By Helen Braithwaite and Pennie Mather
A little advice for those dealt with the task of selling your parent’s home. Whether you are in the process of moving a parent out of the family home and into a retirement community or with an estate sale there are a few things you should think about.
We all become very familiar with the family home; know the flaws, clutter and disrepair. It is most beneficial prior to selling the home to get expert advice on how to maximize sale price through minor improvements, gardening and de-cluttering. It is very easy for us to assume that our parent’s home is merely “land value” but once you think that way that is inevitably what you get.
The basics to help enhance value:
- Carpets Cleaned or replaced
- Windows professionally cleaned
- Clean the home top to toe with special attention to bathrooms, kitchen
- Remove all the excess items in closets, basement and cupboards
- Remove the bulk of the family photos to de-personalize
- If there has been a stair lift installed remove and patch the evidence
- Remove any elder care products such as walkers, etc. younger people want to visualize their life at the property not your parents
- Leave enough furniture to show the rooms function but remove any “well loved” pieces. If the bulk of the furniture is showing wear and tear consult with a staging company
- Don’t overlook items that may be of value before you purge. Seek advice from an experienced antique and/or art appraiser. That tattered couch or piece of art work you never cared for could be valuable.
- Urns at the front door with seasonal flowers
- Lawn mowed, garden beds weeded and tended to
- Make sure the home looks free of clutter for the listing photos. A photo of a room with clutter will not entice a buyer to view the property. If it is impossible to de-clutter it would be better not to show interior shots at all.
- Floor plans of the home are beneficial so a purchaser can decide whether renovation is a possibility over demolition as well as enabling them to visualize their furniture placement.
- Find out if the property has any historical designation, ravine constraints, encroachments or right of ways. An experienced Realtor would be happy to help you with these issues
Helen Braithwaite and Pennie Mathers are both Sales Representatives with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd./JOHNSTON AND DANIEL DIVISION, Brokerage. Helen and Pennie are regular contributors to Toronto’s Muddy York blog. Their website is located at www.twoperspectives.ca
