A commode of gold! The ultimate decorating statement. You are special! No, you're more than special ... you're regal!New Yorkers don't have a lot of space and perhaps that's the reason they go to extreme lengths to put their personal stamp on their homes. Whatever the reasons may be, people tend to think their place is nice. More than "nice" in fact, and certainly nicer than the other 35 apartments that are exactly the same size and layout in the very same building.
Loving your own taste is easy, but recognizing that other people love their own sense of style more than they love yours may be a hurdle.
What's the best strategy to maximize the appeal, and therefore the selling price, of your home?
The goal in preparing your home for sale is to make it as "neutral" as possible. You want to create a minimalist canvas upon which potential buyers can fill in the blanks with their own things. The measure of success is the extent to which your home looks like a model home, or perhaps a very nice hotel room. When a buyer asks "Does anyone really live here?", that is the ultimate validation that you've succeeded.
How do you achieve this effect without moving out?
Tone everything down a few notches.
However boring you may find it, white walls work the best. Specifically an off-white, or antique white color for the walls, and a brighter white for the ceiling. Address the rest of the colors in the room; paintings, fabrics, rugs, furniture ...etc. Avoid excessive blue and gray tones, they're depressing. Warm colors and tones work best. This is a nest, not a hospital.
Put away your personal items. Family photos should be removed. Why? Family photos identify this as your home, not mine. I am visiting your apartment and not envisioning it as my future place. Secondly, when there are family photos, people tend to make a beeline straight to them to see if they know you, or to see if your sister is pretty, and they completely take their attention off the property.
Religion and politics are never good things to advertise to strangers. If a potential buyer shares your beliefs or views, it doesn't serve to further strengthen the appeal of the apartment, and if they don't share your views, it alienates them. I once took some buyers to see a multimillion dollar apartment which was very tastefully decorated save for a gigantic Confederate flag above the bed. My buyers couldn't stop talking about it, and that was the only thing they subsequently identified an otherwise great apartment with.
Light is better than dark -- much better than dark. If you have a bright space, open the shades, wash the windows and let the light stream in. Whether your apartment is light or dark, but especially if it's dark, make sure you have enough artificial lighting in the apartment. (Even light apartments are sometimes shown in the evening.) Ideally the lighting will be bright, but soft, and come from a variety of sources; table lamps, recessed lighting, wall sconces ...etc.
Clean your space top to bottom. Better yet, have a professional service come in and do it for you.
Finally, we get to the most ignored advice of all: NO CLUTTER! Get rid of most of your stuff! Really! I mean it. Rent a storage unit if you have to, but less is more. Closets shouldn't be packed to the gills. (You should be able to easily see the back wall through the clothes.) Get rid of your toaster, coffee maker, juicer and all the rest of your kitchen appliances. Yes, real people make toast and coffee, but people showing their homes for sale don't. Your counter tops should be clean and barren with the exception of a bowl of fruit or a vase with flowers. Remove your doll collections, CD collections, scanners, fax machines, magazines, and remove your superfluous furniture too!
SUMMARY:
Yes, what your place looks like really matters. Yes, you have control over your space. Yes, it's inconvenient and an expense to paint, rent a storage unit and clean up. Yes, you have every right to display your artwork, family and interests, but it's still a bad idea. No, the average buyer does not like your golden toilet, and only looks at it as a future expense to rip it out and replace.
Reach me at: michael.sussilleaux@gmail.com
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