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
Categories: Estate Sale · General Information
Tagged: Central Toronto Real Estate, estates, staging, Toronto Real Estate Market, Toronto Staging Information
By Anne Levenston
There comes a time in most people’s lives when the family home, containing so many memories and beloved objects, has to be sold. This sad end is either due to the loss of a loved one or a necessary move to a retirement home. Associated with this event is the overwhelming prospect of clearing out your parent’s personal belongings. This can be both emotionally and physically exhausting.
The good news is that if it is an estate situation, there are estate sale companies to do the job. These companies can assist with both the evaluation of contents and the sorting and clearing. If you suspect that there may be valuable family heirlooms, it is important to engage a reliable antique assessor and perhaps get a second opinion. There is a very active market in vintage furniture and clothing – don’t just throw out that 70’s light fixture! It is important to have the right people on your team. People who are active in the antique and vintage business will know what is currently saleable. Usually a contents sale company will charge a percentage of the sale value of the contents. Depending on who you choose the charge ranges from approximately 30% to 50%. It is important to research your options.
Not everyone has the time or the emotional fortitude to sift through decades of accumulated treasures. There are professionals who can do this for you – they will organize everything into 3 categories:
- Garbage
- Charitable donations
- Saleable items.
You might be surprised at some of the things that have value today. That beautiful silver tea service of your grandmother’s may be harder to sell than the collection of black and white photos from the 1910’s.
If the house is to be sold, the next step is assessing the best way to show the house. Does it need to be spruced up with a coat of paint? Would a professional stager help get the best price for your house? A good pre-market cleaning is often beneficial. Which objects can be packed away and how can the rooms be set up to show their best features. There are climate-controlled storage units where excess furniture can be stored until the sale of the contents.
Following the sale of the house, the contents sale company takes over. All items that the family wants are removed, and the remaining items are evaluated for the best method of sale:
- Auction house
- Private dealer
- Public contents sale – where the lesser items are arranged at the house.
At the end, the house will be emptied of all objects and a final accounting will take place.
The house is now ready for a new set of memories to be created.
Anne Levenston is a Sales Representative with Royal LePage R.E.S.Ltd/Johnston & Daniel Division. Anne is a regular blogger with Muddy York. Anne’s website is located www.annelevenston.com
Categories: Estate Sale
Tagged: Central Toronto Real Estate, Real Estate, toronto
