Home sellers, don’t let your home be upstaged by showing off your private lifestyle!
And don’t sell your home short just because you happen to like cute kitten collectibles in every room. Depersonalize it!
The Depersonalizing phase of the pre-market readiness process is where homeowners often put up their strongest defenses. They may even resist or refuse requests to pack away the bowling trophies, fridge art, Fido’s toys, and other treasures. But why?
Such resistance usually comes down to a lack of communication, or failing to understand the benefits of Depersonalizing. That’s where A Wicked Wand comes in to shed some light.
Depersonalizing with A Wicked Wand is not about judging a homeowner’s style, taste, belief systems, or interests.
Depersonalizing is simply Stage one in the Wicked D.E.N.S mantra for selling your home more quickly, and for top dollar. It’s also part of what I call creating “room for improvement.”
What is making “Room for Improvement?”
Buyers are expecting to walk in and envision all the ways they’ll be able to insert their OWN personalities and interests into your home. If the home is already “full” of taste specific personality and interests, there’s no perceived room for improvement for the buyer. At worst, that personality may be in conflict with the buyer’s own judgments or ideals. And to counter this, they’ll put up their own emotional defenses and resist. Or present a low-ball offer or just walk away.
*Remember, you’re selling a house, not promoting yourself, or your lifestyle. And since you’re preparing to take your “self” and your lifestyle with you to your new digs, it’s a Win-Win!
Protect your Privacy
Depersonalizing is also in the best interests of protecting a homeowner’s security and privacy. *Remember that every walk-through and online viewer should be in awe of your house, not peering into your home life.
Ultimately, this is also a chance for you to get a jump on organizing your move. So pack it away now. It’s for your own good.
Detachment and Letting Go
It’s not uncommon for homeowners to resist letting go of the personal comforts and physical reminders of cherished memories when they’re preparing to sell. That vibe of not being fully detached or ready to hand over the keys is a hindrance, however. Because, in turn, potential buyers feel like visitors or intruders coming in to review the seller’s personal life and history, rather than imagining the home as the place where they will be creating their own memories.
When sellers first accept, and then begin Depersonalizing their home for sale, the results are often transformative.
Letting go of the past and emotionally disconnecting from the current house encourages further preparation and visions towards the future. Ultimately, this act creates “room for improvement” for both buyer AND seller.
Now You Know
The benefits of Depersonalizing are self-evident, now that you know. But stubborn or uninformed sellers can actually lose a sale, or leave money on the table! All because they insist on keeping walls covered with Jr.’s school portraits from the 1980’s. Or refuse to remove the mounted deer heads and the “you’re going to hell if you’re not saved by the holy cow now” posters.
In fact, home sellers who are making these decisions are working against creating “room for improvement” for potential buyers, and will likely find themselves (surrounded by their cute kittens) with a stale listing and facing price reductions.
Now you know.
