Organized or Outrageous

Is your home organized or outrageous?  Previewing homes is one of the advantages to being a Realtor.  After all, how many times have you driven by a house and thought, “Wow, I would love to see what the inside looks like”?  The inside of the house is not always what you think it would be or even should be.  Curb appeal is awesome and will definitely get the attention of someone driving by.  It will even excite the potential buyer when they see the beautiful pictures on the internet and when they first arrive.  But what happens if the inside doesn’t match the outside?  What happens if the seller has put all of their time into the yard but hasn’t taken the time to de-clutter or clean?  What happens if your house is not organized but is outrageous and only helps sell the neighbors house? 

In today’s economy, a lot of sellers don’t have the financial ability to paint or put in new carpet or even patch some holes.  So what can a seller do if your financial resources are limited but selling is the only option?  There are a few simple steps you can take.  Keep in mind that when agents are showing homes that are short sales, there isn’t the expectation of the home being new.  However, cleanliness, organization and orderly homes will go a long way.  Need proof?  Yesterday I was showing properties to a young first time homebuyer.  House #1 was a short sale.  It was vacant.  In some areas the carpet needed to be replaced and in others just cleaned but overall, the house was clean, free of any odor and uncluttered.  House #2, also a short sale, was a completely different story.  This home had better curb appeal but was full of the owner’s personal belongings.  So much so, that the buyer’s comment was…”there’s so much stuff here, I just can’t picture this being my home”.  Ouch!!  This is a classic example of where a little organization would have prevented the outrageous! 

The moral of the story here is simple.  Mr. & Mrs. Seller, while we understand that funds may be limited to making actual repairs or replacing carpet, please keep in mind that de-cluttering, cleaning and organizing can help move your sale along at a faster pace.  After all, you have already made the decision to move, why not get it done as quickly and painlessly as possible?  So take some time and make your home organized not outrageous!