A buddy and I used to together every couple of weeks and chat about life, real estate, the universe and everything. We both started Real Estate at the same time & every day since has been an education. One of our first lunch meetings proved to be one I remember 15 years later. I just had a very similar conversation with another Realtor Buddy, Mario Mastro, the other day that brought this old story back to life for me.
My old friend from 15 years ago was selling the house of a friend. Doesn’t sound so hard, right? I mean, it’s the right thing to do: helping out a friend in need. The homeowner had lived in the house for years with his wife & 3 kids. The idea of moving had come fairly recently for them & they planned on just inviting prospective buyers over & to show the house with a lived-in look, his private, precious family’s personal lived-in look. The lived-in look includes peeled wallpaper, mildly dinged walls & mouldings, the various knick knacks and personal treasures, crowding every shelf & mantle, old faded window treatments, & more.
My buddy was in a quandary. He had to tell his friend to clean-up his most prized possession, his Home. That his sanctuary, his castle, is in no condition to show. I know what you’re thinking: People in Glass Houses, Right? Well, I’m not moving, so it doesn’t count.
Aaanyway, After much hand wringing and strategizing, we prepped what we’d say if either of us wind up in the same situation again. First, set a realistic selling price, if you want to be you’re friend’s first & last agent, not just the first. (O wait, that’s another post. Sorry!)
First(for real this time), No delays. The friend/seller doesn’t benefit in any way from coddling or delay. Not being compassionately upfront & honest is actually crueler. It causes all kinds of complicated questions in the seller/friend’s world. It’s enough of a disruption in life to sell the home you’ve lived in for years & to relegate all the nostalgia & feeling to history. He doesn’t need to question if they’re getting the whole story from theirĀ Realtor and friend. The seller, friend or not, needs to understand. His cherished home is now a commodity. It’s an item that will be seen, critically analyzed by many eyes, commented on & hopefully bought by another with similar dreams for it.
That transition alone is a big, huge, honkin’ leap for many. Possibly, in a single meeting, a cozy comfortable den transforms into a selling feature. A kitchen that enjoyed close family suppers, intimate meals & special events becomes a lovely eat-in kitchen, granite countertops, oak cabinets, comes with stove, microwave & diswasher, etc.
De-Personalizing the home thoroughly in the mind of the prospective seller is painful & brutally necessary. It’s the first step in a long process, the successful transition from homeowner to seller. Once you get that buy in, the real work begins.
Now that de-personalizing in the seller’s mind is accomplished, you have to translate that to the home. The myriad treasures accumulated through years of trips, events & vacations, has to come off shelves, side tables, cabinets & mantlepieces. But Aunt Bunny’s foam finger from the last Red Sox World series win, I can’t take it down.( Ya Gotta, believe me… you just gotta.) I usually phrase it like this. If you’re really interested in selling this house, you’re going to have to move out of it eventually. Consider this packing in stages. You’re not putting all the experiences you’ve had together in a box. You’re preparing to take them to the next step & add more.
This process gets even deeper, as it extends to the closets, attics, eaves or basement storage spaces. Prospective buyers want & need to actually see those places. I’d recommend a storage unit, but neat and orderly is usually enough.
The yard can’t be ignored either. What are we going to do with the Man Cave/Shed out back? Same thing! Once you’re down to bare furniture, comes a deep cleaning. Dust off & shine it all. That’s not so easy on weathered furniture & floors, but it’s a must. Make the place shine. Clean floors, windows, walls & ceilings. Paint if you need to. Organize cabinets & closets. Prospective home buyers love to snoop. You can hire a maid service, if monotonous, deep cleaning isn’t your thing.
Now comes the best part for the seller. The totes full of nostalgia that you just packed up? Pick a couple of pieces that mean the most to you, just a few, & sparsely display them on the clean, gleaming furniture. Tell the story of your life here in little swallow-able chunks. Let the prospective buyers see just how wonderful life in this house can be.
Now gift your seller/friend with a pair of “Buyer’s Goggles”. Ask them to view the presentation, room to room. What do they think, get their buy in. Now, take a look outside. I’m talking curb appeal. Actually get the seller/friend in their car, drive away & come back. Focus them on looking critically at their house. Have them wear their brand spankin’ new “Buyer’s Goggles”. Ask them what they’d update or change to make the property welcoming & bright. Add a flower bucket by the porch, a hanging basket or fresh mulch perhaps.
The heavy work is done. Now to refine the experience. Walk them through the house as if you were showing it to a prospective buyer. Get them used to the walkthrough process & most definitely prepare them for the brutal & direct questions they’re likely to face. “How long has this wallpaper been up?” “This house is nice, but it’s overpriced.” “I’ll offer you $50K less than asking.” It can go downhill from there fast, so make sure they’re ready. Set up their preferences, like No unaccompanied showings, 24 hour notice, Beware the dog, Ring Cameras?, etc.
Now the house is ready, the yard’s ready, they’re ready. Sounds easy here, but it’s a lot of personal work for everyone involved, dealing with friends, huh? Not at all different with clients you’ve never met. Yep, the life of a real estate agent is no joke. Everyone talks about a bartender’s empathy. Sorry, They ain’t got nothin’ on a Realtor. 
Have Fun!
Lew McConkey, Brook Realty, Serving Whitman Hanson & Surrounding Towns
(781)252-9789
If you have questions about your place in the current Real Estate market, as a buyer, seller or Landlord, please feel free to call text or email for your free, no obligation consultation.