Smart Moves

Are you preparing to put your property on the market and know you must remove an abundance of extra items before that can happen? If so, professional organizers urge you to allow extra time to declutter your home office.

"It's very time-consuming to go through everything in a home office, so you must make it a priority," says Laura Leist, author of "Eliminate Chaos: The 10-Step Process to Organize Your Home and Life."

Leist, who owns a professional organizing firm, says many sellers face tremendous problems dealing with the stacks of paper, books and magazines that crowd their home offices.

"People don't know how to make decisions about paper—what to keep and what to toss out or put through the shredder," says Leist, a former president of the National Association of Professional Organizers (www.napo.net).

Ronni Eisenberg, author of "Organize Your Home Office," says the process of decluttering a home workspace isn't nearly as hard for younger people who grew up with computers as it is for older people.

Regardless of how difficult it is, clearing out your office is a pre-sale necessity.

"People can't picture themselves living in your house if it's filled with clutter in any room, let alone the home office," says Susan Pinsky, a veteran organizer and author of books on the topic.

-- Take a hard-nosed approach to sifting through papers.

Many who work from home are troubled with containers brimming with unsorted papers. These include business reports, computer printouts, junk mail, utility bills, credit card statements and clippings from magazines and newspapers.

"More than 80 percent of the papers people save are never referred to again," says Pierrette Ashcroft, who leads a consulting firm called Smart Productivity Solutions.

The problem for home sellers is that any kind of clutter, including papers, makes a home look untidy. That can cause visitors to conclude that a property has more issues than meet the eye, says Mark Nash, the author of "1001 Tips for Buying & Selling a Home."

As those involved in the purging process soon realize, it can take much more time and brainpower to sift through papers than other kinds of clutter.

"With papers, it's one micro decision at a time. You can much more quickly throw out a bunch of old t-shirts than a box of unsorted papers. That's because the papers might contain valuable items," Nash says.

One way to expedite decision-making is to give yourself guidelines on what to save and what to toss. For instance, small business owners might choose to keep all their receipts for tax-deductible expenses, like office equipment and supplies, but throw out those for clothing and food purchases.

-- Digitize many papers rather than filing them.

Many who work from home struggle to stay organized through the use of extensive filing systems. But Ashcroft says filing all but the most important papers is usually a waste of time and energy.

She advises those trying to declutter a home office to scan many documents into a computer rather than trying to store them in filing cabinets.

"I'm practically paper-free in my own home office. I use a rapid scanner and can scan up to 200 papers in two minutes," Ashcroft says.

-- Reason your way through your book collections.

Many professionals, including those who don't work from home, keep more reference books than they ever use, according to Ashcroft.

"People have an emotional attachment to books," she says, noting that bulging bookshelves are often found throughout a home, not only in the home office.

She recalls one client, a doctor, who left medicine to pursue her passion as a potter. Though she never planned to return to her former profession, she kept a huge collection of medical books that she never opened.

The problem for bibliophiles preparing to sell their home is that shelves crammed with books make a property seem less appealing to buyers.

Ashcroft advises sellers to remember that many books can now be quickly and easily downloaded onto an e-reader such as the Kindle or Nook.

-- Avoid taking bad habits with you to your next home.

Nash, a longtime real estate broker, has worked with a number of clients who failed to complete the hard work of going through papers before moving. Instead they simply packed them in boxes and stashed them in their garage. But failing to cull through papers in advance merely postpones the problem.

He recommends that sellers "edit" their papers, office supplies and technology well in advance of a sale to make sure they have time to finish the process.

"Why haul clutter with you when moving expenses can mount up quickly? It's vastly better to get a fresh start at your new place," he says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

A widow in her late 70s recently fulfilled a long-held fantasy. She bought a 5,500-square-foot mega-house on two acres, complete with a basketball court and swimming pool.

Her goal? To create a magnet for family visits.

"The woman is incredibly happy she bought the house because all three of her grown daughters bring the grandkids over constantly," says John Rygiol, the real estate broker who helped her find the right place.

Rygiol, who's affiliated with the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (naeba.org), detects a rebound in the sale of oversized houses, which began in many markets about two years ago.

"Many huge-house buyers are successful professionals with school-age kids. But a surprising number are over 55 and are checking a major item off their bucket list," Rygiol says.

James W. Hughes, a housing analyst and dean at Rutgers University, says that the desire for ownership of a large house is a constant for many in this country.

"There's something beguiling about big houses. Bigger is always better in this America -- at least for people who can afford it," Hughes says.

Rygiol says those with the ability and aspiration to own a mega-house should take into account the resale potential of the property. Otherwise, he says they could be stuck with a white elephant that might one day prove a costly mistake.

Here are a few pointers for buyers:

-- Select the most desirable neighborhood you can afford.

It's inevitable that real estate values change over time. However, Hughes says values always stay strongest in areas he calls "winners' circles." These are communities that retain their desirability during all phases of the economic cycle.

"Affluent communities with strong amenities are usually on the leading edge of any recovery," Hughes says.

Distressed properties are now rare in popular communities. And Rygiol cautions against the temptation of some buyers to go to a lesser neighborhood to capture a "steal."

Rygiol says that a smaller house in a stronger neighborhood is better than the reverse.

-- Choose an area with a reasonable commute.

