|
We as REALTORS® know that a house filled up with too much stuff can eat away at equity. But how do we help homeowners understand this fact?
Some of us have connections with our possessions that no one else can appreciate or relate to. For example, a coffee cup may be attached a morning ritual of 40 years. Sometimes a two-car garage becomes the storage shed, leaving the cars to be parked in the driveway. Knickknacks that are years old line bedroom shelves, remnants of vacations taken long ago.
Many times, STUFF that is used the least by the homeowner is the hardest for them to part with. Hopefully the following information taken from an article by David Dudley in the January/February 2007 issue of AARP will help. There are some good suggestions to help clients clear out the clutter.
Suggestions for the collectors of STUFF:
Create a record Photograph or videotape belongings before you give them away. A single digital CD can hold a warehouse of family knickknacks, along with the client’s recorded reminiscences about each one of them. Copies can be made and distributed to the children and grandchildren.
Give and take Giving belongings to charities whose work a homeowner supports is more satisfying than selling them to strangers – and thanks to the tax deductions, usually more profitable.
Start small Tackle one room – or one part of a room – at a time. Don’t leave the area until it’s finished, because you’ll get distracted trying to find a home for all the stuff you’ve just picked up and will end up “churning” – shuffling the same clutter from one part of the house to another.
Downsizing can be more difficult for the homeowner who is selling his or her home after the death of a spouse or who is moving to an assisted living facility. Moving is stressful enough, but for these collectors of STUFF it can become so overwhelming that they can not go on to the next step. Sometimes the homeowner’s family members can be called upon to help with this difficult task.
Hiring a stager to work with a homeowner or family members can also help. Stagers bring an objective, trained eye to guide the homeowner in separating STUFF from décor, helping ultimately to promote the sale of the home. In addition, a stager can help insulate the REALTOR® from confronting the homeowner regarding too much personal STUFF.
|
