What is a home stager’s worst nightmare? One might imagine that the hardest part of the job is a sofa that won’t fit through the door or newly refinished hardwood floors that have not yet dried before the open house event. Actually, our home stylist Sydney often tells us the most difficult part of their job is helping home owners learn to let go of their property.
Because they have developed some pride of ownership and a cupboard full of memories over the years, home owners remain attached to their property long after the decision is made to leave it behind. We suppose it might be like that little twinge of jealousy when we see our ex out with a new love – we don’t want them back, we just can’t quite dispose of all the memories. The same happens with bricks and mortar.
According to our friends in the home staging business, the first clue comes when the homeowner doesn’t want to take the family photographs down from the walls and bookshelves. (It makes the house look so homey – and it does. What it also does is remind the buyer that this house still belongs to somebody else and there are ghosts of family past to be exorcised.) The second hint comes when they insist that the kitchen be painted apple green the way it always was. It’s at this juncture that the astute stager calls in the generals.
Sometimes it takes a conference with the real estate selling agent and the senior design technician to convince the melancholy homeowner that the house is being prepared for new owners who may not like Granny Smith green. Even after the big sit-down, homeowners will occasionally dig in their heels over things like landscape changes or appliance finishes. (If harvest gold was good enough for Mrs. Homeowner, it should be good enough for Mrs. Buyer.)
It’s easy for us humans to forget that selling a house is a business transaction. It’s every bit as important as the way in which we trade stocks or choose a life insurance policy. When you think about the selling of your house, you’re actually considering cashing in the nest egg you’ve been nurturing for many years. Your house is probably the biggest investment you’ve ever made and liquidating it is much more than just packing up your stuff and moving it to another building. It’s the management of your portfolio on steroids and there isn’t room for much sentimentality if you want to generate a hefty profit.
The pink bedroom where your married daughter used to hole up has meaning to you, but it really can become a home office without revoking your memories. The dilapidated swing set in the back yard has to go even though your grandchildren love it…and yes, your new down-sized apartment won’t have room for it on the balcony. The new you will learn to find new, entertaining ways to hang out with the little ones – still, letting go can be hard.
Your job as a seller is to embrace the adventure of rethinking your old place. If that seems impossible, staying away from the old house is an excellent alternative. The members of your sales team can handle the project without you and there is absolutely no shame in walking away. As a matter of fact, many homeowners find washing their hands of the old place wildly liberating. Try it, you might like it.
Of course, in order to walk away you must be confident in the home staging company you’ve chosen. We cannot stress enough how important it is to establish a good rapport with your home stager – he or she is an investment manager bent on making your real estate investment pay off in big ways – you need to be comfortable with this person’s reputation. Once you have that comfort level, the rest is easy.
Having a stager with a long and stellar reputation is the best way to gain the trust you need to lose the moving blues. At Urban Chic Property Styling, we believe that our experience as one of the best home stylist Sydney has to offer will help you through the bittersweet moments of leaving your old home behind. Call us today.
Image courtesy of Scyon Linea weatherboard