In past years, more people who wanted a large house willingly accepted a lengthy commute as part of the package.

But Rygiol says more homebuyers are now fearful of taking on a long commute due to their increasingly harried schedules.

Rygiol says even "road warriors" -- who subsist on satellite radio and believe they'll always be comfortable with a long commute -- often find it tiring over time. After a few years, they conclude that the time-stealing trade-off wasn't worth the sacrifice to obtain a lower-cost-per-square-foot house.

"Frankly, buying a house that's poorly located for commuting can expose you to both financial and health risks, if you spend long hours trapped in your car," he says.

-- Seek out an area served by top-rated schools.

It's widely believed that prime neighborhood schools help keep property values strong over time. Indeed, Rygiol contends that school quality is gaining importance due to intensifying global competition.

"Everyone wants their kids to get the best possible education so they won't fall behind the pack," he says.

What's the best way to check out school quality? Real estate agents typically decline to characterize schools in terms of quality, out of concern that their comments could be construed as discriminatory. Even so, your agent should be willing to provide you a large volume of statistics that compare schools on test scores, high school graduation rates and other quantitative factors.

Also, you can make an appointment to visit schools to see how they fare on intangible factors, like the attitudes toward students conveyed by school administrators.

If you're expecting to buy a house in a high-income area, Rygiol advises you to look beyond the local public schools.

"In these areas, proximity to private schools may also influence your home values over time," he says.

-- Consider carefully the realistic needs of your household.

It's common for the parents of adolescent children to seek a large house with a master suite that's separated from the bedrooms their kids occupy. This is especially likely if their offspring like loud music or noisy video games.

But adults without children can also have solid reasons for acquiring large housing. Nowadays, they often seek extra rooms to use for dual home offices, especially if one or both wish to run a home-based business.

What's more, Rygiol says more big house buyers currently covet space for novel uses -- including a private massage room or a yoga studio.

"It's OK to buy a big house for non-traditional purposes -- if you'll enjoy it and you're absolutely sure it won't put you in a financial bind," he says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

In the aftermath of the recession, many more young adults have found employment. But even for those working, the economy remains challenging. That's because wage gains have lagged, student loan debts are formidable and the cost of renting an apartment has risen dramatically.

All this means that many young adults are moving back into the family homes where they were raised. This can complicate things for their parents.

Take the true story of a 25-year-old graphic designer from Virginia who couldn't make ends meet on the job she snagged in Washington, D.C. So she quit and called her parents to say she was moving back home, causing them to cancel their plans to downsize to a smaller residence.

Christina Newberry, author of "The Hands-On Guide to Surviving Adult Children Living at Home," says an estimated 25 million adult children are now living with their parents.

"(H)aving adult children return home can put a ton of stress on everyone involved," says Newberry, who twice moved back to her parents' place, once at age 21 due to a career transition and again at age 29, after a divorce.

Do you have one or more adult children whose wishes could derail your housing plans? If so, these pointers could prove useful:

-- Solidify your plans before telling your offspring.

Kathleen Shaputis, author of "The Crowded Nest Syndrome," says that whatever their wants or needs, the parents of grown children should put their own preferences ahead of their kids' wishes. (This assumes their offspring are in good health and have the capacity to earn money on their own, if only after a brief boomerang period.)

"Don't give your kids veto power over your choices. And make sure your plans are firm before you announce them to your kids. Otherwise, they could sense your ambivalence and try to pressure you," she says.

Still, Shaputis says it's unwise to make a major real estate move, such as selling a longtime family residence, without first informing your adult children.

"Otherwise, your plans could come as a rude shock that might cause needless conflict within the family," she says.

Shaputis says it's ideal to choose a restaurant or another public venue to break such news to your children.

"It's usually easier to handle an outburst if it happens in a public place," she says.

-- Try to assist your grown children to transition emotionally.

Even if your kids have already reached their 20s or 30s and are living independently, one of them could find the sale of your family home especially hard emotionally.

"Some kids are very tradition-oriented. For instance, they could be very upset that Thanksgiving dinner will no longer be held in the same place as it always was," Shaputis says.

While you don't want to forfeit your overall housing plans to shield your grown children from disappointment, she says you can help them make a smoother transition with reassurances that they're welcome to visit no matter where you live.

-- Help guide your kids to a place of their own.

Do you have grown children living with you who will need to move when your home is sold? If so, Shaputis says you can help soften this transition by assisting them to identify ways to live independently.

"Brainstorm with them about how they could make it on their own. Maybe they could use some help finding an apartment and a roommate to share the rent. Or maybe they need suggestions for finding a second job that lets them become more self-sufficient," she says.

Of course, the financial realities of the current economy may require both parents and their grown children to make some temporary accommodations.

"The reality is that sometimes everyone in the family has to pull together to make ends meet. Extended-living arrangements have been going on since the dawn of civilization," she says.

-- Remember that good parenting isn't always about yielding to the kids.

Alyson Schafer, a psychotherapist and author of several parenting books, says there's no reason parents should feel guilty for asserting their right to make their own housing choices, especially after their kids have reached maturity.

"If it's necessary to downsize, remember what's ultimately important is that your kids know you'll always love them and will be happy to see them -- even if you have to move to a tiny apartment," Schafer says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)