closet
These days, sellers need to examine everything they can do to get a leg up on the competition. Serious home sellers must fine-tune the look of their homes before they put their house on the market. You may have already planted flowers and powerwashed the house, but all too often an area that gets forgotten is the closet. Because we do not have basements in Naples, closet space is a crucial asset to your home. If you don’t have it, fake it–here’s how.
Throw it, donate it, sell it: Everyone seems to have more stuff than ever before crammed into their closets. Then when you list the home on the market, and Mr. & Mrs. Buyer come to have a look, they reach for a closet door and are greeted with an overstuffed, unorganized mess. The prospective buyers don’t see your valuables as prized possessions; instead what they see is too much stuff and too little space. Clutter confuses and overwhelms the prospective buyer. They wonder how they can fit their belongings in the house and if the seller actually intends to move out! No excuses, just de-clutter.
Pack it: An organized, well-planned closet can be a huge attraction. Extra storage space helps attract homebuyers--and lets you stay organized while you are trying to sell. Pack whatever you do not need in the next 3-6 months into nice, clean well-marked moving boxes and put these on the top shelves of your closets. This is a great trick for your children’s bedrooms or playrooms, and the kids will think it’s Christmas when they open the boxes at their new house! Additionally, buyers will get the message that you are a serious seller and it makes the move one step easier if you have already begun to pack.
Color-coordinate it: One no-cost way to make your closets look bigger is to color-coordinate the clothing in the closets. The subtle changes in color allow the buyers’ eyes to move smoothly through the space, giving the impression of a larger area than a closet with riotous colors.
Group it: Use totes, baskets and bins to keep small items under control in the bathroom or linen closet. Fold towels the same way and group by color. Get rid of old and unused linens.
Stackable baskets are a nice addition to a kitchen pantry, and can be used to store all types of items, including food. Additionally, make life easier on yourself by emptying out one whole cabinet in your kitchen. That way if you have a showing at short notice, you can quickly put the stuff on the counter into the cabinet, making your kitchen look clutter-free.
The requests for closet organizers are growing by leaps and bounds. These units are becoming popular not just for closets but also laundry rooms, storage spaces, and garages. Closets are turning into spaces where people don’t just store their clothes. Built-in closets are considered an important upgrade for many buyers. Just as a large renovated kitchen and bathroom area are expected by buyers, so too are organized closets.
Mara Muller is a Naples Realtor and can be reached at www.marasellsnaples.com.