This week my husband and I listed our "dream home" in an effort to allow for his early retirement eventually.  As a home stager, I felt extra pressure to make it look great.  Here are some lessons I learned anew, which helps when I work with clients who are living in their current "for sale" property.

Click on picture to see slide show

1. Decluttering takes a long time.  We've been purging since before Thanksgiving.  Even though I thoroughly purged four years ago when we moved in, "stuff" seems to creep in faster than my ability to move it out.  Thankfully my children are old enough to do most of their own rooms, but they still needed me for final approval on most items.  We sold some stuff and took a few loads to the Salvation Army.
2. All those little projects that we had let go had to get done....now.  I barely noticed the missing grout, chipped paint, weedy yard, etc., etc., but now they had to be completed.  My husband has been working hard to fix and replace everything a home inspector is likely to find.  We don't want to be haggling over details, so better to catch it now.  Thankfully, my husband is one handy man!
3. Paying a gardener to do the yard is well worth it!  As my husband and realtor listed outside projects, I would just sigh and say, "I'll try to get to it."  As we were coming down to the last two weeks, it was obvious we just couldn't get to everything, so my husband called in a gardener to put in gravel, bark dust and plants.  Thank you!!
4. It's not just hype - it really IS hard to look at your own home objectively.  I had my realtor (who is very savvy) go through the place with me and give his opinion, as well as having another stager stop by and give her opinion.  There are still a couple things I'm not sure if I should have changed....time will tell.
5. There's a difference between "ideal" and "realistic."  For instance, if I was doing a consult on a home, I would tell the seller to paint that pink bedroom.  However, as a parent of a 16-year-old who is already a bit traumatized by losing her first "all to herself" bedroom that she could paint pink, I decided to let it go for now.  With the other 3 bedrooms being neutral, hopefully a buyer can see past one.  After all, we bought it with all white walls except for a bright lime green bedroom!
6. Living in a home that's on the market means extra time spent before you leave the house...every day.  Even though most realtors are very considerate about calling ahead, it still needs to be in "showing shape" when we leave the house.  That means toilet seats down, only the pretty towels out, dishes totally done, countertops clean, laundry hidden, floors swept & vacuumed, litter box clean and those little homey enhancements in their proper place. 

 All in all, this has been an overwhelming experience - not one I'd like to repeat anytime soon.  We already have an offer by the first buyer who saw it, which is encouraging, even if the offer could have been better.  We'll see how negotiations go....

Feel free to take a look at the MLS listing.  This has been an awesome house to live in.  If you know someone who's interested, please pass on this link.

 Here's a slideshow and the MLS link below.   

www.realestateshows.com/366096 

http://www.mrmlsmatrix.com/DE.asp?k=211265XKTIV&p=DE-37707127-764

This 4-bedroom, 5 bath home in a private, country-like setting functions beautifully for both daily living and entertaining. 
 
Amenities include:
3400+ sq ft
City light views

Spacious office
Flat back yard with fruit trees
Open space in front with abundant trees
3-1/2 car garage
Central vacuum

Tankless water heater

Central A/C & heat
Great neighborhood with yearly block party
Patio & 2 decks
 
Excellent floor plan - including a bathroom & utility sink in the garage - or "man-cave" as we call it.

Tons of storage - 3 closets in master, under-stair storage, underground room, linen cabinets.

Agent:  Jerry Carew
3 Leaf Realty
 310-714-1416 
Jerry@3LeafRealty.com

www.jerrycarew.com

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