One of the harder things to do when you get ready to sell your home may be to Let Go! There are often all kinds of memories, emotions and feelings that are attached to your home.
You may be in a situation where a job change, a financial change, or a family change is necessitating the need to move (and it is not necessarily a welcome move). Or, it may be you are moving to your next dream home and you are ready to go. Which ever is the case, there are any number of emotions tied to what has happened in that home and you will need to be ready to let go of the home as you put it up for sale.
Putting your home up for sale is going to require that you begin looking at your home, not as the place you live, but as an investment. Your home sale is now a business transaction with decisions being made not about memories and emotions but with a view to the bottom line.
How to Let Go:
- Don’t take feedback personally. You may hear things you don’t want to hear about your home. Whether it is from your home stager telling you what needs to be done to prepare your home for sale, or your potential buyer who may say critical things about your home, please don’t take it personally. Remember, it really isn’t personal or about you. The stager is looking at showing the home in the best light possible and the potential buyer is looking at making the home theirs.
- You may be over valuing features in the home that you were attracted to and that you have wanted showcased but which are no longer a draw to current buyers. Listen to your Realtor and your stager and take their advice in pricing the home and in which/how areas are showcased.
- Don’t hold on to your personal stuff. Your things are special to you and not to your buyer. Go ahead and get a head start by packing up your family pictures, knick-knacks, collections and what ever else your stager tells you. This will also help you begin to emotionally detach from the home as it starts looking less like home. Keep your eye on the prize: selling your home at the right price within the right time frame.
- Don’t dillydally when making the recommended changes or fixes. Stretching out the time it takes can add more stress and emotional discomfort. Identify and try to stay on a schedule. If you need to do some emotional processing, this can help you keep your eye on the prize and not get bogged down.
- Once you have completed everything your stager has told you to do, keep it that way. No one wants the buyers to be disappointed because they saw the house looking gorgeous in the on-line pictures and when they get there, it is cluttered or unkempt.