Have a Yard Sale Prior to Selling your Fort Lauderdale Fl Home

It’s fall and the tempature is cool & crisp. It is the perfect time to have a yard sale if you are placing your home on the market or if you just want to declutter prior to the Holidays.

I cannot tell your how many homes I show that have far too much stuff.  It distracts the buyers from seeing the home as it was designed. I know I sound like a broken record but I’ll say again and again – Declutter, declutter and then declutter some more before you put your home on the market. 

Here are some tips for a sucessful yardsale. If you are not up for a yard sale donate your clutter to charity or rent a storage unit.  The idea is to get it out of the house.

First let me say that having a successful yard sale is HARD work but worth the reward.  
 
I run an ad in the Sun Sentinel, advertise on free internet portals and place signs in the neighborhood the night before.  I will also make flyers one week prior to the yard sale. I post these flyers bulletin boards in places of employment, churches, community centers, etc. Spread the news of your yard sale by word of mouth too to co-workers and friends.

Start accumulating the items you want to sell.  If you don’t use the item before the sale, it is probably safe to assume you don’t need it. 

I like yard sales where people have put prices on everything. The price should be on top of an item. I know it’s a lot of work, but worth it because you won’t have people asking every two minutes, “how much do you want for this?”. Many people will not ask they will just pass it by.  The object is to get rid of the stuff so you can get big bucks for the house.  Price everything cheap and reduce by half after 10:00 am if it is not selling. .

 The bigger the item – the bigger the price tag should be. Make it obvious. If you’re selling a sofa take a full sheet of paper and put the price and list any good selling points. “Sofa, 4 years young, coordinating pillows, $195″. Always round down by $5 on big item. Physiologically $195 is different for $200.  

If you are displaying clothes try to use a clothes rack and the cheap metal hangers. Clothes are generally very poor sellers unless it’s baby or kids clothes. 

When selling books and CDs arrange in a box so the titles can be easily read.   

Put some effort into your sale.  If the first thing that someone picks up is dusty it may turn them off to looking at other things. If you are selling electronics make sure there is somewhere to plug in to insure it works. An extension cords works great for this.

Don’t let anyone you don’t know in the house.

Ask friends and neighbors to loan you portable tables to display items.   Nothing is worse than going to a yard sale and just seeing boxes of dirty and unorganized junk on the ground.

Display some of your more interesting items at the end of your driveway to act as a magnet to lure people in.  Men are memorized by power tools. Some people will just drive by slowly and take a quick look to determine if it looks worthwhile to stop. Station yourself at the end of the merchandise & close to the street. It prevents people from forgetting to pay for an item. You can also easily answer someone who drives by and asks “do you have any CD’s”?

Expect early birds.

Make sure any items you don’t want to sell are put away. If you don’t that will be the one item someone wants.

During your sale, keep your sale tables attractive by filling in the empty spots on your tables as things get sold.

GUARD YOUR MONEY.  Have coins and small bills available to make change.   I recommend wearing a fanny pack or carpenter’s apron.  

For safety reasons have a cell phone in your fanny pack or apron.

Don’t accept checks unless you are willing to take the risk of getting a bad check.

When about making change if someone hands you a large bill, leave the bill out in view until after you have given them their change.

Have plastic grocery bags available to put sold items in. If selling fragile items you should have newspaper available for wraping.

Having a calculator is helpful in totaling up purchases. Make it easy for yourself to total items and price things evenly in increment of 25 cents.

If you have a ton of small items (clothes or kitchen items) consider having a “fill a bag for a set price” kind of deal.

Expect that some buyers will expect you to bargain with them. Remember your goal is to get rid of the stuff. Give the folks a deal and get it out of the house.

Hire me to represent you when selling your home.  I always help my sellers with staging their home and therefore their yard sales. It is an opportunity to start “the buzz” with your neighbors prior to being on the market.    

Have a question about a yard sale or staging your home? Call or email me.