When potential buyers tour your Rockridge home, they are looking for many things. One of the most important is space. The more space you can show, the larger, and more appealing your home becomes. Your goal should be to present an open, uncluttered home that allows them to envision their things in that space, and encourage them to want to live there.
 Homeowners create their home to suit their needs. After living in that house for a long time, they may not see how cluttered it has become. Very often, as the years go on, rooms gather much more furniture and accessories than are necessary. Things become a jumble of style and function. While the homeowner has learned to walk around narrow spaces, or ignore the mismatches, the possible buyers will not. They will often be put off immediately, because, during a house tour, first impressions are often the strongest. It is difficult to reclaim that first negative experience.Â
Two Important Tips:
a. Return your rooms to their original purpose
Have your kitchen truly be a kitchen, and your bedroom be just a bedroom. Remove children's toys, exercise equipment, stacks of books or electronic gear from each and every room in your home. Have the rooms make sense and purpose. This allows the potential buyers to envision how well their things would fit into each area without being distracted by your things. Keep the furniture to a minimum. Spend time developing an attractive, open floor plan that is easy to navigate.Â
b. Put away your collections and personal memorabilia
Collections of antiques, art, family photographs and awards are all distracting, and take away from the concentration that the buyers should be devoting to the rooms. While they are important to you, they will not prove an asset when presenting your home. Pay special attention to crowded refrigerator doors and bulletin boards. Take time to open up all your shelves. Do the same thing with buffets, side tables, and cupboards. Create attractive, but spacious, displays on your shelving throughout the house. You don't have to give up items and books that you are removing, just store them out of the main living areas. The goal should be to declutter until you sell your home.Â
Your Oakland home in Rockridge is a valuable asset. It is important that you show it to it's best advantage. Make it spacious and inviting, and you will find that buyers will respond to it.
Posted by Bruce Wagg on
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