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We're Putting Our House On The Market

Nope, this post isn't about a client or a home staging consultation. My husband and I have decided that it is time to put our house on the market and look to down-size. Is it going to be emotional? It sure is. Is it going to be exciting? You bet. Right now I'm going back and forth between feeling both ways. It's a new time in our lives, and one I am looking forward to.

for sale

While we just decided this past week, we have been talking about it for over a year; and what has to be done to make it market ready. We had already gotten started last year by stripping the wallpaper in the powder room and updating it a bit. I'll share those pictures in another post.

We have given ourselves a deadline of June 15^th to have everything done and ready. I plan on staging my own house, which I know might be difficult as I am emotionally involved; however, I think that with a little help from my friends I'll be able to pull it off. So far, I have been able to take a step back and look at the rooms in our home more objectively than I thought I could.

What I'd like to do is a series of posts bringing you through the process with us. Not only the emotions, but the reality. Not just the packing up of memories, but a chance to clear out the clutter and simplify. Not just removing our mark from the house, but showcasing our investment - the investment we worked so hard on these past 19 years.

report

I'll be posting "before" and "afters" so that you will be able to see what we've done, and know that even if you got a home staging consultation report, you could do these projects/tasks/fix-ups yourself before you put your house on the market. I want you to know that when I say, "I know exactly how you feel", I really mean it.

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign, color consultations and much more. Please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com for more information on our services and fees.

Posted by Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating on 04/20/2009 11:31 AM

Comments (43)

moving, selling your home, home staging, long island home stager, staging consultation report

Originally posted at: Creative Home Expressions - Thoughts from Long Island: We're Putting Our House On The Market

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43 Comments on We're Putting Our House On The Market

APR

I will look forward to your posts! We just put our house on the market and thankfully it sold to the first people that looked at it. It took me three times to stage the upstairs the way it should be done, the first two times I talked myself out of doing what I knew I needed to do. Staging your own house is hard, but you can do it! Throughout the process I thought it would be great to do a series of blogs...never got around to it, so I'm sure I will enjoy yours. Good Luck!

Awesome! A stagers series right from home! With you involved it will be fun. :-)

Can I come digital-film a little of this? Pretty please? I'll even promise to behave (Well... maybe just a little bit -LMAO). We can make some really cool staging DVDs together with lovely menus. I've been looking for stuff to pixel paint and animate and you've given me a new idea to play with. We can make little three minute clips to help advertise your home selling efforts and business so you can upload 'em all over the web. String enough of 'em together and you've just made a Blockbuster special (LOL). Seriously! Blockbuster is notorious for picking up the rental distribution rights of independent DVD film makers. :-)

It sounds like a great idea, Kathy.

I have said many times before that REALTORs, loan officers, stagers and movers (anyone who provides services related to buying/selling real estate and moving should be required to move every few years so that they have an experience of the move freshly in their mind while working with clients.

Good luck with this Kathy! You will do great, I know you will :) I look forward to the posts on the process!

Congratulations on your decision to sell and downsize!

I know exactly what you mean about the challanges associated with staging your own home for sale... I found myself so attached to unnecessary clutter and decorations!! I even kept a few personal family photos out on a shelf. Some may not agree, but I'm not a fan of de-personalizing too the point of sterility... so the odd photo stayed. The hardest part - people's critiques!!

Looking forward to your blog series... it'll be fun!!

Victoria: EdinDesign Interiors @ DesignTies

Hi Kathy- I'm interested in seeing how this goes for you. We put our home on the market a few years back and the hardest part for me was not staging, but deciding who would be my agent. I knew/know so many that it was a very tough decision.

Instead of writing a book here in your comments section, I think I'll write a seperate post on my experience and hopefully help others with what I learned. Good luck and can't wait to see your future posts.

Judy ~ I'm glad to hear that your house sold quickly! I'm hoping that I have the same outcome! My fun with this will be that I will have to speak and treat my husband as I would a client. I have already told him why a couple of things need to be done.

Carolyn ~ Don't you have enough to keep you busy?? LOL! I somehow think that if I have you around, I'm not going to get much done - laughing while painting could be dangerous! : )

Marzena ~ I can understand your theory, but I don't know if I would be able to put it into action every few years! Even with putting our house on the market, the thing that I think seems more daunting than the staging is the packing!

Victoria ~ Thank you, and thanks for coming over here and commenting! I'm really going to be trying to lean toward the "exciting" aspect of this.

Wendy ~ Sorry, I skipped right over you there! : ) I'm sure it will have the makings of a good novel - some laughs, some tears, some arguing . . .should be an interesting experience for us.

Are you kidding me? Laughing while painting is mad fun! Shopping with you is even more fun. Ruth is gonna' need some paint soon... we're closing very soon (hint, hint: can we come?). ;-)

Good luck Kathy, I wouldnt even try marketing my home right now, but then your market up there is better than ours down here. Please let us know how the staging goes, and of course before and afters please!

Emma ~ Thanks! I'll keep an eye out for your post too!

What a great idea - I can't wait to read all about it. I am impressed - I don't know that I could stage my own house. I think it would be a great project though. Good luck!

Hi Kathy...What a wonderful series of posts we're going to get to read. I'm excited and looking forward to all the before and after photos.

This is something that we may be facing down the road (the downsizing...not the self-staging). It will be interesting to see how it goes for you.

Kate

I am looking so forward to your series. I admire you. We downsized 11 yeara ago and we really could downsize again. We never use our yard and have no time to care for it! I do not like to move-we've love in Danville 33 years!!! Best wishes as you prepare your home!!

