Storage Ideas Buyers Like
Storage Ideas Buyers Like Thanks to Marie Kondo and her hit Netflix series “Tidying Up,” home organization is a hot topic right now. Marie encourages her viewers to minimize their possessions and keep only those items that “spark joy.” With spring in full bloom, now is the perfect time to do some spring cleaning and add organizational systems to your own home. Not only will you clear out clutter, your efforts can actually increase the value of your home. Ready to give it a try? Here are six home organization ideas that will “spark joy” for you and your property value. Boost Bathroom Storage Capacity When was the last time you cleaned out your bathroom cupboards? If it’s been awhile, remove everything and take a look at each item. Toss any old or expired products—keep only what you actually use. If your vanity has drawers, add drawer organizers, so you have a dedicated space for smaller items, like makeup and jewelry. For deep cabinets, install roll-out shelves or baskets to maximize the use of space. And don’t forget about the walls! Mount open shelves to store towels. If you’re short on storage space, a cabinet over the toilet can offer additional room for supplies. These inexpensive additions can make your morning routine a little easier while giving your bathroom a more custom feel. And on average, minor bathroom remodeling projects like these see a 102% return at resale.1 Sort through the items in your laundry room and throw away or donate anything you no longer need or use. If you’ve been holding onto a collection of old washcloths and single socks, it’s time to say goodbye. Then give your laundry room an upgrade with some customized organizational features. A mix of open cubbies and cabinets with doors will give you plenty of options for storing detergents and supplies. If you have space, a divided hamper or set of laundry baskets can provide a place to sort your clothes before washing. Install a hanging rod or drying rack for delicates and a flat work surface for ironing and folding clothes. With a few simple tweaks, you can turn this chore into a score! Fully Utilize Your Basement or Attic Basements, although rare in southeast Florida, and attics can easily become a dumping ground for clutter. If that’s the case in your home, you know what to do! Once you’ve conducted a thorough clean out, think about how you can better utilize the space to meet your family’s needs. Install cabinets and a table so you can use the area as a craft room. Or you could turn it into a game room with a media center and ping-pong table. Investing in your basement will not only add function for your family, but also the average basement remodel can see up to a 70% return on investment when it’s time to sell.2 If you have an attic, consider adding a cedar closet to store your off-season clothing. The cedar lining will keep your clothes free from moths and smelling fresh year round.3 Turning your attic into a more usable space will pay off down the road, too. A finished attic sees an estimated 60% return on investment.2 Cleaning out the closet is a chore most of us dread, but by now, you’re a pro! Get rid the clothes and shoes that don’t fit you, are uncomfortable to wear, or that no longer “spark joy.” Then it’s organizing time. So where do you start? You’ll want to create a designated space for each type of clothing: high hanging rods for dresses and long jackets, lower rods for skirts and shirts, and shelves for folded items like jeans. And accessories need a place to go, too. Add racks for your shoes, drawers for jewelry, hooks for hats, and shelves or racks for handbags. A well-equipped closet can be a major draw for buyers—the average return on a closet remodel is 57%.4 But more importantly, it’ll improve your day-to-day life. Surveyed homeowners gave their closet remodel a “Joy Score” of 10 out of 10, higher than kitchen or bath upgrades.5 Install Built-in Bookcases and Cabinets Built-in furniture adds functionality and storage to a room while giving your home a high-end look. Built-in bookcases can turn an empty room into an office. Custom cabinets can be used in a living room to display media equipment while providing hidden storage for DVDs, board games, and family albums. When designing any built-in feature, remember not to go too custom. A design that only fits your tastes or belongings could turn off future buyers. Instead, select standard sizes and classic finishes to appeal to a broad range of buyers when it comes time to sell. If you can no longer fit your car in your garage, it may be time for a clean out. Similar to an attic or basement, the garage can quickly become overrun with clutter. A thorough cleaning will help you assess which items are worth keeping. When adding organizational systems your garage, start with a small rack to store yard tools and larger racks for bikes and sports equipment. Overhead racks are a great place to put seasonal items and bulky luggage. A workbench against a wall lined with pegboard and hooks creates a dedicated space to use and store tools. If you have children or pets, add a cabinet with a lock. This will give you a place to securely store harsh chemicals and sharp tools. With a little effort, you’ll be pulling in your car (and buyers) in no time! SPRING INTO ACTION If you’re searching for service providers to help with your spring cleaning or home organization efforts, let us know! We can connect you with our network of local home improvement professionals. We can also help you determine which organizational upgrades will add the most value to your home. Call/ text us at 561-339-1779 and let us know how we may help! Sources: HGTV: https://www.hgtv.com/lifestyle/real-estate/top-home-updates-that-pay-off-pictures Nationwide: https://blog.nationwide.com/valuable-home-improvements/ HGTV: https://www.hgtv.com/design/remodel/interior-remodel/maximum-home-value-storage-projects–attic The
Top 10 Tips for Selling Your Home
