Downsizing? Make a little CASH in the process...



Need to Downsize? Make a Little Money in the Process

If you’re getting ready to downsize, or are settling the estate of a loved one, you will be confronted with the often overwhelming task of getting rid of furniture and belongings. These tips from MaxSold will not only help you streamline the process, but possibly bring in some money along the way:

Decide What to Keep
The KonMari Method of decluttering from Marie Kondo offers the sage advice of keeping those items that bring you joy and that you also have room for. If an item doesn’t fall into both of these categories, set it aside in a separate room or designated nook of the house.

Don’t Go Straight to the Dump
Instead of adding to landfills, try to recover money for your unwanted items. What may be “junk” in your eyes is just the thing someone else may be looking for, whether it’s a broken-in easy chair or a box of extension cords.

Take Your Time with High-Value Items
If you’re getting rid of something that truly has value, take your time and price it right. If you post an ad online and get an instant response, you might have underpriced the item. Conversely, if you’re getting no responses, you may have priced your item too high. Auction sites—like MaxSold—might be the best option, as they encourage bidding, and therefore, a good price for your prized possession.

Avoid Storage
If you can’t get the price you think an item deserves, you may think storage is a good option while you hold out for the right price. However, this strategy usually ends up costing you more, as you pay potentially thousands for storage while your item depreciates in value. Unless you have a family member to give it to, a better financial decision is to get it sold.

Research Online Sales Sites
When looking for the right site to sell your items through, do your research. Choose a company with proven methodologies, good online reviews and a process that eliminates security risk.

Source: MaxSold

For more tips on bringing in money as you downsize, contact me today.

#downsizing #realestate #realtor #yeahthatgreenvilleagent #yeahthatgreenville #cdanjoynerrealtors #berkshirehathawayhomeservices 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Save for a Home with a Dollar-for-Dollar Match Program

Image
Save for a Home with a Dollar-for-Dollar Match Program A federal program helps low-income families buy a home with a unique method meant to encourage saving: It matches dollar-for-dollar what they save to buy their first home. The Individual Development Account, or IDA, doesn’t offer a lot of money to help with a down payment — up to $2,000 in federal matching funds with more contributions possible from local IDA programs — but it’s a start. Participants can start by saving as little as $25 — matched to as much as eight to one, depending on the program, though most offer one-to-one matches. Income levels must be 200 percent below their state’s poverty level. With an 8:1 match, IDA participants can raise much more than the $4,000 total with federal matching, and could have $10,000 or so for a down payment on a house. Most IDAs are funded by the federal government and are run by nonprofit groups and financial institutions, and grantee programs are required to raise an equ...
Read more
Image
  Ending Small Talk: Tips for More Meaningful Conversations Having more meaningful relationships with friends both new and old is a great goal, and it can start with your conversations. Below are five tips for those of us frustrated with small talk. Skip the weather.  As tempting as it may be to springboard off the weather, this can lead you down the empty-conversation rabbit hole and into a twenty-minute dialogue about rain. Asking about almost anything else should yield more interesting results. Think of base questions.  So, what should you talk about, if not the weather? Come up with a short list of base questions you can turn to in a flash. If you’re talking to a stranger or new acquaintance, try “have you done any traveling lately?” or “are you reading any good books?” These more personal questions show genuine interest and will actually reveal something about your conversation partner. Make eye contact.  Regardless of what you’re discussing, work to maintain or...
Read more

How to Help Home-Bound Teenagers Cope Stay-at-home restrictions are challenging for everyone, especially teenagers. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, teens – who would normally just be starting to enjoy life as independent beings in the world – are suddenly back under the purview of mom and dad. To make matters worse, many teens have had something extremely important to them suddenly ripped away: a lead in the school play, a varsity spot on the team, prom, graduation, a part-time job, etc. On top of that, their all-important social life is now off limits as well. What’s a parent to do? While nothing will come close to replacing the life your teenager had been living, here are a few strategies to help your teen cope: Make sure they’re informed. Teens are masters of disguising their true feelings, so don’t misread their cool demeanor as apathy. They might be getting the bulk of their information through social media, which is not always accurate and may be causing undue alarm. Be sure to calmly keep them apprised of the developments surrounding the coronavirus, explaining why the restrictions are important. Don’t withhold information out of fear of worrying them. Listen to a trusted news source together so that the information is coming directly from the experts, not their “overreacting” parents. Give them a social outlet. It’s critical that your teenager is still able to connect with friends during this time. Encourage social distancing activities they can do with a friend, such as hiking, running or biking. Let them take the car to a nearby scenic spot and hang out side-by-side with a friend in another car. Give them privacy to use the family computer to host a Zoom “meeting” or Google hangout with multiple friends. At all costs, make sure your wifi is up to snuff so that your teens can easily text, use social media and Facetime to stay connected. Help them earn money. Your teenager may be depressed about losing a job, but you can easily come up with some jobs around the house for your teen to take on to earn some money. Have them help you with some small tasks related to your job while you’re working from home, or a project that will get them outside, such as spring yard clean-up. While the financial incentive is a big plus, the real benefit is getting their minds focused on something other than the situation at hand. Keep student athletes in shape. While staying active is essential for all teens in this situation, it’s particularly important for your student athlete who is used to a rigorous work-out schedule, and could respond negatively to suddenly being sedentary. Check in with coaches to see if they’ve put a work-out schedule in place or are perhaps hosting online group workouts. Remind your athlete that keeping their fitness level up is essential so that they can return to sports without missing a beat. Embrace family time. While the hectic pace of life before the pandemic might have made you and your teenager ships that pass in the night, you’ve now got lots of time together, so make the most of it. Eat meals together, binge watch a series together, play cards, get the old photo albums out, etc. The idea is to make sure your teenager doesn’t stay holed up all day in his or her room. So make some interactive time mandatory.

Image
How to Help Home-Bound Teenagers Cope Stay-at-home restrictions are challenging for everyone, especially teenagers. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, teens – who would normally just be starting to enjoy life as independent beings in the world – are suddenly back under the purview of mom and dad. To make matters worse, many teens have had something extremely important to them suddenly ripped away: a lead in the school play, a varsity spot on the team, prom, graduation, a part-time job, etc. On top of that, their all-important social life is now off limits as well. What’s a parent to do? While nothing will come close to replacing the life your teenager had been living, here are a few strategies to help your teen cope: Make sure they’re informed.  Teens are masters of disguising their true feelings, so don’t misread their cool demeanor as apathy. They might be getting the bulk of their information through social media, which is not always accurate and may be causing...
Read more