I think our house is finally on the market. I say "I think" because I still can't find its listing online anywhere, but our real estate agent assures us that it will be online any moment now.
I have learned some things during this process. It is unnecessary to say just how much work putting up a house for sale is, but it's a work that is very satisfying, because in the end, you are left with a sparkling home and a sense that very few material things are required for a family to thrive.
Things I am happy about during this phase:
a) For sticking to my guns and packing up stuff. Left to RK, we would still have the books out, the clothes unsorted and the toys everywhere. His idea of a house staging is to have it exactly the way we have had it for the past 3 years and leave it up to the potential buyers to decide whether or not it would suit them. I am fervently glad I cleaned up the place.
b) For my staging ideas:
-covering the weird stains (were they made by yogurt? ice-cream? God knows. They are white, ugly and stubborn) on the couch with pretty drapes and throws;
-having nothing on any of the kitchen counters or stoves (Shoving everything inside drawers, cupboards and out of sight backfired though- I still can't find my salt shaker that I hid some weeks back before a showing);
-heaving our floor mattress in the first bedroom atop the bed in the second bedroom, so that the first bedroom looks marvelously spacious and we don't look like crackheads for having a mattress on the floor (remember that line? 2 Broke Girls? Whatever happened to them anyway?)
c) My packing. It isn't stellar, but it's reasonably organized. I write down a number on the inside flap of a box, take a picture of its contents with the number showing and write down the same number on the outside of the box so that I have an idea what number corresponds to what content. This would work out really well if I had the patience to take multiple pictures as I filled up the box, instead of taking one picture right at the end before I close it up. But well, what's life for if not to strive towards perfection?
So, we have had a few pre-listing viewings, mainly by other clients of our real estate agent. They've been okay. I think the main drawback to our house is our super-steep driveway which intimidates everyone the first time they drive or walk up it. It's already cost us a few potential buyers. Oh well. It only takes one- hopefully somewhere there's a guy who sees it as a challenge and not an obstacle.
1 comment:
Way to go!! Great job!! I remember when Joan's house was being put up - she went through the same thing. She and Terry put in a LOT of efforts to pretty their home. You have to draw in buyers and give them an idea about how it would look if this were their home. Hard to do that with cluttered or messy rooms. The steep drive is definitely a challenge. Perhaps you can emphasize there is another way in?
From someone who's moved with everything they own 7 times in as many years, when I made boxes I took a sharpie and wrote the contents on each box. Since you'll be shipping these overseas perhaps you could attach a sheet to each box and write the contents as you fill it up? Then keep a picture of the number and the sheet and get rid of the sheets before you ship!
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