How Can Custom Closets Help Me Sell My Home?

For the past several years, homeowners have been hearing that it’s a buyer’s market. While conditions are slowly but surely improving, this has been true, for the most part: Prices are low and there are a lot of houses on the market, so buyers can take their pick of homes and, in many cases, practically name their price. If you’re planning to sell in the next few years, it’s time to start thinking now about what types of improvements you’re willing to undertake in order to maximize your selling price (and minimize the amount of time that your house sits on the market) in the future.

Think about it: When you were looking at homes to purchase, what did you do? You opened each closet and cabinet in the house, trying to determine if the storage available would meet your needs. As starry-eyed couples or growing families walk through your home, they’ll do the same thing. Women, in particular, are drawn to closet systems. They’ll picture their shoe collections, dresses, coats, purses and seasonal decorations all neatly and tidily stored in one place, and they will fall in love. There’s just something about smooth wood drawers, clothing rods at different heights and a multitude of closet accessories that appeal to the domestic diva living in every woman.

You know the advice given to those trying to sell their homes: Get rid of whatever clutter you can. When you have custom closets installed in your bedrooms and coat closet, you probably won’t have too much clutter to dispose of in the first place; it will all be neatly stored! A streamlined, clutter-free home makes it easier for would-be buyers to picture themselves living there. Banish piles of shoes, out-of-season clothing and kids’ chaos and mayhem from your living areas, and you’ll have potential buyers lining up to imagine life in a well-organized home.

In many neighborhoods, the houses are very similar to one another. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two car garage, eat-in kitchen, family room. Or maybe your community tends to be made up of two-bedroom bungalows with carports and large backyards. If a buyer is hoping to live in a certain area, she will be looking at a lot of similar houses. In this case, it’s the little things that can make or break the deal. If two houses are about equal in terms of square footage, room size, number of bathrooms and other amenities, the one with a custom closet may win the prize (and the sale).