selling the house after 40 years

[onethatcares]

geez, I found out that someone has loaded it with stuff, everywhere.

Anyone have an idea as to how to downsize the collection ( I only want to keep the guitars, tools, and my clothes) (the other half wants to keep it all, clothes, hobby supplies, kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, bedroom stuff and all of that).

realtor wants to invest 10k of my dollars to get a better commission. should I do that or let the buyers do the upgrades?



Ideas are very welcome.

[msongs]

1. if theres tons + valuable things get an estate sale operator to give u estimates

and if its just ordinary stuff there is the yard sale path. or sell the place to your other half and let him/her keep all the stuff in place lol

[onethatcares]

2. great plan but

she would want more to increase her commission.

thanks though.

[Siwsan]

3. I'm planning on donating to Volunteers of America and Habitat for Humanity

I have furniture and household goods from my aunt and my mom that I'm ready to part with, and VOA and HFH will pick up. I figured I'll have everything I want to get rid of in one area, and let them take what they think they can use. If there is anything left, it will likely be stuff that should go to the curb, anyway.

There are a few things I might try to sell, but most will definitely be donated.

[kimbutgar]

4. You can hire someone to work with you to clean out house. I do that sometimes as a part time job.

We separate junk, donations and stuff to keep. Then we get a truck to haul away. Get a charity to pick up stuff and then the owners move what they want to new home. I estimate 40 years of stuff would take 4-5 days.

[CTyankee]

17. my 3 kids are coming to help us move out.

but not all together. one will come from LA, one from MA, and one from NYC. They can't all converge on me at one time because of their jobs/family commitments.

What I am dreading is the removal of all our books which are presently in an upstairs bedroom. My local library will take all but atlases, even paperbacks. They sell donated books to support the library. Boxing up heavy books and hauling them downstairs is something neither of us can do.

I'm giving away a lot of things such as my crystal collection -- kind of a glass menagerie -- there's not a lot but two are from Florence, Italy that specializes in making them.

Lots to consider and to get a plan for.

[Hoyt]

5. Just went through that. It's hard work. Donated what we could,

moved what we needed including my instruments, gave away stuff, sold some stuff . When deadline to move came, we called a junk dealer to take what was left. Glad to be through that. Next time I move, I'll probably be ash.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

6. We moved to the U.K. last June

From Florida. We allowed our kids to take what they want, shipped two pallets of goods (mostly clothes, tools, musical instruments and kitchen items) and donated anything left. Our house buyers even took some of our furniture. We threw out a lot of junk. Once you get started it gets really systematic.

We sold some exercise equipment and a grand piano on Craig’s list.

[LuckyCharms]

7. This:

1) Talk to a few auction houses to get a reasonable idea of what will sell at auction. My experience has been that the things that I were sure would sell were essentially worthless because there was currently no market for them. Also see if the items are selling on ebay.

2) Auction off items that will sell at auction. Or, sell them on ebay.

3) For anything that you have not used in a year, take a good hard look on whether you need it or not. If you think it is sentimental, ask yourself why it is sentimental. Can you get by with just a picture of the item to bring back old memories? If so, take a picture of it and then donate it or throw it out.

4) For non-sentimental items that cannot be auctioned or put on ebay, either throw them out or donate them.

5) The whole thing has to do with the proper mindset. Don't be afraid to get rid of stuff. It's just stuff that you are used to having, nothing more. Your life will change for the better when you de-clutter.

Good luck.

[fierywoman]

10. For 3) above I found it very helpful to ask myself

the Mari Kondo thing: "Does it spark joy?" You'll get a gut feeling real quick.

[Desert grandma]

8. We moved after 35 years and

it was a difficult job. I would suggest you do the upgrades, as you can control the cost. If you give buyers a "credit" to upgrade, they might not agree with the amount you want to provide. You would probably be able to do it for less. We had over the years updated the windows and the flooring, installed a high efficiency heater and a Master Cool air cooler. Before listing our house we spent $$ on landscaping some areas, painting the entire house, installed new interior doors, and had a roof inspection and made needed repairs. Our appraisal was even $500 over our list price. We staged the house and took all we wanted to keep and rented a "pod" to keep it in. Our house sold within a week of being on the market. Good luck!!

