Who can remember the feeling of love at first sight? We all want to look our best when meeting someone new to make a good first impression. Studies have shown that buying a house invokes similiar emotions and it is often said that a buyer will know if interested within the first few minutes of looking at a home.
Staging is the process of dressing your home to make that first important impression. There are different ways to prepare your home for entry to the marketplace. Depending on the age and condition of a home, work may need to be done structurally or cosmetically to spruce it up a bit. Little things like painting or decluttering can often go a long way to showcase the space and structural integrity of your home. A study by the NAR shows that a staged home typically sells much quicker than one that isn't.
From my experience the top priority to preparing a home for sale should first be to declutter. You want to be able to show the structure of your home and make the unique features of the physical property easily visible and accessible. I recommend going room by room and getting rid of the junk. Categorize things by if you will continue using them when you move or not. Get rid of things you don't want and consider putting things that you don't use in a storage pod until you move. You want to remove as many personal items from your space as possible.
For a more expensive home it may be worthwhile to hire a professional stager or organizer but even if you are on a limited budget there are easy ways to show your place in the best possible way. Below are a few links to articles on staging I have recently read.
Tips for hiring a stager
Staging on a limited budget
How to hire a professional stager
Do it yourself Staging tricks
Decluttering tips made elegant
In our technology driven times many millennials want a home that is Smart staged.
Wouldn't you always want to put your best foot forward when you embark on a new project? Selling a home requires an even higher level of preparedness. I hope the above tips give you some insight into this process. As I find more articles related to staging I will add links to this blog post below.
When considering a move it is a good idea to meet with an experienced realtor who can guide you in the preparation process as there are many things to do beforehand to be well positioned. Remember your property is only a new listing ONCE so you want to get it right the first time to attract the most buyers. A realtor has insight into how to do this to be competitive in the market place.
Wendy is a realtor in the metro west area of Boston. She takes a hands on approach with each client and has built a team of professionals to help with each step along the way to make the process as seamless as possible. As an SRES she is able to help with downsizing and advising her more mature clients on selling "a well lived in" family home. If you would like a free consultation on how she can help you sell your home please email her at wendy@wendybcb.com.
Showing posts with label professional organizer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label professional organizer. Show all posts
Saturday, December 9, 2017
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Decluttering today, less stress tomorrow
Since writing this original blog in November 2017 professional organizer and author Maria Kondo has created a Netflix series "Tidying Up with Maria Kondo". If you don't have Netflix don't worry, many of the tips can be found in today's Washington Post article reviewing the show or by continuing to read this blog.
Admit it, we are all guilty of becoming packrats. My husband often says if there is an empty surface I will fill it. A home full of stuff becomes overcrowded and the process of purging can be daunting. It takes discipline to keep a home clutter free. Little inactions and bad habits can lead to a messy cluttered environment.
Studies show that clutter and disorganization decrease productivity and efficiency. To learn more about the health impacts of clutter click here. Another thing my husband always says is that "everything has its place". He gets upset with me if I take something out and don't return it to the cabinet or drawer. I know he is correct as I have often misplaced my keys or forgotten where I last left an item. This seems to happen when I am in a rush or desperately need to get out the door. Sound familiar?
After going through decluttering and organizing my deceased parent's home last year in Florida, I came to realize how burdensome the disarray of accumulated papers and things really is. There were so many things acquired and held on to that were totally useless and unpurposeful. I came home from an intense period of deep cleaning and made a promise that I would not do the same with my own home. Over the past several months I have been in a constant tug of war of keeping up with cleaning and avoiding unnecessary new acquisitions that just take up space. I think to myself "do I really need this now" before making any purchase.
If you can answer yes to any of these questions then you may also share this problem.
*Do you grab your mail from the mailbox, give it a quick skim and set it aside on your kitchen counter?
*Do you have to dig to find your dining room table before hosting a dinner party? How about your workdesk?
*Do you throw everything in a pile in your garage when you need to make space?
*Do you have all of your kids art projects from their first day of school through college graduation?
*Did you save magazines but never get around to reading them?
Fear not, there is great advise out there on how to declutter. To start you may want to check out these articles:
Tracy McCubbin, a professional organizer from dClutter has five easy areas to tackle in your house.
Vermont mother and author, Eve Schaub recently published a book called Year of No Declutter for advise on how to keep your children's things organized.
Lastly, Japanese organizer Maria Condo's book shares advice from her book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up on You Tube.
If you don't have the time or energy to tackle organizing on your own or need a jump start there are professional organizers available to help. As a realtor, I have a network of great resourceswww.wendybcb.com
If you can't find my contact info in your cluttered address book you can simply contact me at wendy.bornstein@nemoves.com.
Admit it, we are all guilty of becoming packrats. My husband often says if there is an empty surface I will fill it. A home full of stuff becomes overcrowded and the process of purging can be daunting. It takes discipline to keep a home clutter free. Little inactions and bad habits can lead to a messy cluttered environment.
Studies show that clutter and disorganization decrease productivity and efficiency. To learn more about the health impacts of clutter click here. Another thing my husband always says is that "everything has its place". He gets upset with me if I take something out and don't return it to the cabinet or drawer. I know he is correct as I have often misplaced my keys or forgotten where I last left an item. This seems to happen when I am in a rush or desperately need to get out the door. Sound familiar?
After going through decluttering and organizing my deceased parent's home last year in Florida, I came to realize how burdensome the disarray of accumulated papers and things really is. There were so many things acquired and held on to that were totally useless and unpurposeful. I came home from an intense period of deep cleaning and made a promise that I would not do the same with my own home. Over the past several months I have been in a constant tug of war of keeping up with cleaning and avoiding unnecessary new acquisitions that just take up space. I think to myself "do I really need this now" before making any purchase.
If you can answer yes to any of these questions then you may also share this problem.
*Do you grab your mail from the mailbox, give it a quick skim and set it aside on your kitchen counter?
*Do you have to dig to find your dining room table before hosting a dinner party? How about your workdesk?
*Do you throw everything in a pile in your garage when you need to make space?
*Do you have all of your kids art projects from their first day of school through college graduation?
*Did you save magazines but never get around to reading them?
Fear not, there is great advise out there on how to declutter. To start you may want to check out these articles:
Tracy McCubbin, a professional organizer from dClutter has five easy areas to tackle in your house.
Vermont mother and author, Eve Schaub recently published a book called Year of No Declutter for advise on how to keep your children's things organized.
Lastly, Japanese organizer Maria Condo's book shares advice from her book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up on You Tube.
If you don't have the time or energy to tackle organizing on your own or need a jump start there are professional organizers available to help. As a realtor, I have a network of great resourceswww.wendybcb.com
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