When it is time to down-size, and you are moving from a large home to something smaller, what do you do with all that “stuff” you have accumulated over the years? Enter Smaller Nest based in Minneapolis. It would take more organizational skills than I have to run a business like this, but this looks to be quite an idea.

“Our clients want help selecting what to keep and what to get rid of. With our background in design and keen sense of organization we help our clients downsize, move and set up their new homes.”

How can they help?

DOWNSIZING

We will work with you to assess what to do with personal belongings. The task of what to do with “all that stuff” overwhelms many people, but we help make this process as quick and easy as possible. Once everything is sorted according to what to keep, what to sell, what to give, and what to toss, we will arrange to sell or distribute the items you no longer want or need.

PACKING

We will supervise the moving company to assure the easiest and most efficient process for packing your home.

MOVING DAY MANAGMENT

We’ll arrive with a complete checklist of items to consider during a move and you can choose which ones you would like to use. Services include scheduling a truck for moving day, being present to meet and supervise the moving company, forwarding mail to your new address, and transferring utilities.

SETTLING INTO YOUR NEW HOME

Smaller Nest will help ease the transition into your new space by unpacking all boxes, and arranging all items in your new home. We will arrange furniture, make the beds, hang pictures, unpack the kitchen, organize medications, personal belongings and dispose of all moving debris. Depending on your preference, we will either re-create your old home as closely as possible or rearrange things to create a fresh look and feel to your new home.

HOME STAGING

We prepare your home for sale by making it more visually appealing to buyers. This process involves de-cluttering the home, rearranging furniture in order to make the home look more spacious, and various cosmetic applications such as painting or landscaping.

HatTip: Behind the Mortgage

According to the National Association of Realtors:

Granite or Corian? Stainless or black? Rug or hardwood? The possibilities can be endless. When purchasing new construction, homebuyers may be given an extensive menu of options to sift through. Often builders will prequalify new homebuyers for approximately 10% or more over the purchase price of a house, in anticipation of all the amenities that will be added. However, another program among builders is to automatically include all the high-end upgrades in the price. All the bells and whistles are standard, so there are no choices to make or decisions to agonize over for hours. So now, home buyers have the option to decide if they want options.

When we visited this year’s local Parade of Homes we noticed that quite a number of them homes were advertised as “upgrades are standard”. I understand the desire for the upgrades. Not only do they make the home ‘nicer’ they also personalize the home so it is not just like the other 40+ homes built from the same plan.

According to the National Association of Realtors a landmark 96-year-old Upper East Side townhouse was leveled following a gas blast, allegedly set “by the owner during a tumultuous divorce”. What is amazing is that real-estate experts now figure the property is worth more, not less, following the blast since a larger home can be built on the site and the developers would not have to worry about historical landmark issues.

So, I am wondering, the guy blows up the property to spite his ex-wife, and finds himself not only going to jail but also his wife gets more money than she would have before.

Nancy C. Somerville of the American Society of Landscape Architects is quoted in the real estate section of the New York Times as saying that good landscaping can add 15 to 20 percent to the value of a home.

A homeowner in Montclair, N.J., is hoping the added landscaping will help sell the home:

The couple knew that the house’s renovated kitchen and bathroom, new moldings and refurbished hardwood floors would turn a few buyers’ heads, but they understood, too, that unless the outside looked inviting, some of those buyers might never venture inside. So, in the weeks before the house was listed earlier this month at $532,500, they had the front yard cleaned and weeded and all the overgrown or dying shrubbery replaced with $700 worth of new bushes, flowers and ornamental grasses. The exterior was also power-washed and painted.

Not only are ornamental trees, plants, and flowers popular, but according to a Nyack agent:

“Becoming more and more important is the placement of large rocks, rock walls, stone fences and masonry in the landscaping.”

In our visits to the homes in this year’s Parade of Homes we noticed most homes had some sort of water feature and the higher end homes all had outdoor kitchens that went well beyond the normal gas BBQ.