If you’re planning on moving to a new place, you first need to figure out what to do with your current home. If you’re renting an apartment or a house, it’s simple enough. You can just wait for your lease to expire or terminate it early.
But what if you own the home and you need to sell it? Should you move out and clean it out first? This is one of the biggest hurdles home sellers face.
After all, an empty house should be easier to sell. Yet, if you don’t have another place to stay or anything to do with all of your stuff, it can be a complicated problem to solve.
We’re here to talk about the pros and cons of selling an empty house. Keep reading for everything you need to know.
The Benefits of Selling an Empty House
First, let’s take a look at why you should move out of your house and empty it before placing it on the market. In many cases, this can simplify every step of the process. Here’s how emptying your house or hiring a house emptying service can help you.
Completing Repairs and Updates
One of the most convenient benefits of emptying your home is that it makes renovations much easier. If the house is empty of furniture, decor, and personal belongings, for example, you’ll have a lot more room to repaint interior walls.
An empty house will also make it easier to refinish hardwood floors, steam clean carpets, and patch up drywall. If you’re completing bigger repairs, like doing a kitchen update, not having all of your kitchen items on-site will certainly help things go smoother.
Finally, if any of the updates you’re investing put a pause on important home functions (air conditioning, heat, hot water, plumbing, electrical, etc.), it will be easier if you aren’t still living there. Click here to find out more about the essential preparations for listing your house on the market.
Keeping Things Clean
After all the renovations are completed, most homeowners begin deep cleaning their homes. Again, this will be much simpler if you’re not trying to clean around couches, TVs, dressers, tables, decor, and all your random belongings.
Deep cleaning an empty house will result in better results, and thus, a better impression made on potential buyers. However, selling an empty house will be even more beneficial when it comes to keeping the house clean.
If you’re continuing to live in the house, it means you’re going to continue making it dirty. Before every home tour, you’ll be scrambling to clean up after you and your family.
If you no longer live there, maintaining the deep clean of the house will be much easier. It also won’t need to be cleaned as frequently.
Depersonalizing the House
When potential buyers walk through homes for sale, they are looking for their future homes. As such, an empty house can be a lot more appealing. Buyers don’t want to tour a home that’s full of your personal items, heavily used furniture, family photos, and obvious signs that the home is still lived in.
For example, dirty laundry in the hamper, water droplets in the shower, and odors from the previous night’s dinner can be a major turn-off. Buyers will be drawn more to a depersonalized home. Some might even search specifically for “empty houses near me.”
Making the Home Look More Open and Spacious
Finally, whether buyers are looking for “an empty house for rent near me,” or a home to buy, empty homes feel more spacious. If a buyer comes to your house and it’s still full of all of your furniture and belongings, it will probably feel a bit cluttered.
On the other hand, an empty house can feel deceptively large and open, which is what most buyers are looking for in a home. Without tables, couches, beds, dressers, bookshelves, and chairs, a buyer is free to reimagine the home how they see fit. If it still has all of your stuff inside, it can be difficult for them to envision it any other way.
The Downsides of Selling an Empty House
Now, it’s only fair that we talk about the negative aspects of trying to sell an empty house. While there are only a few of them, they are worth mentioning. Here are some potential pitfalls of moving out of and emptying a home before selling it.
Cold and Impersonal
In some cases, a completely empty house can have a negative effect on the overall feel of the home. For example, if the home is already spacious, empty rooms can make the home feel cavernous and cold.
Conversely, if the home is somewhat plain or unexciting, a lack of furniture and decor can exacerbate that feeling. This won’t provide buyers with many incentives to buy.
If you feel like your empty house is having a negative impact on buyers, consider staging the home conservatively. Soft staging an empty house can bring positive energy and charm to an otherwise unimpressive atmosphere.
Additionally, staged homes have been shown to sell 73% faster. A professionally staged home shows buyers the true potential of a house.
Inconveniences
It’s important to note that selling an empty house will make it easier for your realtor to show the home. You won’t have to pick up and leave your home every time someone wants a tour.
However, it can also make it more inconvenient for you if a problem arises. You won’t be on-site to take care of repairs or renovations. Your house will also be sitting empty, which could make it a target for criminal activities.
Fortunately, issues like these are relatively uncommon.
Getting Ready to Sell Your Home?
If you’re planning on putting your house on the market, there is a long list of preparations you need to complete beforehand. We highly recommend moving out and emptying the house of all your belongings. In most ways, selling an empty house is far easier than selling a home you still live in.
For more real estate tips or homeowner advice, don’t go anywhere. Our blog was created to provide our readers with relevant, engaging, and helpful information. Read through some of our other articles before you go.
