrero is the author of “The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life” (Reason Press, 2009) and the creator of ClutterDiet.com. Whittenberger, a staging expert, is the president and CEO of Interiority Complex LLC.
To hear more of their moving and showing tips, Marrero and Whittenberger will be hosting a telecast, “Sell Your Home Faster & Improve Your Move,” 12 p.m. (EST) on Thursday that is geared for real estate professionals, stagers, sellers, and professional organizers. You can sign up here.
What are the main problems you often see in homes when sellers get ready to put their home on the market?
WHITTENBERGER: Too much clutter, too much furniture, and décor that is very taste specific. When staging, less is more. I always tell sellers that it’s important to remember that we’re selling your home, not your things! We want the home to be the star of the show, not your décor.
On the other hand, I have seen a few cases in which the seller has gone to the extreme of neutralizing and de-cluttering, and the home just looks bland with no personality whatsoever. The key is in striking a harmonious balance when designing the space. Professional home stagers do this by appointing and arranging appropriate art, décor, and furniture which highlights the architectural features of the home and helps it to stand out among the rest.
What’s a low-cost idea for prepping a home for sale that can have some of the biggest impact on its look?
MARRERO: Decluttering can have some of the biggest impact of all with the least cost. Decluttering accomplishes several things: 1.) It makes the space look larger; 2.) It de-personalizes the space so buyers can picture themselves living there without being distracted by your “collections” and stacks; and 3.) It makes the space feel cleaner and the home seem better maintained in general.
In fact, HomeGain.com’s 2011 survey says that decluttering brings a 586 percent return on investment when you sell.
Trying to keep a home always clean and clutter-free when you’re trying to sell can be a challenge. Do you have any tips for sellers on how to make living in staged home more simple? Continue reading »
By Charlene Storozuk
Selling your home is a stressful event, but doing so over the holiday season can kick the tension level up a notch. If your home is on the market over the holidays, you might be wondering if you should deck the halls or give it a pass for this year. That is, if in fact you celebrate the season.
When deciding whether to decorate or not, take the demographics of your neighbourhood into account. If the majority of home owners in your area do not celebrate the holidays, you may want to follow their lead and not decorate your home for the festive season either.
Here are some things to take into account if you are going to decorate:
- Less is definitely more. Combat clutter by keeping your holiday decor to a minimum and choosing classic, tasteful pieces.
Avoid displaying holiday collections. I happened to mention one year that I like nutcrackers. I didn’t even own one at the time, but now, 10 years later, I would have to guess that there are close to 80 of those little fellows standing guard in my home during the holidays. If I were selling, I’d want people to look at my home, not my collection.- Decorations should be in good condition. This is not the year to bring out Grandma’s tattered Santa Claus or Rudolph with the missing nose. Let them hibernate.
- Use an artificial tree for this year. You can place some pine boughs in a large bowl and dress it up with a few pine cones and holiday balls. You’ll still get that real Christmas tree scent without the mess.
- Never leave tree lights on when you are not home. If you have a showing booked, turn the lights on just before the appointment and be sure to come back right after to turn them off.
- Consider the safety of small children that may be coming through your home. Don’t leave out small decorations that could become a choking hazard.
- If Felix the cat has a bad habit of knocking your tree down on occasion, you might want to forego putting your tree up this year. Murphy’s Law says that Felix will do this just when potential buyers are on their way over for a showing.
One last thing: once the holidays are over, make sure you take down your decorations soon afterwards. As well, if the listing photos were taken while your home was decorated for the season, make sure that once mid January rolls around, new photos are taken. Buyers that see a Christmas tree in your living room while viewing your property online in March will be tipped off pretty quickly to the fact that your home has been on the market for a while.
Charlene Storozuk
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Charlene Storozuk is the owner of Dezigner Digz, a professional home staging and interior decorating company based in Burlington, Ontario. Her work is featured in the book FabJob Guide To Become A Home Stager, 2009 edition. She serves as regional vice-president, Canada for the Real Estate Staging Association and is a past recipient of the North American Leadership Award for her work as founder and president of the Halton & Hamilton-Wentworth RESA Chapter.
By Erica Christoffer, Contributing Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
Every day I learn something new from the folks I follow on Twitter. Today I learned that Nov. 15 is National Declutter Day. Who knew?
The occasion, which was started last year by Kijiji.com (@KijijiUS), eBay’s free online classifieds site, is a great way to get sellers motivated to prepare their home for showings.
Plus, we could all use a little decluttering in our lives, couldn’t we?
In honor of the occasion, I’ve scoured the Internet for some resources you can pass on to your clients. What I’ve come up with are three handy Web sites and one clutter-busting San Carlos, Calif.-based business that can clear out a room in minutes. Intrigued? Read on.
This Web site is all about organization, plain and simple. Organizing your life; organizing your home; organizing your office. The Washington, D.C.–based author Erin Doland is a recovering pack-rat who once “held on to objects like her third grade math assignments and every note she passed in high school.” Her book Unclutter Your Life in One Week, which went on sale this week, is a testament to her reformed, uncluttered lifestyle, and a helpful tool for anyone looking to declutter their home. Continue reading »
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