Getting Past the Emotional Value of Your Home

As a listing agent one of my biggest hurdles with Sellers is getting them to price their house based on market value and not Emotional Value.  I understand as a homeowner myself the emotional tie you have to your home and all of the blood, sweat and tears that you have put into it.  This is why it is so important to separate your Emotional tie to the house once you decide to sell and why it is so important to have a licensed Real Estate Agent list your house.   

A good listing agent will have a complete marketing package for you when they meet with you.  They will do a comparative analysis for your neighborhood and should be able to give you a list price that will enable a quick sell using only the actual market value of your house and not the Emotional Value.

How to cut that Emotional Value Tie- 

The First and Most Important thing to do before listing your house is decide if this is REALLY what you want to do.  When I receive a phone call from a homeowner and they tell me they want to sell their house, my first question is always “WHY”.  This may seem like a crazy question to some sellers, but it’s very important to think about.  Do you have to sell for financial reasons, or because your job is moving, or you want to downsize or upsize, or are you JUST INTERESTED IN SEEING WHAT IT WILL BRING.  Really think about the WHY in selling.  Once you have established the answer and you are content with that answer then it is time to move forward; or not move at all. 

  

The next thing to do is no longer call it your “home”, you should refer to it as your “house”.  This will help cut that emotional tie; then you should decide what you want to take with you from this house; remove those items; such as a door casing that you have written a growth chart on for your children; a special stain glass window that belonged to your great-grandparents or a mantle that one of your close friends craved out of an old tree that you climbed in when you were a child.  Get all of those items out of your “house” and replace with ones that you have no emotional tie to what-so-ever.

 

Then box up family pictures, and nick-knacks.  All of that china that was handed down from your grandmother, and is proudly displayed in your china cabinet needs to be packed away.  Basically “De-Personalize” the house as much as possible.

Finally the most important thing to remember is that a lot of the improvements that you made to your house over the years will not necessarily “up the value” and this is when it is so important to listen to your Real Estate Agent.  If you truly want to sell your house, take their advice, again they are giving you the price based on what the market will bare financially and not emotionally.

Cindy Brooks, Realtor

Exit Realty of the South
1227 Lakeview Drive, Suite 1
Franklin, TN 37067

615-499-9445 (cell)

615-550-5555 (office)

CindyBrooksRealtor@gmail.com

http://www.CindyBrooksRealtor.com

Call or email me if you are thinking about listing your house, or if you just have some questions.  I am always available and will be happy to help you.