If you’re in the process of staging your home for the market– because you’re savvy and know home staging will get your house off the market faster, (right? Check out this study.)– you may be wondering if you’ll have to rent a storage unit to hold all of your personal belongings. It’s a good question to which there are mixed answers. The overwhelming majority (us included) say “yes!” Storing your personal belongings frees up your home dramatically.
Picture it from your buyers’ perspectives: you’re entering a home for the first time and the first thing you’re accosted by is a mounted vintage record of a band you hate. Not the greatest first impression. You can easily swap out this scenario with a sports team, book collection, or anything really. First impressions matter. The emptier your home, the better.
You never know what weird quirks your belongings may evoke.
1. Storage Unit
Easy enough. If you’re lucky and sell your home within the first month of listing it (which is entirely possible with the right professional help), you may be able to close your account and take advantage of a “free month” sign-up. (Make sure you read through the fine copy of your contract.)
2. Peer to Peer Storage
There are a couple of apps offering peer to peer storage solutions for short-term situations just like this! Neighbor and Spacer claim to be the Airbnb of the storage world. You be the judge.
(Psst: You’ll need to get your pets out of your home for showtime too. There’s an app for that called Rover.)
3. Pay Your Friends & Family Instead
Easy enough, right? I mean, would you rather shell out your hard-earned cash to a corporation for profit, or do you want to help pay for your niece’s ballet classes? Scroll through your contact list and send a cursory inquiry into grabbing some storage space in someone’s home. Offer to make a monthly contribution. And hey– you may get lucky and not have to pay at all.
4. Utilize Outdoor Storage Space
Sheds are your friend. While it’s true, showing a beautifully clean shed will help sell your home, this is probably one of the only places you could sacrifice when showing your home. Besides, if you cram all your bits and ends in it, potential buyers can envision themselves doing the same.
(Or it could backfire and suggest your home doesn’t have enough storage space.)
5. You Can Use a Spare Bedroom, But–
It’s simply not recommended. Home staging best practices are clear-cut in presenting a pristine home, but sometimes it’s just not financially possible to store everything. When times are tough our best advice is pack up like you’re moving to college and you don’t want anyone remaining at home to see your stuff! If you don’t already own some, purchase tasteful luggage and put your things in it.
Literally.
You can neatly “hide” your belongings underneath beds (hey, why not exhibit that killer storage space for your potential buyers?), inside dresser drawers, in closets, and the attic. Or you could always shove everything in your car before showtime.
Hey– sometimes we have to be industrious.