Is Your Emotional Attachment Killing Your House Sale?

Selling your home can be an exciting time if you are looking forward to a new chapter in your life like a move interstate or overseas, building a new home or embarking on the “grey nomad” dream of travelling around Australia. For many people, however, the emotional attachment to their property is so strong that they find it difficult to approach the selling process objectively.

Letting Go of Your Property is the First Step to a Successful Sale

At All Residential Real Estate our specialist property team sell hundreds of homes every year, and even though we see it many times over, it still astounds us that many sellers want to put their homes on the market without any preparation or staging. Some people hold the view that the way they live in their home is good enough for them, and it should be good enough for a buyer.

Much of this attitude comes from the emotional attachment they have to a place where they have been very happy, and they want to hold on to those deep feelings for as long as possible. Unfortunately, by doing this, they don’t attract the most suitable buyers and often lose many thousands of dollars as a result.

Is There Too Much of “You” to Make Buyers Feel Comfortable?

When buyers want to view a home that they are interested in, they need to feel comfortable when they first walk in, otherwise, they will do a cursory inspection and leave. The things that can make them feel uncomfortable are colour schemes that suit a highly individualised taste, too many personal items like family photos, mementos, and clutter.

The art to staging a house for sale is to create an environment where the prospective buyers can see themselves living in the home. This is much easier to do when the colour scheme is neutral, there are only a couple of family items on display, and the amount of space available is obvious because the clutter has gone.

Look Towards the Future – Not Back at the Past

This all requires effort on the part of the seller, but that can only happen if they are in the right frame of mind. When we first view a property, we talk to the owners about what we believe needs to be done. If we sense resistance, we talk to them about their future plans, and encourage them to look at this home that they have loved as being in their past, and ask them to look towards their exciting, new future.

We encourage them to take photos of the home as it is, so they have their memories to look back on. Our experienced agents identify the furniture and other personal items that can be packed away in storage to create a sense of space. If the interior needs repainting we recommend that too.

When the owners can look at the property as a product to be packaged, they are ready to let go of their emotional ties and get it ready for sale. This is when our people at All Residential Real Estate do their best work and secure the highest price possible in the current market.