Yesterday I showed a house in El Cajon to some clients and while it wouldn't be featured on the TV show "Hoarders" it was close! There was stuff everywhere. Every horizontal surface was covered with stacks of items. Only the center of the floor was visible. The furniture was large and I do not think I have seen so many bookshelves in one place outside of the library! Closet doors would not close and I was seriously afraid to open any cabinet for fear of what would tumble out at us. Every room was like this. As you can imagine with all this stuff the place did not smell airy. It smelled of dust, dirty clothes and random old food. This my friends is not the way to get your home sold!
I have heard the rants and justifications from sellers before. "Well, the buyer will just need to look past it". Um how? You can't see any walls, floor or counters! "My home has the lived in feel, I don't like a prim and stuffy feel." The air is so stuffy I can't breathe! "I don't have time to organize." How are you going to move it all when we close escrow? "The carpet is new and will clean up nice". It is thread bare along the only accessible path. "We never use the fireplace so the bookcase in front is better" How will a buyer know the house has a fireplace?
If you are trying to sell your home you have to be realistic! The buyers who come to view a home want to be able to visualize themselves in the space. They cannot do this if there is hardly space for them in the room. The existing items are a distraction and become overwhelming to the buyers. When they see a messy and cluttered home you are NOT creating excitement or something that makes the buyers feel this is a move up to a better life. On the contrary it is depressing and who wants to live in a place that makes you feel like that?
When a buyer sees a dirty and cluttered space it tells them that the seller doesn't take care of their things and doesn't care. The buyer often thinks that this applies to the house as well. If someone can't sort through the years worth of mail or clean the dishes why would they assume that leaks are fixed quickly and regular maintenance done? By having a cluttered, messy home you are putting negative thoughts into the buyer's mind about the property. This is not a good thing.
One of the big things buyers want is space, usually the more the better. By having a cluttered mess the buyers see that the place is too small. Having closets over stuffed they assume there is not enough storage in the home. It is imperative that you get rid of items to open up the home and give a positive impression rather than a negative one. Get rid of the items in front of the windows, open the drapes, let the light shine in and allow the buyers to see that the house has windows and light!
I know it can be hard and overwhelming to pack up a home that you have lived in for a long time. I know, I just did it a couple of years ago. But if you are selling your home you are going to have to move so why not get a jump on the process and get better offers to negotiate? Not to mention if you start clearing out the junk you will have less to move in the end and if you are paying a mover the less you move the less it will cost you! You do not have to do it all in one day, start with one room or even one closet. Decide what you are taking with you, what you will donate and what is trash. Yes, I said it trash! Another hint would be to start using your reserves and not buying more. Really, do you want to move 49 cans of green beans and 14 cases of toilet paper? No more Costco runs!
Start before you put the home on the market and have a neat, organized home for the buyers to view. Continue the process as the home sells. You will be helping your home sell quicker and for more money and when it finally does sell your moving day will be much smoother. Good luck and happy sorting!
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