7 Ways to De-Clutter Your Home by Heather Lanoue

Thinking about putting your home on the market this spring?  It’s never too early to start planning the sale of your St. Louis home.  And there is a lot to think about.  Perhaps one of the most crucial pieces to finding that perfect buyer is staging your home properly.  And that means…..de-cluttering.  Having a lot of clutter lying around the house tends to tell prospective buyers that “this house is your place, not theirs”…..never a good message to send.  Removing clutter will not only make your home appear clean, well maintained, and move-in ready, but will also give you the added benefit of helping you relax after a stressful day of work.  Here are seven tips on how to de-clutter your home.

1. Prepare for a de-cluttering marathon.  This is a big, sometimes emotionally draining task and is best tackled in small bites.  You’ll want to gather some de-cluttering tools before you begin.   Garbage bags, boxes, and dusting cloths can be most helpful.  If you find yourself having trouble staying organized throughout the process you may want to start three piles labeled “throw out”, “put away”, and “charity.”  This approach will keep you from throwing out things you want to save, and saving things you want to throw out.
2. Throw out old, unused stuff that tends to find itself on counter tops and shelving such as junk mail, bills, receipts, etc….  Outdated paperwork can also find its way into drawers and closets.  Potential buyers want to see your home, not your mail or last Sunday’s paper.  So don’t let the junk mail keep you from receiving an offer.
3. Sort through closets to find extra storage space.  If your closets are overflowing with “stuff”, it may be time to do some closet purging.  Potential buyers love to see storage space when they open closets.  If the buyer’s eye goes directly to the boxes, cloths and clutter, they won’t notice all the great storage space you have.  Overflowing closets also have the habit of telling buyers that your home doesn’t have enough storage.  But not to worry, there is an easy fix to the full closet…..  If you haven’t used something in a year, throw it out.
4. Clean off book shelves to give your room an open, lighter feeling.  Again, buyers are looking for storage space and if your shelving is packed with stuff, buyers will assume your home doesn’t have enough storage.  Maintaining well organized, half-full book shelves also gives the appearance of space and can make a room feel larger than it actually is.  And don’t forget to pack up the majority of your personal pictures when staging a  home for sale in today’s St. Louis real estate market.  You want potential buyers to see themselves in your home, not see you in your home.
5. Maintaining clear kitchen counter tops has the potential to visually double the size of your kitchen.  Always a good thing.  The golden rule for counter tops is to have no more than two appliances sitting on the counter.  Homes for sale that feature vast expanses of counter top space will have a competitive advantage in today’s St Louis buyer’s market.  And it would be a shame to miss out on an offer because kitchen clutter overshadowed your fabulous counter top space.
6. Clean out bathrooms with the goal of making them appear “hotel clean.”  Nothing turns off potential buyers faster than a dirty or cluttered bathroom.  Make sure counter tops are clear, towels are hung neatly, and the shower and tub are clear of excess bottles and shower supplies.

And last, but not least, celebrate! If you’ve managed to de-clutter your entire home, then you deserve a pat on the back.  You’ve just completed the most inexpensive remodel of your home possible.  Potential buyers will see the value in your work and you will, quite possibly, be rewarded with a higher offer than you would have received otherwise.  And remember, you’re not alone in this task.  If you have any questions about the home staging process, don’t forget to contact Doug Aegerter 314-640-1778 or Art Wagner 314-503-0335 your St. Louis Realtor’s for extra tips and advice.  This is one step in the selling process that you won’t want to leave out.

Occupying your home while it is on the market is sometimes necessary and can be stressful.  Make sure that if you will be living in the house that it is always kept tidy.  You never know when someone will want to take a peek inside.  And remember, first impressions are everything, so you may want to put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher before you leave for work in the morning too.  Another consideration is how flexible you can be with showing times.  Are you willing to accommodate someone else’s schedule?  The perfect buyer may ask for a showing right when you sit down for dinner.  Being flexible with showing appointments will make it much easier for potential buyers to see the home and make an offer.

Now is the time to get ready for the spring market.
Call now, Doug Aegerter 314-640-1778 or Art Wagner 314-503-0335, for an appointment.

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How do you feel about making some minor repairs or cosmetic upgrades to the house?  It could help the house sell faster or for a higher price.  If there is a lot of competition in the neighborhood, having the home professionally staged will help it stand above similar homes for sale in the St. Louis real estate area.

