When you want to sell your home, one of the first things a real estate agent will tell you is to declutter and clean before moving. That’s because the prospective buyers will want to see everything before giving an offer. Decluttering your house involves going through each room and getting rid of the items which are not important to your day-to-day needs. If you have more than one item that serves the same purpose, then some of them should go. You might also have to sacrifice having easy access to a lot of items that you like having around.
Homebuyers want to see big spacious rooms, and the easiest and fastest way to achieve that kind of impression is by decluttering. Therefore, it’s important to maximize every square inch of your home, including the backyard shed, by minimizing your clutter. Before you can take some listing photos or successfully stage your home to anyone, you need to make sure you have a place that people will look forward to living in: one that’s filled with ample storage spaces and well organized. Read on to discover the reasons why you should declutter your home before selling it.
1. It helps identify potential problems with your house
Your home may have one or even several problems that you are not aware of because the space is full of clutter. A cluttered space might conceal problems like mold, leaking and broken pipes or other issues that can make the property quite challenging to market and sell. To help identify any potential problems you’re your property, you should remove the clutter from your attic, walkways, cabinets, basement, and other areas. Once you remove the unnecessary items, you can easily identify the issues that need repair before putting the home on sale.
2. It assists in eliminating allergens and pests
In many cases, rodents and bugs get drawn to clutter because it provides them with shelter and a hidden area for protection. When you begin decluttering, you might find ants, water bugs, spiders, and other disgusting little creatures amidst the items in your home. No prospective buyer will settle for a home with junk and pests. Remove all the clutter, eliminate the pests, and give your property a thorough cleaning and you’ll be able to put it on the market in confidence knowing that potential buyers will not find any rodents and insects as they traverse your property.
3. It spurs the imagination of the prospective buyer
One of the best things when selling your home is to inspire the imagination of potential buyers. Before you sell them your house, you want to sell them the idea of their future home. It should be neutral enough and on the brink of greatness, but clutter can hinder all that. A neutral space will help the buyer imagine their possessions in your space.
Again, for most individuals, the viewing process is usually uncomfortable. Besides, you are walking through somebody’s house, which is not something most individuals enjoy. Decluttering your house before listing it can also help a great deal with that. If your space is neutral enough, prospective buyers will not perceive the property as belonging to somebody else, which can assist them in imagining the house as theirs.
4. It increases the home’s value
The main objective of any home improvement arrangements and decluttering is adding value to your home. Surprisingly, you can achieve that with decluttering because it all boils down to perception. Properties that have a lot of clutter appear like they have not undergone maintenance in the recent past. They might be perfect and clean in every regard, but they appear like they are not. On the other hand, real estate properties without clutter and streamlined décor tend to be more appealing and seem like they’ve been maintained well, and interested parties are willing to give a higher rate for a well-maintained property. The fewer furniture and items you have around your home, the more upscale, it’ll appear to be.
5. It enables buyers to focus on the things that matter most
If your home is full of junk, the interested parties might end up concentrating on the possessions scattered about your home rather than the fireplace, lovely hardwood floors, spacious windows, and tall ceilings, among other strengths when venturing through your home. Every interested home-buyer should be able to concentrate on the features of your home rather than its clutter. Decluttering the entirety of your property will enable the interested home-buyers to zero in on the best qualities of your home. That way, you will not run the risk of your items diverting attention away from the most marketable features of your property.
6. It makes your home look more spacious
If you leave all of your possessions in the open, you’re essentially challenging the prospective buyers to utilize their imagination to envision how the home will look like without all of your items in place, which might cost you thousands of dollars. Remove all those unnecessary possessions throughout your property, and your home will appear bigger, inviting, and even more spacious. Decluttering is mainly important for the bedroom, closets, and living room because home-buyers are looking for large social spaces to enjoy with friends and family as well as bigger storage spaces to keep their items.
7. It eliminates suspicions of bigger issues
Are you asking, “What can I do to sell my house fast for top dollar?” The simple answer is, you need to stage it. But if your home is full of clutter, then staging it might backfire. You should consider what potential buyers will think when they see your property is full of random objects and impeded walkways. If your home does not look orderly and neat, prospective buyers might not only criticize your inadequate housekeeping skills, but they might also wonder whether there are some more serious problems lurking underneath the surface.
Excess clutter and junk might create the impression that your property will require major repairs before the prospective buyers can move in, scaring off otherwise interested home-seekers. Along with keeping your lawn properly-mowed and applying a fresh layer of paint, decluttering your property can help it stage to its best advantage. That’s because the best qualities of your home can be seen clearly without any interference from the clutter.