When You Are Selling Your Home It Is No Time to Get Emotional When you are getting your home ready to put on the market, it isn’t just the house you need to get in order. You also need to get your own emotions in check. Here are a few good reasons to emotionally detach when you have your house on the market.
Getting emotional is certainly understandable when selling your house. After all, this was your home for many years and it holds some wonderful memories. It was here where Jenny took her first step and Bobby lost his first tooth. You have had birthday parties, anniversaries and graduation parties right inside these walls. Now your children have grown up and moved on and you know it’s time to get something smaller.
You must remember, though, that potential buyers will not be looking at your house emotionally. As hard as it is, you must be realistic and see things as they do. Think about what your house will provide a family in the future, not about the memories of the past. This is never more true than when you are pricing your home.
The price you set should be based on comparable homes in your area that have sold in the past six months. Also check the asking prices of current homes for sale that are similar to yours. A comparable house will be approximately the same size, have the same size lot and have the same number of bedrooms and baths.
If you overprice your house there is a good chance it will sit on the market for a long time. Eventually you will probably have to lower the price. When you price too high, your house makes more competitively priced houses look like bargains. When your agent suggests a fair asking price, seriously consider it. Don’t think to yourself: “That’s too low. After all, my kids grew up here and there are so many memories.” Unfortunately nostalgia has no value to buyers looking at your home — and the price you get does not devalue your memories.
When getting your house ready to sell make sure you give it a fresh coat of paint and a thorough cleaning. If one of your bedrooms is pink because your granddaughter sleeps there when she spends the night — paint it! The same is true of the golf themed wallpaper in the study and … well, you get the point. The rooms should be painted neutral colors, be clean and uncluttered.
When you take a look at the outside of your house the same rules hold true. The old swing set your kids played on 25 years ago still brings back wonderful memories — to you. To the couple buying the house it’s nothing but a 30 year old swing set they’ll have to get rid of.
Selling a house you have lived in for many years may be very difficult. If it is time to sell, however, you must detach yourself from your emotions and look at the sale as a business transaction. You will always have the memories of the wonderful times you had raising your family. Now it is time to think about how much joy your house will bring the next young family that moves in!
