"I Still Live Here"

"I Still Live Here"

"I still live here" These are not words a home stager or a real estate agent want to hear. When you prepare to put your home on the market, it's more than just physically preparing. It goes beyond the fresh coat of paint, the decluttering and rearranging of furniture to an emotional preparation. It's time to stop looking at your house as a home and start looking at it as a product that you need to sell.

As a home stager, I might recommend removing some of your area rugs to show off your hardwood floors. I may suggest taking some of the furniture out of the living room because it's making the room appear smaller than it is.

"No, I still live here"

Clear off some of the clutter on your kitchen counters to only what you use on a daily basis. Have the wallpaper removed or painted over because it's dating your house.

"No, I still live here"

Whether it's an emotional attachment or just stubbornness, saying those words could mean you're in for a long haul. If even the simplest of suggestions a home stager can make seem like the biggest inconvenience, it leads me to believe you haven't realized this isn't your home anymore.

You may not want to be inconvenienced, but you'll be inconvenienced no matter what because of open houses and showings. Isn't it better to be a little inconvenienced now, then for a long time while your house is on the market?

To make everyone's life and job a little easier, including your own, take the phrase "I still live here" out of your vocabulary and replace it with an open mind. Listen to the suggestions your home stager and real estate agent make because we do this for a living. Our only priority is to get your house sold, but we can't do that if you're not mentally prepared for it.