HIDDEN SECRETS FOR SELLERS - A THREE PART SERIES
PART I – INSIDE YOUR HOME - Secrets Now Out of the Closet
The look on Carrie’s face said it all, in sheer bewilderment and disbelief she exasperated,
“Where do the shoes go?” To which her agent replied donning a look of comparable angst as she impatiently snipped back, “you get one of those hanging things and throw it over the door.”
This scenario from a popular Sex and the City episode depicts a saga so unique to life in New York City like igloos are to Eskimos, that is our ongoing obsession with storage. Hunting for a home with coveted and ample storage can too often become the bane of any New Yorker’s existence. For most, the ability to compartmentalize your belongings like you do your thoughts is a precursor to quality of living, and organized spaces always bode well for an efficient and enjoyable life. In our 3rd installment of Hidden Secrets for sellers, Halstead Property’s expert agents from the entire Tri-State area divulge a handful industry tips to ensure your home is never greeted with a response akin to Bradshaw’s.
Today’s homebuyers have a preconceived and often unwavering set of expectations and “must haves” that need to be met immediately upon seeing a home. Replace the 3 L’s of real estate with space, space and more space, and you have one of the most in-demand factors a home must deliver on.
An overwhelming number of our expert agents agents live by the cardinal rule that first and foremost, before placing your home on the market you must invest time and careful thought into sifting through and emptying out miscellaneous and excess belongings. Because is there anything more of shame than letting a house with great “bones” and potential showing factor fall by the wayside because its overrun with too much stuff? Beginning with those beloved shoes that Carrie spoke so fondly of, Amelia Gewirtz from Halstead’s Westside office cautions that your footwear, clothing and accessories need to follow suit with the current season for an obvious yet overlooked reason. A potential homebuyer is not concerned with whether your passé pair of pumps or loafers are from Winter 12’, but what sense does it make to over cramp your closet with snow boots when it’s the middle of May and flowers are in full bloom? It translates to your inability to properly manage the space that your home presents you with.
Thus all things not in current season should remain out of sight. Cashmere sweaters do not need to freely (or erratically) flow out of your armoire like scarves are not warranted a hanging or folding space if they will not be worn within a 2 week window. This allows buyers to focus on how well your home is positioned to serve their needs, and eliminates giving the impression that your home does not possess enough storage space. It is always best to avoid running the risk of their imagination failing them when it comes time to define what the home is capable of. Put in plain terms that all of us who are pressed for time can empathize with, is Halstead Property Westside office agent, Barak Dunayer who points out:
“You’re going to be packing anyway, so start now and make money doing it.”
To appeal to anyone under the guise that “time is money,” thus an afternoon could be better spent doing something other than de-cluttering should heed the advice from Halstead’s Nora Ariffin based out of our Village office, who states that for a minimal cost,
“It will go a long way in adding value in the buyer’s eyes. [So] Clean out those closets – buyers want to be able to picture themselves growing into the space, and they won’t be able to do that if it looks like the seller is growing out of it.”
Distraction is one of life’s little mysteries that can either be a really great, or a really bad thing. Through the lens of someone shopping for a home, Gewirtz succinctly imparts that they can “get distracted by [your] stuff and [won’t] look at your space,” indicating an unnecessary, negative form of distraction. In the wise words of Halstead’s Nancy Felcetto from our Hudson Valley office location.
“When in doubt, throw it out.”
Common sense can be fleeting and sometimes result in an unaware state of what we own, “It is amazing the things we consume, and what we don’t need. So declutter, this includes broken and/or unnecessary furniture” continues Felcetto, and to reiterate a common “hidden secret,” this can all be achieved free of cost. It is completely free to clean out your home, however the rewards you’re poised to reap are infinitely more quantifiable. Naturally the next logical question many would pose is what to do with belongings that did not make the “in season” cut, yet understandably so cannot be thrown out? The secret isn’t to live like a gypsy and take pride in owning just the shirt on your back; on the contrary Mary Bezirjian from Halstead Property’s Village office points out that the very best way to “declutter, and depersonalize is to put things in storage.”
Sounds redundant given the task at hand here, right? But reinventing what you consider storage is what it’s all about. Creating a dedicated spot for items not in use is a simple and easy task when there are a myriad of items available that serve dual functionality as home décor and convenient storage compartment. Baskets and bins get a bad rep in our adult life thanks to vividly colored plastic containers found throughout college campus dorm rooms across America. However, if you know where and what to look for,
“Matching baskets can create a streamlined look even if the [contents] inside the basket is hidden chaos,” as Amelia Gewirtz puts it.
Nancy Hardy, Director of Sales in Southampton brings the point home by acknowledging you should “put away all the ‘tchotchkes’ and have the space as clear as possible so that a buyer can envision himself living there” and a cohesive but small arsenal of baskets is our weapon of choice. Who knew the answer to your closet woes and selling obstacles lie in a quick and painless bout of Spring cleaning?
Next in Hidden Secrets for Sellers Part I Cont’d., Secrets In the Paint
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To find more Hidden Secrets for Sellers, click here for the first installment of a III part series Part I - Hidden Secrets Revealed, and here for Part I Cont’d - Secrets In Your Kitchen.
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