Wednesday, August 10, 2011
by Mark Brace
In today’s competitive housing market, Grand Rapids area home sellers must use all means possible to position their properties to sell. When buyers step inside your home, they hope to see a neat, clean house where they could imagine themselves living for the next few decades.
With all else being equal, home buyers prefer the look of an uncluttered home over one that is stuffed with “stuff.” Why is this? Uncluttered homes tend to look cleaner than ones where there are piles of books, boxes, and other items lying around. A highly cluttered home also gives the perception of having less square footage than it really does. And when potential buyers see open floor areas and unbroken wall space inside your home, they can more easily envision their furniture and other belongings fitting into that space.
But how can you move all that stuff out of sight without marching it down to the basement or jamming it all into your closets? After all, prospective buyers will walk through those areas of the house also.
Consider renting temporary storage space. Self-storage facilities offer a convenient way to relocate items that can clutter up a home. These facilities, commonly called “mini-storage,” are fairly numerous in most towns and offer spaces with different storage volumes. These units can be rented on a monthly basis and may be just the solution you are looking for. All you need is a truck and some helpers to move the clutter out of the house ahead of that open house this weekend.
An even more convenient temporary storage solution for the home seller is a portable storage unit. These enclosed containers are delivered to your home and securely protect your belongings from the outside elements. They are especially handy when you are moving from one home to another. The units can be loaded up at your old home and transported to your new house where they can be unloaded at your convenience.
Whether your house is located in Grandville, Ada, or any other Grand Rapids neighborhood, making your home stand out from all the others in this real estate market is an important component in getting it sold faster. Decluttering your home by utilizing temporary storage may make the difference between going through yet another open house and finally hanging that SOLD sign in what will soon become your old front yard.
Brian Sinnott is with Zippy Shell of West Michigan, a trusted provider of temporary self-storage in Grand Rapids