Decide if you are really ready to sell. Here are a few thoughts to consider: Getting your home ready to sell and hiring the right people have costs with time, money, and emotions. Homeowners tend to love their homes. Make sure you’re emotionally ready to let go. Low interest rates are projected to continue to the end of this year. If space or functionality is the issue, sometimes taking out loans for renovations could be a better fit for you than going to a larger house and a bigger mortgage payment. 1 Selling Options If you want to sell your home faster, then the first step is to hire a professional real estate agent or a licensed Realtor®. The ideal person will know the local market and able to provide you with a professional CMA or Comparative Market Analysis of your home with the others in your area. Keep in mind that a Realtor® will help with the entire process, from hiring a professional photographer who will take top-notch photos of your home to negotiating for the best price. Realtors® also write a real estate listing that sells your home. Planning and hosting showings of your home, as well as marketing your property to get it seen by buyers, is included in their services. Another option is to sell your home yourself, known as FSBO or For Sale By Owner. Everything done is up to you, the owner. Contact the Martin Group of Realtors® at 561-339-1779 for your FREE consultation, without any obligation. 2 De-clutter, De-personalize, Clean De-clutter: Take half the stuff out of your closets, then neatly organize what’s left. Rearrange the furniture so your home looks inviting and so buyers can move through your home without bumping into anything. If necessary, put bulky items in storage. A crowded room looks like a small room. De-personalize: Remove all your family photos and memorabilia. You want buyers to see the house as a home for their family, not yours. Remove political and religious items, your children’s artwork (and everything else) from the refrigerator and anything that marks the house as your territory rather than neutral territory. The same goes for any collections such as figurines, sports memorabilia or kids’ toys that can make a buyer think less about the house and more about you. Family photos can be replaced by neutral art or removed entirely – just be sure to remove any nails and repair nail holes where any hanging photos used to be. Clean Everything! Nothing turns off buyers like a dirty house. Hire a company to deep clean if you can’t do it yourself. When your home is on the market, no matter what time of day, it should be clean and neat. Key places to keep clean while your home is on the market include: kitchen countertops, inside kitchen cabinets and appliances, floors and room corners where dust collects, shelves, bathroom countertops and cabinets, toilets, tubs and showers, inside closets, windows, inside and out, walls, baseboards, doors and garage. 3 Make Minor Repairs Focus on quick repairs to address things that could deter potential buyers. Survey the house and you can probably take care of the easy repairs yourself: Fix loose tiles, leaky faucets, paint scuffed areas on walls, fresh coat of paint on outside of front door, tighten door knobs and handles, fix mailboxes, deep clean carpet or replace when there are pet stains, and replace nonworking light bulbs and smoke detectors. Depending on how much time and money you want to spend getting the home ready, you might also need to update fixtures, buy new appliances, install new hardware on the cabinets, and give the interior a fresh coat of Depending on how much time and money you want to spend getting the home ready, you might also want to update fixtures, buy new appliances, install new hardware on the cabinets, and give the interior a fresh coat of light neutral paint color. 4 Refresh Flooring Deep Clean or Replace Carpeting Clean, Buff, or Refinish Hardwood Floors Clean, Buff or Replace Tile 5 Landscape the Front Yard If you want to sell quickly, then it’s essential to make a good first impression. And the first thing a buyer sees is a home’s exterior and how it fits into the surrounding neighborhood. To boost your home’s curb appeal: Paint the front door, plant colorful blooming flowers, sweep away spiderwebs and debris from windows, eaves, and porches.Wash the windows inside and outside, fix broken light fixtures and mailboxes. Make sure the trees, shrubs, and lawn are kept nicely trimmed. Plus get patios, sidewalks, porch ceilings, driveways and house pressure-washed, if needed. Keep in mind that a tidy exterior not only looks nice, but also signals to potential buyers that you’ve taken good care of the place. 6 Offer Buyers Some Extras Another way to make the home purchase more attractive to a buyer is to offer something to sweeten the deal. You could offer, for example, to pay some or all of the closing costs. Buyers are looking for a deal, especially since the price of sold homes have increased in the 2022 market. Another tip is to offer a transferable home warranty, which provides discounted repair and replacement services for household appliances and systems. A potential buyer may feel more at ease knowing that the home is protected, which could make your home more attractive than a competing home. Do your best to make the buyers feel that they are getting something extra with your home that other listings do not have. 7 Determine Best Selling Price Price it right to sell quickly! One of the most effective ways to sell your home fast is to price it competitively. And be ready to lower the price if you don’t have any offers by a certain date. If your home is overpriced, it will take a lot longer to sell plus you probably will end up selling it for much less. 8 Professional Photos Home staging is basically
10 Tips to Buy and Sell A Home at the Same Time
What will I do if I sell my home before I can buy the next house? Ten Tips are given in this article to help you when faced with this challenge of buying and selling a home at the same time..