Stage and store this spring selling season

Spring is, so they say, the best time to sell a home – here are suggestions to put your best foot forward

Marcus Mollmann //May 10, 2017//

Stage and store this spring selling season

Spring is, so they say, the best time to sell a home – here are suggestions to put your best foot forward

Marcus Mollmann //May 10, 2017//

Spring is upon us and with it comes time to declutter our homes for the warmer weather. For some that means preparing to list a home for the selling season. According to Zillow, the best time to put your home on the market is spring – and, sure enough Denver’s current real estate market is on fire with low inventory and lots of buyers.  

But there are some important steps to take before listing that home to ensure the strongest offer. Real estate agents and home stagers agree the key to effectively listing a property is to ensure a clean, decluttered space that allows potential buyers to visualize their day-to-day, albeit romanticized life in the home.  

So, when it comes to those family photos or kid’s artwork, put those memorable odds and ends into storage and create a blank canvas for the next home owner to visualize their new life. Sounds like a colossal projects, huh?  

Closetbox saw a problem and an out-of-the-box solution, and began to offer an easy way to rid homes, garages and basements of unneeded clutter and collectibles that make a house look filled to the brim. Bulky items in the backyard or settled on the porch should also be removed and put into storage.  

Homes sell faster and at a higher price when staged professionally and realtors agree a home stager is a great way to ensure individual houses stand out. 

Effectively, home-staging takes into account both the big-picture and the nitty-gritty details.  

The most prominent, public-facing rooms, like the kitchen and bathrooms need to have clear counter tops and clean surfaces; but sellers need not ignore smaller spaces, either. Rooms that may be dual purpose can turn a buyer off, so home stagers suggest that all spaces be clearly defined. For example, the nursery should not double as the home office or spare coat closet, and the dining room should not serve as play room. Store extra toys and clothes and have a professional delineate the best use for each space. Don’t fill up the garage, closets or basements with unnecessary items either. You don’t want a buyer to worry they won’t have enough storage space. And unfinished storage areas can’t be ignored. Everything should be off the floor, boxed, and put on shelves. 

Unless you are a rigid minimalist, you probably have quite an accumulation of do-dads, trinkets, gadgets and decorations. 

Get a friend whose decorating taste you admire to tour your house and give you constructive criticism about where you need to pare back.  

Your goal: Help buyers see the house you are selling.  

Any furniture or decorating that prevents them from easily identifying the best features of your house should be your first staging priority and that which most likely belongs in storage. Sure, the master bathroom might have classic fixtures and cabinetry in excellent condition … and buyers may look right past because they fixate on the tropical-fish shower curtain you purchased as a vacation souvenir. Fun for you, but a distraction when selling the house. 

Closetbox offers hassle-free solutions including free pickup for about the same cost as traditional self-storage making the process of decluttering easy and painless.