Emily's question in her post became...do you make decisions in your house based on now or later? Do you choose everything based on the fact that you might put your home on the market at some point?
I love this question! So right off the bat, of course, I'm curious about what you think. Are you making design and decorating choices right now with resale in the back {or front} of your mind?
This may shock you, coming from the girl who has TWO homes on the market, but my answer to this is a resounding no. {Please refrain from saying that this is WHY we still have two homes on the market. HA!!}
When I moved into this home back in 2000, I had just spent four years in university housing, where the number one rule was DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO THE WALLS. NO paint. No nails. No personality. So my main objective was to paint every wall and hang up every picture. Thankfully, my style has improved since those days.
But once I got over binge painting and obsessive picture-hanging, I have tried so hard to make our home...our home. I choose colors that I hope are pleasing and inviting, not only for the two of us, but also for anyone else who might come to visit. The art and photos on our walls reflect who we are and what we love, and I'm unapologetic about those things.
I'm sure home stagers would wildly disagree with me {and they have the expertise to do so, certainly!}, but my feeling is that my home is my home until it sells, and I want to feel at home here. I want to look around and feel cozy and comfortable and welcome. And hopefully others see and feel the same when they come through.
Therefore, we haven't de-personalized the house, even though it's on the market. We were curious to see what people would say when they came through. We were pleased to hear that people find it just as we hoped: inviting. One lady called it Pinterest-perfect {which made my DAY, even though I don't think it's necessarily true}. Several told us that they can feel love from the pictures they see. So far, no one seems unable to envision themselves within our walls...just no one has made our walls their walls. :)
So my answer is...I prefer a home that feels like home. And I make my choices based on what feels warm and comfortable. And I trust that when it's time to sell, the right buyer will feel so at home, he or she will want to MAKE it home.
So that's me. How about you?
{And some pics of this place we call Shafferland. This place we call home.}
3 comments:
Good morning! I just moved on Sept 6th, and this is what I found to be true... At the beginning of the listing I hadn't removed much of anything. The feedback was always positive. I had realtors who asked MY realtor if I was an interior decorator! HA!!! I bought my new place before the other sold. So I started moving stuff on Aug 1st. House sold on Aug 20th. I couldn't believe how much LIGHTER the house FELT after I started moving stuff out! Now on the other hand a completely empty house isn't appealing to a lot of buyers. So maybe decorate Ryans house ... especially with the holidays. Place some furniture around. Light!!! Make sure you have a lot of light! Especially with us " falling back" in time. Perhaps some outside decorating for curb appeal? Something that brings a warm inviting feeling before they even walk in. I have helped stage some of my friends homes so if you want my help I would be more than willing to come look and see what we could do. You are going into the very slow time for homes to sell. Weather and holidays will stop showings. So you need to CAPTURE buyers with the MLS pictures and then the MINUTE they walk in you want to hear a WOW or " I love this." I KNOW how draining this is all is. And the banks have made financing so much more difficult. I just closed on my house this week. Over 2 months. They went VA. What a pain Please let me know if you would like my help Bekah! I will help you anyway I could!
MJ
Ahhhh MJ I love you! :) We are still waiting for Ryan's house. Looking now at December or later - and I do wish we had either unlimited funds to stage it or enough excess furniture to stage it, but we don't, and that's okay. I think our journey is to wait and learn hard lessons, which isn't fun, but possibly necessary for the two of us.
Meanwhile, we're enjoying our home being OURS even if it's on the market. I do have some plans to lighten it up "stuff-wise" - more for us than for buyers. But I love looking around and seeing US in there.
And most importantly CONGRATULATIONS on closing! Partying with you from afar!! So exciting!
Our house is our house. While we have never sold a house, we make decisions about it now based on what appeals to us. A house is meant to be lived in, not to look perfect.
I am praying for your house to sell so soon Bekah. I know God has an awesome plan for it (and you!) and I'm praying you start to see glimpses of it soon.
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