A buddy and I get together every couple of weeks and chat about life, real estate, the universe and everything. We both started Real Estate at the same time and every day since has been an education. Last week, our lunch meeting proved to be no different. He’s 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 has lived in the house for years with his wife and 3 kids. The idea of moving came fairly recently for them and they planned on just inviting prosepctive buyers over and 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 and mouldings, the various knicknacks and personal treasures, crowding every shelf and and mantle, old faded window treatments, and more.

My buddy is in a quandry. He has to tell his friend to clean-up his most prized posession, his Home. That his sanctuary, his castle, is 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’ll 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 and 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 and honest is actually crueler and 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 and to relegate all the nostalgia and feeling to history. He doesn’t need to question if they’re getting the whole story from you. 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 and 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 and special events becomes a lovely sit in kitchen, granite countertops, Oak cabinets. Comes with stove Microwave an diswasher, etc.

De-Personalizing the home thoroughly in the mind of the prospective seller is painful and brutally necessary. It’s the first step in a long process, the successful transition between seller and buyer. Once you get that buy in, the real work begins.

Now that depersonalizing in the seller’s mind is accomplished, you have to translate that to the home. The myriad treasures accumulated through years of trips, events and vacations, has to come off shelves, side tables, cabinets and 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 intersted 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 experiences you’ve had together in a box. You’re preparing to take them to the next step and add more.

This process gets even deeper, as it extends to the closets, attics, eaves or basement storage spaces. Prospective buyers want and 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 and shine it all. That’s not so easy on weathered furniture and floors, but it’s a must. Make the place shine. Clean floors, windows, walls and ceilings. Organize cabinets and closets. Proseptive 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, and sparcely 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 presenation, 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 and 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 and bright. Add a flower bucket by the porch, a hanging basket or fresh mulch perhaps.

The heavy works 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 and most definitely prepare them for the brutal and 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 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 Real Estate Agent.

Lew McConkey
Focused on Home Buyers and Sellers in Brockton, Abington, Whitman, Hanson, Halifax and East Bridgewater

Rosen Realty
(781)252-9789
Lewmcconkey@rosenrealty.com