It can happen to even the most diligent of us. A pile of mail by the front door…kids toys (or pet toys) on the family room rug…yesterday’s clothes on the bedroom chair. Clutter has a way of sneaking up on us as we go about living our daily lives, and we all tolerate varying degrees of clutter in our own homes. But before your house goes up for sale, it’s time to declutter your home, otherwise your daily clutter may actually drain your resale profits.
Why is clutter such a big deal, and why does it affect the resale value of our home? Call it the psychological effect of clutter. When clutter starts to creep into our space, if we don’t deal with it in a timely manner, our conscious mind actually blocks it out. If we see the clutter enough, we train ourselves to overlook its presence. Our subconscious mind, however, knows its there, and the clutter causes stress, then often guilt, that we have not dealt with it.
Now enter the prospective home buyers. Mr. and Mrs. Prospective Home Buyer have never seen your home before, and they are not immune to the clutter! They see it, and they may not be able to see past it. The clutter may distract potential buyers to the point that they are turned off, and they cross your home off their list. Whether buyers are neat-nicks or clutter bugs in their current homes is inconsequential; they are looking for their new home, and their ideal home is open, light, bright and airy - not cluttered!
If a home is shown to potential home buyers in a cluttered state, they may believe that the home is rundown and in need of repair. Clutter devalues the home and leaves the negative impression that a home has not been well-kept or well-maintained, when that may or may not be the case. Buyers realize that it is more difficult to clean around the clutter in a home, so to them a cluttered home is a dirty home. It isn’t a far jump to lead their minds to that conclusion.
The presence of clutter occupies physical space within a home and reduces the perception of livable space. Clutter can block natural light and inhibit air flow within a space. Clutter creates visual chaos and makes potential buyers anxious. These effects all run counter to the impression that we want to give potential buyers about our home.
For flippers and bargain shoppers, the presence of clutter is a good sign. Clutter means that the property will not show well, so they have a better chance of paying below market value for the home.
Properties with clutter translate into increased time on the market and lower resale values. Clearing clutter does take time and effort, but it is a cost-free fix that will produce higher profits at resale. Decluttering is a critical step in the process of preparing your home for sale. For sellers who don’t have the time or don’t feel up to the challenge of clearing the clutter, it would be worth the small, upfront investment to hire a professional organizer or home stager to assist in the process. For sellers that are up to the challenge, check back for a step-by-step guide that will help you tackle the clutter before it eats away at your profits!
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed.If you would like to receive email updates to our blog, you may Subscribe to New Homes Real Estate Blog by Email Thanks for visiting!
The Author: Sandra Tuell Website: http://www.newhomes.com About: As weblog author for Homes Advisory, the blog for New Homes Realty, Inc., Sandra Tuell covers topics that run the real estate gamut, written expressly for the home buyer. On the blog, home buyers will find practical information and advice on preparing their existing homes for sale, enlisting the services of a buyer’s agent, searching for new homes, making an offer and closing the transaction. Sandra regularly presents real estate news from the perspective of how events will impact home buyers and the real estate industry in general. Trained as a journalist, Sandra stepped into the real estate industry as an accredited home staging specialist, interior arranger and color expert. Since March 2007, Sandra has researched, commented on and explored happenings in the real estate industry, including home building, home mortgages and financing, real estate investing, and the economy. With a passion for all that is pertinent to the design, comfort, livability and marketability of the home, Sandra also provides tips and insights for homeowners who wish to maximize the potential of their personal spaces and turn their new houses into homes. For the past four years, Sandra has operated her own interior arrangement and home staging company, Roomscapes, servicing clients in Pinellas County, Florida. Previously, Sandra worked in the corporate world as a marketing professional, applying her creative energy in a variety of roles including advertising, promotions, special events planning and web content creation. Her current position as a writer for New Homes Realty allows her to bring together her love of design and her educational training as a journalist. "It's really the best of both worlds," says Sandra.
This entry was posted by Sandra Tuell, on Monday, May 14th, 2007 at 10:35 am and is filed under Selling Your Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Trackback by www.newhomesadvisory.com
The Effect of Clutter on Your Home for Sale…
Everyone has some clutter in their homes, so what’s the big deal, right? If you’re ready to put your home on the market, think again. Properties with clutter linger longer on the market and fetch lower profits at resale….
Pingback by Top 10 Home Staging Tips for Sellers
[...] your home. Clutter is distracting to prospective buyers and has a negative impact on the perceived value of your [...]
Pingback by Declutter Your Home in Six Steps!
[...] that the hard work is done, take a moment to introspect and evaluate how the clutter got there in the first place. The last thing you want to do is end up where you were [...]
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
If you want to leave a feedback to this post or to some other user´s comment, simply fill out the form below.
Name (required)
E-mail (required)
URI
Your Comment
Subscribe to Homes Advisory
