Do You Live in a Sales-Worthy Home?
I was reminiscing this week about when Melissa and I sold our house and the projects we did to prepare to list it.
A new walkway.
A new furnace.
A refinished deck.
Newly-painted interior trim.
Then we experienced what most home sellers do: regret for not doing these projects sooner so we could enjoy them while we lived there.
Sure, we made them a priority to help get top dollar for our house, but imagine the value doing them sooner would’ve added to our lives!
My brother-in-law, Tom, came to one of my book talks last year and I mentioned something about loving yourself enough to live in a sales-worthy home. It seems the idea stuck with him because since then, he’s been on a mission to clean house. He and my sister have been getting rid of things left and right — selling, donating, and recycling — things they’ve talked about clearing out for years.
Anytime I see them, they gush about how much better their home feels and how much better they feel.
Take a look around your home. If you were house hunting, would you jump to put in an offer? If not, why not? What might you change?
Could you use some new curtains in your bedroom?
Might your bathroom need a fresh coat of paint?
Maybe an overall good dusting?
You deserve to have these things done now so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor (or payment). Your home doesn’t need to be spotless and perfectly organized before taking on some of these projects. In fact, doing one of them may inspire you to clear out and clean up even more.
OK, I want to hear from you. Comment below and share your punch list and tell me which one you want to tackle first.
Dream BIG and then build the foundation underneath through those stupid-small steps I’m always talking about.
Imagine how amazing your space will feel when you finish one of these tasks. And then watch that feeling spread into all areas of your life!
I love the conversations. I have lived in my home for 49 years – love my home and my town. I have no wish to move or downsize – I don’t like change – and I don’t mind in other things but I want to be lucky to live in my home until I die.
That said the house is about 60 years old and last year we began to do major things to the house and property. As we had water in the basement that became unmanageable we bit the bullet and had major drainage excavated outside the house to end the problem. This year we just replaced the boiler. The roof of 35 Years has been assessed to be fine. We also put in a new driveway in April – the first since the house was built. The refreshing, replacing feels good and is for us but truly will help our children sell the house when we are gone. Storms in Mass dictated major clean up with trees this year so that too got handled and we continue to keep the property trimmed.
The cluster buster course is the best adjunct to the outside. I realize it is just as important to focus on the inside. I plan on replacing some hollow doors – on doing a power wash, etc.
The major things get done as we save and plan for them. Little things I can do with the energy and freedom the course generates for me., I appreciate all the discussions and how your challenges open up new vistas for me – especially where I least expect them.
Marilyn Frank
Thanks for joining the conversation, Marilyn! It sounds like you are very aware of how your space makes you feel and when it needs attention, you get to work — either saving the money or actually doing it. As a result, your home likely rises up to meet you and allows you the mental energy and clarity to fine tune and tweak other areas of your life like you are so brilliantly doing in our course!
Hi Kerri. I began a new career last year in property staging including both unoccupied and occupied homes and condominiums. I often go into homes and assist sellers who have been advised by their realtors to hire us to get their home ready for sale.
As I have developed an eye for identifying what needs to be cleared, rearranged, enhanced – my work has spilled over into my own house. My husband is actually nervous that I have a secret plan to sell our house 😉
Ha! Too funny, Diane! Well you certainly understand the benefit of living in a home that feels good to you.
I am not the same person as my most likely buyer of my house. This is something that became clear to me when I bought my house. I value garden and pasture far more than the average elderly buyer of a small house. So my priorities in fixing up my living space for living here are not the ones most likely to improve resale value or speed. But that is acceptable because I am unlikely to sell my house in the next twenty years at least since I have already moved to a small enough house long before it became a fad.
Of course it is still important to maintain the house well enough and to make modifications if my needs change. As an extravert I occasionally need to remind myself to notice whether anything in my situation is making me uncomfortable frequently or extremely enough to require the effort needed to change it to something else that works better for me. But generally I notice the items that are worth changing, and generally I change them when I have found something that will work better for me long term. If the inconvenience is short term and the benefits are short term and the solutions take a lot of time, money, or effort, then it usually does not happen, not because I am not worth it, but because that particular inconvenience is not worth changing.
Don’t kill a fly on the wall with an elephant gun! You end up with more flies in the house because now you have a big hole in the wall!
Thanks for joining the conversation, Kit! Yes, it’s all about feeling good in your home, and that means different things to different people. So long as you love it, that’s all that matters!