Today, whether due to a change in the biological clock, or finishing the process of my son's college send-off, I had one of those rare moments where two dissimilar things have a similar outcome. I was struck oddly by the thought of attachments, to things and to people which become unhealthy.

I have witnessed a lot of self-induced trauma in the few days I have been on campus with my son. I have watched parents, mothers and fathers, stress over letting a child go on to greater things. One had things planned so tightly, that even the schedule provided was further subdivided into small and highly dedicated blocks of time to visit with faculty members and other things. This morning, that same parent was upset, because the schedule was off a few minutes for drinking the morning coffee. The parent's student spent the morning rolling eyes, shrugging, and generally expressing difficulty with all of the scheduling issues, etc.

I realized how fortunate I was not to be strapped to any such silliness. An old and dear friend, a former teacher gave me some sound advice: every day from the time your children are born, take a step back. Tht we, when it is time to turn them loose, you will have them in sight, but not so close to be able to reach out, grab, and strangle them with your insecurities.

The same thing applies when selling a home. You have built a collection of knick-knacks, furniture, clothing, and many memories during the course of the time in which you have lived there.  Owning a home is a lot like having a child. You stack up the stuff and the memories. Then, you get a transfer to a new job , you suddenly fid yourself with the same sending a child off motions you would have when  sending a child off to school. You don‘t want to let go of memories you have "stored" in the walls, which makes it difficult for a number of things to occur.

The first thing that happens, because of the attachments to the memories you have stored, not to mention what things you have "harvested" is that you cannot see the clutter and detractors in your home. These things create distractions for potential buyers, and provide a reason to say, "No" to purchasing the house. You are attached to your home, and subconsciously cannot fathom someone wanting to live anything differently than you do. That, in effect is a market limiting factor, and one that costs many sellers thousands of lost dollars. An honest and objective third party will be a valuable tool in eliminating all clutter and other purchase distractions.

Secondly, are the things you expect. You expect a market price at the top of the market, and are only willing to entertain such pricing guidance. As a result, you limit the number of true professionals who can actually sell the house successfully. You will only hear what you want to, and there are a number of hungry and inexperienced, newly licensed agents who will be more than happy to dissatisfy you. They will quickly ask what you think your house is worth, and that is what goes in the listing agreement. Later, when the house is still on the market, and you haven't had a showing, you are wondering if the agent is doing anything to sell your home. The agent is probably attending every board meeting, and other function possible, and calling anyone possible to see if any interest can be generated. That is because the agent doesn't want to tell you that you need to modify (aka lower) the price. Every time the agent has to have this discussion, the agent feels a sense of failure, and so do you. Because the property is not properly priced for the market, you also feel the agent has failed you. In reality, you have failed each other. Your expectations were unrealistic, and so were the agent's. The truth is that you cannot make red turn blue. When the agent simply agrees with your assessment, unless there is grounding in facts, there will be disappointments.

Third, you have to look at the market spread for the area in which the property is located. That means a more sophisticated trend analysis is necessary. A simple Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) will simply not do. This specialized analysis must consider the trends for the area, and other factors, such as your property's condition and repair costs, and the economics of the area for the property to be a valid and reliable analysis this takes more work an expertise that many agents actually have, but it is the best tool for assessing the value of a property. This tool is one of many available, and helps to prepare you for success without the failure of improper

Like moving a student to the dorms, preparation for the move should be paramount in a homeowner transition. Having things pared back to the essentials will eliminate moving bottlenecks, and damage to possessions. With each family member packing a box a day, and properly creating an inventory of the items to be moved, it is possible to be ready  move at a reasonable pace that won't leave you or others exhausted and will help you get packed in days, not weeks. This will also make unpacking much easier. Most importantly, by starting the packing early, you prepare yourself better to sell the home, and will have put away the things that are the biggest distractions to a quicker and more profitable sale.

I have now completed the process of getting a student ready to take life on. The last thing I need is a codependent relationship that will stifle my son's growth and make me his caretaker for life. I am celebrating his independence comfortably, because I moved the things out of my mind and life that would cause my to mourn his growth. I can only encourage you to prepare for the sale of yur house the same way. You will thank yourself for it, and will do better on your sale.

My best to you always,

Lou Farris, MBA, Realtor®
"That Realtor® Guy (In Shorts)
Global Realty Marketing
303.683.4603
720.222.3482 fax
http:///loufarris.point2agent.com