How many people do you know in your life that want to flip a house? Truly, our generation has been inspired by the many programs on HGTV.
Shows like Flip or Flop, House Hunters, Good Bones, and others have all ignited the spark of real estate investing in their audiences.
But as we well know, the dream is often different than the reality! Whether your intent in buying a property is to flip it, or simply give it some love while you live in it, getting home improvement tasks checked off can be quite the process.
Case Study: From the Rubble to the Ritz
Recently, I had the privilege of working together with two close friends who were interested in buying a fixer as their first home, and living in it while they improved it. The objective was to find a property with all of the right stuff, and at the right price.
One Saturday morning, after experiencing a disappointment with a fixer property up in Mount Vernon, we decided to stop in at an open house in Arlington.
The home in Arlington was a stylish rambler that the seller had originally intended on flipping, but ultimately ran out of cash and stopped halfway through.
The main objectives to be accomplished here were the following:
· Clean up and finish the flooring
· Scrape, re-texture, and paint all walls
· Upgrade or clean the appliances (the fridge was remarkably moldy!)
· Re-install the cabinetry
Put simply, the home just needed some special attention!
Creating a Repair Plan
The buyers ended up making their offer on the home, and it was off to the races!
We quickly performed an inspection with the talented Puget Sound home inspector Bob Gross. The inspection was a resounding success, revealing no serious structural issues with the home.
You could say that it had “good bones.”
Clever Financing
Originally, the buyers had set up their financing in such away where they would perform the majority of the improvements and repairs after closing on the property and moving in.
…however, after our appraisal, it was revealed to us that the rules for the loan program had changed, and that getting the property repaired PRIOR to closing would be mandatory in order to fund the loan.
While some buyers could have been spooked our discouraged by this, these buyers were tenacious and determined to get the work done and moved in!
Thanks to the smooth accommodations from the listing agent, seller, title team, and lender, we all agreed to move the closing date to allow the buyers an additional month to complete the repairs and have the property re-appraised!
Getting the Work Done
Truly, I have never seen a pair of more hardworking people.These buyers successfully finished all of their work on the property just in time for the re-appraisal and successfully closed on the home!
See for yourself the difference that they made to this lovely home.
Coming to a Close
Even though it’s certainly an occasion worth celebrating,it’s always a bit melancholy to come to a close with the clients.
They successfully completed all of the repairs, had their loan funded, and are now proceeding to get all moved in and settled into their new home!
A huge congratulations to the buyers! And an even greater THANK YOU for allowing me the opportunity to work together with you.
Types of Clutter in the Home
Now think – if the clutter doesn’t spark joy to YOU, how is it going to spark joy to a prospective buyer? They have no personal relationship with it.
Minimal Clutter
- Miscellaneous boxes in the garage
- Wire clutter hanging behind your devices
- Lots of cosmetics adorning your bathroom counter-top
- Pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils taking up all counter space in the kitchen
- Unstacked blu-rays, DVD’s games in your media cabinet
- Empty miscellaneous packaging laying around the house (hey, sometimes breaking down those Amazon delivery boxes can be a nuisance, I get it).
Those are some light amounts of clutter that I have found even the most TIDY people to be in possession of.
Advanced Clutter
- Discarded fast food bags and pizza boxes
- Overflowing trash cans
- Overflowing laundry appliances
- Your home is a literal nicknackatory (it’s a real thing)
- LEGOS and toys strewn across the floor
- More unspeakable things
Giving People a Blank Canvas
You see, I have a mantra that I usually stick to when I’m helping sellers prepare their home for listing.
“You want to give people a blank canvas that they can paint on with their imagination.”
People don’t want to see YOU and YOUR LIFE when they go tour a home. They need to be able to have a look at it and imagine what THEIRS could be there. Your clutter 1000% impedes this natural process and will scare away a percentage of your prospective audience. Sorry, you MUST clean your kitchen before an open house.
Staging furniture is a little bit different, as it is meant to bring out the possibilities of the space, rather than tell people exactly how they ought to live in it. But that is a topic for another article.
How to declutter a home for sale
THROW IT ALL AWAY!
Just kidding. I am not suggesting that you throw everything in a trash bag that “doesn’t spark joy.” I understand that moving from one home to another often requires people to start boxing their things up early and get prepared… so often, this leads to clutter laying around.
However, you need to get it all out of the field of vision of two things:
1. Any people who come see it
2. The cameraman who will be doing your photos
As real estate agents, we invest our cash upfront into doing marketing presentations properly. This means having great photos. It always feels like a waste if the seller had their makeup collection across the bathroom counter top, or a stack of boxes in their living room.
Often, we’ll try to remove these from the photos ourselves as we take the pictures, but sometimes things squeak through the cracks.
If you cannot remove some of the items that were listed above, then at the very least, make sure that you have gotten then out of anybody’s sight prior to the home listing.
Keep it Clean
Stay actively in touch with your agent about prospective buyers coming to see your house so that you can take the appropriate measures to clean it up as needed.
It might be a bit of an inconvenience if you are still living in the home, but trust me that it will be worth it to attract the right buyer EARLIER ON in the process.
Alternatively, you might ask your agent “Why don’t you think it’s selling?” and we’ll have to give you the hard truth that it’s because your home is messy and turning them off.
Use it as a great opportunity to take inventory of what needs to come with you, what can be donated, and how you might experience some more peace in your space when you take the time to tidy it up!
The result will be a shorter period on the market, and attracting a buyer who has been able to IMAGINE their life inside your home. And once the buyer’s imagination takes hold, it becomes a powerful motivator toward a successful, smooth closing process.
If you have any questions on how to declutter your home for sale, I can help answer them for you. I can also recommend my favorite brand of trash bags 😌 (Jk).
-Evan