Want help getting your home staged and ready to sell? We work with the areas leading professional home stagers. Now is the time to get ready for the spring market.
Call now, Doug Aegerter 314-640-1778 or Art Wagner 314-503-0335,  for an appointment.

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 Let’s face it, not everyone can sell and come out ahead in today’s housing market.  It is important to know your financial boundaries before you dig too deep into the sales process.  Your homework at this stage is to find out what you currently owe on your house, what the closing costs for selling your house would be, and what price you are honestly willing to accept for your house.  Sharing these thoughts with your Realtor will help him understand your goals and how to go about the sale of your house in the St. Louis real estate market

Want help getting your home priced to sell? Now is the time to get ready for the spring market.
Call now, Doug Aegerter 314-640-1778 or Art Wagner 314-503-0335,  for an appointment.

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Timing can be everything with real estate.  You need to know upfront how much time you have to sell your house.  Are you strapped for time and need to sell it fast?  If so, you’ll need to develop a strategy with your Realtor for a quick sale.  If you can leave the house on the market until you receive the perfect offer, then you will need an all-together different strategy for catching that perfect buyer.  Homes for sale in the St. Louis real estate market can sell in a day or a year. 

How much time are you prepared to spend in order to meet your goals and sell your home?

Want help getting your home ready to sell? Now is the time to get ready for the spring market.
Call now, Doug Aegerter 314-640-1778 or Art Wagner 314-503-0335,  for an appointment.

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Use this report  to compare your homes current value to an annual 4% growth.

Do you want more specific detail about your home, make an appointment right now with Doug Aegerter 314-640-1778 or Art Wagner 314-503-0335.

What is my goal in selling this house? 

Selling your house in the St. Louis real estate market can be a stressful event if you are not fully prepared.  Starting the process with a clear goal in mind will help eliminate a lot of the unnecessary confusion.   You should ask yourself what you want to accomplish with the sale of your home.  Is your goal to have a great selling experience that will allow you to move forward with your life?  Or perhaps you are looking to sell so that you can purchase a larger home.  Writing your primary goal down and sharing it with your Realtor gives you a reminder of why you are going through with the sale in the first place, and will also help your Realtor better understand your needs.    

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Want to “POP” an area, a special feature, or a room to attract that Potential Buyer’s Eye?

Use Vignettes!!

What is a Vignette, you say?  Well, it is “an arrangement” of three items:  one high, one medium, and one low in terms of their height.   The items within an arrangement can be greenery, knickknacks, pictures, small furniture items, etc.

The word vignette is pronounced /vin yet/. 

Vignettes are interesting to the eye.  They are groupings of items that appear to go  together in a way that is perceived to be un-cluttered and pleasing.

Use vignettes to draw a Potential Buyer’s eye to a particular area or space in a room, such as the corner of a great counter in the kitchen.  In staging a kitchen, it is usually recommended to have the least amount of items on your counters–but an interesting vignette on one end or in a corner area shows off the counters and attracts the buyer’s eye to the space. 

Use vignettes to draw a Potential Buyer’s eye to a great feature in your house, such as a fireplace. The vignette could be placed somewhere on the mantle or on the base of the fireplace.  This example below shows a wonderful granite shelf that we wanted to emphasize in a master bathroom. 
The vignette worked well to POP this great feature!

Use vignettes to draw a Potential Buyer’s eye into a room, such as this interesting arrangement in a small half bathroom.  This not only draws them into the room, but the vignette makes the half bathroom more interesting and inviting!

So…Vignettes, Anyone???  We welcome any of your comments about this idea or if you have some “Vignette Ideas” of your own that you would like to describe and share, let us know.

For more information regarding Home Staging Services, feel free to contact me at Homestaging@stlouisrealestatevoice.com and visit our website at www.stlstaging.com.

Sue Rector, ASP Stager
Accredited Staging Professional
HomeStaging Innovations, LLC

White Walls….NOT the New Neutral!

Recently while providing Home Sellers with Staging Consultations, I experienced very similar situations.  I walked into houses that are for sale and all of the walls were white or off white.  In all of these cases, the Home Sellers told me that they had various colors of walls and that their Realtor told them to paint all of the walls white.  They all told me that the Realtors suggested this because the rooms will look bigger, brighter, and cleaner…and that white was a “neutral color”. 