Kathy, Good luck...and I'll be watching for future posts. I'm sure some areas will be difficult for you...but then I can see how exciting changes in the future can bring. My oldest (19) has left home and in college, and our youngest being 16...it won't be to many more years that we will also be looking at downsizing. Keep up posted, if you have time!

Wow, Kathy, I'm sure it was a difficult decision and wish you well with preparing the home--I'm sure it already looks fabulous, though! But knowing you, you'll want perfection (and that's a GOOD thing). Are you staying in the neighborhood?

APR

Best wishes on your own home and you know you can post pics here anytime if and when you feel you need some help. :-)

Hi Kathy,

There's nothing like selling your own home to increase your empathy for your clients. I can't wait to see your progress.

Kathy ~ I"m really looking forward to your series on the moving process. I'm sure your home will look fabulous but then, look who's staging it!

good luck Kathy -- I would definitely have a hard time leaving my home of the past 15 years. When I started in Real Estate 8 years ago; I thought it was just a matter of time before I found the perfect house for us. Now I realize our house IS the perfect house for us :-)

That being said, I often think that it's easier to move ON when you are excited about the home you are moving to. Keep up posted on that part as well! Thx for including us in your experience.

Good luck with everything. I am hoping for a quick sale for you.

Carolyn ~ We'll talk - LOL! We're going to make up a plan/schedule for each room - at least for hubby to get started on what he's doing.

Terry ~ It's not what it was, but there comes a time when you just can't wait for when the "turn around" is coming. It's just too big for the two of us now. Absolutely, before and afters will be shared! : )

Sheila ~ Thanks! I have to make sure I tell hubby that I want "before" pictures in case he starts something when I'm not here.

Kate ~ It's already been interesting as we also talk about what we are looking for in the next house. We have some different ideas there, so that will be another saga all its own!

Good luck with it Kathy- I look forward to living through the process via your posts and pix.

Hi there Kathy, this going to be a great series, 'Property merchandising through the eyes & heart of a Home Stager'. I'll be waiting for every installment.

Cathy ~ That's my hubby - he'd give up the yard. I don't know if I can deal with a little patio at the back of a condo. It will be interesting to see what's available.

Donna ~ That's it - my youngest is finishing his first year of college. It's amazing how the house feels it's size now that they are both (basically) out of the house. I'll probably post my powder room (1/2 bath) first since I did actually get a head start on that last year when we first started talking about this. Stay tuned!

Carole ~ I'm sure I'll have my moments, but I'll let the logical over-ride the emotional. We will stay in the area, but probably not the same town.

S ~ Glad to hear you say that because that was my plan! : ) I'm sure I'll have a few posts in there asking my AR friends for their input and opinions. I already have one area that I know I will be asking for help on - a long hallway that connects the great room (an addition we added) and that now has family photos, award certificates, that type of thing on it.

Susan ~ Thank you, I agree. I've read other posts on AR about members' moves and how much more they really feel for their clients emotions when they are selling a home. I can't wait to see our progress, too! : )

Maureen ~ Thank you! Hubby and I will be making up a plan by room this evening; next week he is off and will be starting on some stuff. I'm sure that means I'll be starting to pack up some pictures and maybe take the opportunity to go through and throw out what should have been thrown out years ago!

Wow Kathy, the market must be a lot stronger in your area of NY than many places. Having down sized recently I have ONE recommendation. Don't downsize by TOO much. Your hubby and you still need your privates spaces and room. We errored and are now too crowded..big mistake. Enjoy the process, as much as possible and you could write a book....seriously!

Hey Karen ~ I hear ya! This was the perfect house for us - when we moved in 19 years ago! I will absolutely keep you all informed as to the search as well!

Benita ~ Thank you! From your lips to . . . : )

Anne ~ Thank you! I'm sure it will be interesting, to say the least!

Cynthia ~ I appreciate that Cynthia! I'm sure at times I will feel like I have a split personality going between homeowner and stager! : )

Ginger ~ Well, we're not going to get what we could have 2 years ago, but we know that. On the other hand, we will be able to buy something a bit less than it would have been 2 years ago, so I guess it evens out somewhere along there.

See, you mention what I am afraid of - my hubby is so into going smaller now that I am afraid he is thinking too small. I probably want something in between what he's been talking about and what we have now. I don't think you can go from something like what we have now to a very small house or condo. I'm with you, I do need my space - I think that's how we made it this long! : )

Hi Kathy - Best of luck on the staging, sale and the next phase of your life.

Hi Sandi ~ Thank you! : )

APR

Kathy, good luck. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

19 years means lots and lots of memories and accessories to the memories.

Andrew ~ Thank you! I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do to the place after 19 years. It's the accessories I'm worried about!

APR

You know Kathy that I am excited to see your future blogs on this! This is a great idea and it will be fun to experience it with you and help you (should you need another expert opinion). Best of Luck!!

Teresa ~ Thank you! I thought it might be good for the public to read too. Maybe get more people on board with staging. I am absolutely going to be asking my AR friends for help and opinions! In fact, I took some pictures this morning of a long hallway I have and I will be working up a post for AR members to give me their input and what I'm thinking about the space.

I'm so glad that you're going to do a series on this Kathy. You know I'll be parked on your blog to read each and every part of the process. You'll do a fantastic job staging your home. I just wish I lived closer, so I could give you a bit of a hand!

APR

Charlene ~ Thanks! Well, you will still be giving me a hand - I'm hoping to get input on areas I'm not sure of what to do. I've got one coming up that I'll be posting this weekend.

Ok when do we start??

APR

Kathleen ~ We start this weekend. I'm hoping to get a post up today "Members Only" with the first challenging area - THE LONG HALLWAY.

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