Home Seller tip #1: As soon as you can, disconnect from your emotional attachment to your home! Easier said than done, right? Last week, we talked about the emotions of Home Buying, so now, lets flip the script and look into the emotions of Homeowners. I get it… we are all sooo connected to our homes. And for good reason. They’ve sheltered us, watched our kiddos grow up, been our haven, and have heard all the weird, wacky and serious conversations. Our homes have been the one place to truly be ourselves, a place to create memories, bring babies home, and a place to care. To love. To grow. To feel safe. And now we’re moving on, selling, and hoping someone loves our haven as much as we do. Complicated feelings, for sure.
I don’t know what your process will look like… but somehow, I encourage you to embrace, celebrate, and thank your home… and then disconnect from your emotional attachment to it. From a home… to an investment. This may sound jaded… so here’s the why: you don’t want your emotions to cloud how prospective buyers will view your home. You view it one way… the way you’ve lived best in it. But the potential buyer may want to live in it another way… and if you hang onto your personal feelings, you can cloud the potential.
For example…recently I staged a “sunroom” as an office after the homeowner staged it as a playroom. The playroom served the homeowner well… it was cute and tidy… but the space wasn’t relatable to most buyers. The homeowner had to say an emotional goodbye to the adorable playroom, and think about maximizing her sale and appealing to the majority of buyers who would tour the home. She made the shift from home and baby moments… to investment. She didn’t need buyers to like how she lived in the home… she needed a buyer to want to BUY her home.
I’m not saying it will be easy… I’m encouraging you to shift your mindset from all the feelings of “home” to “what can I do to appeal to the majority of my potential buyers?” It’ll mean taking “home” out of your home. Worth it, right?… if it leads to a buyer being able to see living their best life there?!
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