[Duppers]

11. Good advice.

May I ask what company you rented your pod from and where did you store the pod while your home was on the market?

Another question: sell it yourself or use a realtor? I think realtors charge too much for what they do. I'd rather put that cash into making my home more attractive and sellable.

Thank you.

We're facing readying our home for the market now.

[Desert grandma]

18. Hi Duppers..

We used a realtor because we were selling at a time (2016) when the market was not as robust as it is now. Our credit union advertised realtors that provided the full service for a discounted fee. I researched and found a person that was highly rated and had great reviews. Although he was not one of the names our credit union gave me, he agreed to accept the same discounted rate we could get through a referral from our credit union. I called all of the POD rental companies and got their rates. We kept the POD at our new house in the driveway, although we could have kept it at the old house in the area where we had parked an RV. We had three offers at the first open house which was held a week after it was listed. We sold for the listed price. It is such a relief to have it all over with. Good luck to you!

[Duppers]

19. Thank you SO much.

[CTyankee]

16. We have an old house and over the past 10 years or so we have slowly made

what we wanted/needed to do. We put on a new roof a few years back, upgraded bathrooms and the kitchen (first we had to upgrade the electrical service), installed carpeting, new furnace and hot water tank, new dishwasher, planted a gorgeous maple, painted the shutters and installed central air conditioning. This was all done while we were still working because I knew once we retired we wouldn't be able to do it any more.

[MicaelS]

9. See if there is a LOCAL charity..

That will come and haul stuff away. Contact you local homeless or battered women's shelter. Check to see if there is a moving company run by firefighters from your area. They might know people that need stuff.

Avoid all national charities like Goodwill, Salvation Army, because all they will do is resell it for a fat profit. They do not want used stuff at all.

[lunatica]

13. I just sold mine

Regarding any upgrades, I recommend you fix some things because for every $1000 you spend you can expect $5000 to $10,000 added to your asking price.

I replaced the dishwasher, the hood over the stove some lighting fixtures, the old linoleum in the kitchen and bathrooms and the 30 year old rug, and painted the interior (it’s a condo).

I also spent money staging it because when people look at it they like to think they could live in that kind of surroundings. The effect is the same as when you go furniture shopping and the pieces are all displayed tastefully. You’re more likely to buy the furniture than if it was just stuck in some warehouse with a hodgepodge of other furniture.

I left plenty that needed to be replaced or modernized like the kitchen countertops and cabinets and the vanities in two bathrooms but all were usable so if the potential buyers wanted to modernize them they at least could use them until then.

I had no problem getting my asking price very quickly. If I hadn’t wanted to do any of that buyers would have made low bids and I’m sure I would have had to accept much less.

Good luck!

[lunatica]

14. I just sold mine this week

Regarding any upgrades, I recommend you fix some things because for every $1000 you spend you can expect $5000 to $10,000 added to your asking price.

I replaced the dishwasher, the hood over the stove some lighting fixtures, the old linoleum in the kitchen and bathrooms and the 30 year old rug, and painted the interior (it’s a condo).

I also spent money staging it because when people look at it they like to think they could live in that kind of surroundings. The effect is the same as when you go furniture shopping and the pieces are all displayed tastefully. You’re more likely to buy the furniture than if it was just stuck in some warehouse with a hodgepodge of other furniture.

I left plenty that needed to be replaced or modernized like the kitchen countertops and cabinets and the vanities in two bathrooms but all were usable so if the potential buyers wanted to modernize them they at least could use them until then.

I had no problem getting my asking price very quickly. If I hadn’t wanted to do any of that buyers would have made low bids and I’m sure I would have had to accept much less.

Good luck!

[MissMillie]

15. The real question is...

do you want to get rid of the stuff, or do you want some money for it?

You could have a yard sale or buy a table at a flea market, but expect to get a lot less than what the "stuff" might be worth to you.

And when it comes to your other half, you two have to decide what will not or will not fit into your new living space. I guess I'm assuming that you're down-sizing, but I may be mistaken.

FTR, I might not ever get rid of kitchen stuff, except for the empty jars (jelly, relish, salsa, etc.) that I clean out and save.