Post by Colleen on Jan 14, 2014 5:56:48 GMT
Homebuyers don’t care what your house means to you -- the seller. As harsh as that may sound, it’s important for sellers to understand this early on. The day you decide to sell your home it becomes a house.
What I mean by this is that the word “home” conjures up a unique set of emotions. A home is where the heart is – we’ve all heard that one – right? A home is where you measure your children’s height against the wall, and you let your 8-year old pick the paint for his or her bedroom even if it’s neon green or pink. A home is filled with personal photos, knick-knacks and memories – the seller’s memories. And, with all those seller memories filling up space it’s hard for buyers to imagine making their own.
You see, the buying process is truly a creative process. It requires creativity and vision from the buyer. Even the slightest distractions can disrupt the process. When buyers are out touring houses for sale they use creativity to envisioning what their life might be like at each property. They might visualize their kids playing out in the backyard, or coming down the stairs for school in the morning. They know that the living room is large by the measurements on the listing, but they are picturing how they will spend their evenings in that room sitting around as a family or maybe even where the Christmas tree will go next year. They are evaluating the attributes of the house against a list of things they’ve determined are most important, but even more so, they are answering the question, “can I see myself and my family making a home here”. It’s a very emotional decision. I’ve seen buyer after buyer, disregard things they said they “must have” because the house just felt like “home”.
So Sellers, when you are preparing your home for sale, limit the number of personal items you leave in and around the house. Thin down the pictures of the kids and dogs on vacations. Remove trophies and awards from the walls and calendars and Post-It notes from the refrigerator. Your potential buyers will be drawn to them and will spend their time looking at your memories rather than concentrating on how they might make their own.
Now , don’t take it to the extreme - there is no need to make the environment sterile – you still want your house to be warm and welcoming. But when your Realtor tells you to take your aerobics schedule off the fridge or to repaint Suzy’s pink room to taupe before listing the property, please don’t take offense. They are just helping you remove distractions so that buyers considering your house for sale have a clean canvas to see it as a home for themselves.
Check back often for more real estate tips for buyers and sellers alike.
What I mean by this is that the word “home” conjures up a unique set of emotions. A home is where the heart is – we’ve all heard that one – right? A home is where you measure your children’s height against the wall, and you let your 8-year old pick the paint for his or her bedroom even if it’s neon green or pink. A home is filled with personal photos, knick-knacks and memories – the seller’s memories. And, with all those seller memories filling up space it’s hard for buyers to imagine making their own.
You see, the buying process is truly a creative process. It requires creativity and vision from the buyer. Even the slightest distractions can disrupt the process. When buyers are out touring houses for sale they use creativity to envisioning what their life might be like at each property. They might visualize their kids playing out in the backyard, or coming down the stairs for school in the morning. They know that the living room is large by the measurements on the listing, but they are picturing how they will spend their evenings in that room sitting around as a family or maybe even where the Christmas tree will go next year. They are evaluating the attributes of the house against a list of things they’ve determined are most important, but even more so, they are answering the question, “can I see myself and my family making a home here”. It’s a very emotional decision. I’ve seen buyer after buyer, disregard things they said they “must have” because the house just felt like “home”.
So Sellers, when you are preparing your home for sale, limit the number of personal items you leave in and around the house. Thin down the pictures of the kids and dogs on vacations. Remove trophies and awards from the walls and calendars and Post-It notes from the refrigerator. Your potential buyers will be drawn to them and will spend their time looking at your memories rather than concentrating on how they might make their own.
Now , don’t take it to the extreme - there is no need to make the environment sterile – you still want your house to be warm and welcoming. But when your Realtor tells you to take your aerobics schedule off the fridge or to repaint Suzy’s pink room to taupe before listing the property, please don’t take offense. They are just helping you remove distractions so that buyers considering your house for sale have a clean canvas to see it as a home for themselves.
Check back often for more real estate tips for buyers and sellers alike.