The Destiny Of Selling Is In The Ability To Be Properly Prepared

It was the ideal situation. For five years I have been “staging” clients’ homes. Now the truth is in the first-hand knowledge. I was preparing to put my own house on the market and needed to stage my own home.

After living in my house for 18 years, it was time to de-personalize my house that I had raised my two children in and get ready to list it for sale.

I put my plan into action. Set up my schedule and did my walk-through room by room, just as I do for my clients. I ended up with a 7-page report for preparing to get my house ready to list. Knowing what needed to be done, I gave myself 8 weeks to get ready for this preparation. Set my goals on a room per week. I even removed my home office from my dining room and rented dining room furniture from my vendor so that it would show properly. After 8 weeks, the house was ready and the after photos were taken. The house was listed, and the open house scheduled. To my surprise, it was a very good turnout for an open house. I did know that my home was unique in style and decor. I had built what I liked to consider a french country house with an open floor plan on the first floor.

The house looked great; open, spacious, and inviting. But still 18 years after being built, NO BASEMENT. It was a slab house at the bottom of a hill when we tore it down to build a new house and was still a slab house. I do not understand why so many people are in love with a basement, and this was becoming a problem for buyers.

So many buyers, so many showings. The only problem that we would never be able to correct is that we still did not have a basement. How many people would ask if they could build one? Too many..

Four months after being listed we had a buyer. This was very exciting until the buyer lost their buyer for their apartment in the city, so there went that deal. It took another few months to get another buyer, but we did and at an excellent price.

I know that if I had not staged my house, it would still be on the market. From experience, I know that it is a must to prepare a home so that anyone walking through the door can visualize themselves living there. I also know that if our home had a basement it would have been sold within a week. Now one month after moving and closing on my house, I have moved on. All of my treasured belongings that I have loved are with me in our new home. My kids, dogs, furniture, and my collections of knick-knacks.

Moving does not mean you have to part with your favorite possessions. You might need to store them temporarily as we did to sell. They are always waiting for you to move into your new home when you sell.