Cleaning and Organizing Your Home For Sale
But too frequently, sellers look at too large a picture, overlooking nitty-gritty details. While they wonder about the windows or the roof, they fail to see that the details they overlook can negatively impact the sale price of their home – like the dust behind the sofa, or the collection of favorite mementoes shoved in a closet.
Nor do sellers get frequent reminders. While roofing and painting have the full attention of decorating shows, cleaning and organizing are the often-forgotten aspects of getting a home ready, and usually done out of sight of the cameras. But overlooking these two seemingly minor items can make a large difference in the final sale price.
While most people consider themselves competent cleaners, preparing your home for sale might be the right time to have someone else do the cleaning for you. “People don’t see their own dirt,” explains Scarlet Evans, owner of Mustard Seed Janitorial in Oakland. What looks like home-sweet-home to your eyes is likely to be viewed by a stranger, assessing your home as a possible purchase, as extreme filth.
A typical household’s cleaning habits don’t help, she says. “People have the tendency to clean the surface of things, and not behind things or under things. That is where deep cleaning comes in.”
Evans says the best time to contact a cleaning service is at the same time you hire a real estate agent. “If you’re painting and putting in new carpeting, I would be the last service you would bring in, but if you’re using a home stager, I would come in before them, so everything is clean, no matter how furniture is staged.”
Home stagers aren’t the only people likely to look everywhere, either. Particularly as housing prices escalate, home buyers have no compunction looking under beds, in closets, opening drawers and cabinets, and generally inspecting a home thoroughly.
That means the days of stashing everything in those same drawers and closets are gone. “People look in closets, to see how large the closets are. Usually, closet space is at a premium,” explains Linda Meitzner, a professional organizer based in Alameda.
But where do the items go? “The garage is the place where everybody throws everything. But at the same time, people need to be able to picture their cars in your garage,” she notes.
As a compromise, Meitzner allows the garage to be used for storage, but with several caveats. She advises her clients to go through all of their closets and drawers and really ask themselves whether they really want to cart the item to their new home. If they do, then the item can be stored in the garage, once it is boxed and neatly labeled.
By doing this from the start, her clients save time, money, and hassle. “You should start going through things as soon as you know you are selling your home,” she explains. And packing really doesn’t come too soon. “You’re going to have to pack it and move it anyway.”
Meitzner says it also gives sellers a fresh start in their new homes, even if those homes are larger. “When moving, people tend to pack everything and take it with them or store it. When you do that, you’re paying for the item over and over and over and over. Look at the move, and at hiring an organizer, as an opportunity to get rid of what you don’t really need or want.”
Partly because they do double duty as food storage and central point for the family, kitchens are particularly problematic rooms to de-clutter. “A good rule of thumb is to put away 50 per cent of what is out in your kitchen,” she says. And when it comes to magnets, make that 100 per cent: “If a seller does nothing else, they should take all of the magnets off the refrigerator door.”
In addition to making the house neater, such organization also depersonalizes the home. That’s a good thing, Meitzner says, because it allows potential buyers to project their belongings and lives into the home more readily, making them eager to buy. “You want to depersonalize so people can project themselves, so they can see themselves in your home,” she notes.
That goes for special collections, too. Since most collections are highly personal in nature – even popular ones like Beanie Babies or model trains – Meitzner advises clients to pack them away before showing the home. “Collections are often a distraction for anyone that comes in,” she explains. “Buyers will be looking at your collection of Beanie Babies or guitars, and not your home. So they won’t be able to picture themselves in your home, and you’ve lost that sale.”
Even if the home is sold, its value will not be as high as the home that sparkles brightly, is well organized, and invites prospective buyers to envision themselves cozily living inside.