In my previous article, “Color It Cozy” I discussed how important interior wall color is when selling a house.

When a Potential Buyer comes through your house-for-sale for the first, second, or third time, you want them to feel “Warm and Cozy”.  Whether they know it or not, Potential Buyers are looking for that home which emits those “Warm Fuzzies”.

The color white or hues of the color white are NOT colors that will emit warm and cozy feelings.  Does the color white or hues of white reflect light better so that rooms seem brighter…Yes.  Does the color white or hues of white make rooms appear bigger…Maybe.  Does the color white or hues of white make rooms appear cleaner…Not sure about that one.

Think about this…What is the color of SNOW?…WHITE

What is the temperature of SNOW?…COLD

In my experience as a Professional Stager, White = Cold.

Would you want to stay in a COLD room or a WARM room?????

White and hues of white are the Old Neutrals.

There are many different “Warm Neutrals” that will help Potential Buyers to feel “Warm and Cozy” as they go through your house. 

Warm neutrals can be hues of Browns, Golds, or Soft Greens.

I have several favorites that I share with my clients when they are interested in presenting their house-for-sale in the Best Possible Showing Appearance. These are Sherwin Williams colors-which can be purchased through that store or matched to other brands that you prefer.  I hope that these will be helpful to you if you are considering re-painting your interior walls. When at all possible, paint all the walls the same warm color.  It makes your house flow altogether.  You might think this would be “boring”, but remember when you stage a house for sale, you are not decorating. Staging is about creating a mood, a setting in order for the Potential Buyer to visualize themselves living there with their things!

My favorite hues are the hues of Brown and Gold because these will typically go with any décor that you might have, soft hues of Greens may not:

Browns:  SW6106 Kilim Beige, SW6107 Nomadic Desert, SW6141 Softer Tan, SW6142 Macadamia, SW6085 Simplify Beige, SW6086 Sand Dune, SW6093 Familiar Beige, SW6099 Sand Dollar, SW6100 Practical Beige

Golds:  SW6120 Believable Buff, SW6121 Whole Wheat, SW6127 Ivoire, SW6128 Blond.

Remember…staging statistics indicate that the investment in painting whether it is inside or out, gives you the most return for your dollars.  Wall colors create a mood, a feeling for Potential Buyers.  Make your wall colors “Warm and Inviting”!

If you have any questions regarding wall colors or home staging, feel free to contact me at Homestaging@stlouisrealestatevoice.com .

Sue Rector, ASP

Accredited Staging Professional
HomeStaging Innovations, LLC
www.stlstaging.com

Neither the State of Missouri nor any federal agencies currently have any regulations regarding investigation, evaluation, or remediation of mold. The front runners in the development of mold regulations include the states of New York, California, Minnesota, and Texas. 

A general home inspection during a real estate transaction typically includes looking for mold, and water/moisture intrusion. This is significant during the inspection of the interior.  Every home inspector should be aware of the legal consequences of mold in homes. In fact, mold litigation has been the chief reason for mold awareness in homes. Health issues and the affects mold has on adults and children have been debatable. However, the mere thought of going through trials and litigation over mold, health concerns, and law suits make the whole mold issue significant. 

A careful visual inspection for mold and water/moisture intrusion can eliminate 80% of the concern and responsibility of mold being in the home. The 20% of what is going on in between the walls that can’t be seen will always be there. Most good home inspectors will do a virtual photo scan of the entire house to document what the conditions were at the time of the inspection. However, all parties should be aware that lawsuits and litigation can raise its ugly head even when everyone has made a good faith effort to disclose and carefully inspect the property before the real estate transaction has closed. 

During the inspection the inspector will typically look for stains and/or mold and then try to determine the source of the stains. Mold does not appear out of the blue by itself. Sources are typically an interior water leak, or water/moisture intrusion from the exterior to the interior spaces or lack of or improper ventilation. If there is an unusual odor or musty smell, air monitoring should be considered. If mold is found, the inspector may also suggest taking a sample to determine and identify exactly what type mold is present in the home, toxic or allergenic. Both these procedures are separate fees from the whole house building inspection. 

Take time and talk with your inspector over all these variables and more concerning mold. You can’t afford not to know about mold in your home. And make sure your inspector is ASHI certified! 

Harry Morrell
ASHI Certified Inspector