Love where you live in 2019

By Nicole Foster

It has happened more than once in my career that I have met with people who were wanting to sell their home and we went through the normal course of events including meeting several times to review and complete the listing paperwork and to create a listing strategy.

For some this can be a tremendous amount of preparation and work that can take time, often months, but everyone stays on task and in the end are ready for the photographs and a sign to be installed and officially hit the market.  However, at some point along the way of getting their home ready to list, compounded with looking at the existing inventory in an effort to identify their next home, they have fallen back in love with their current home and can now see the potential which had been buried in clutter or neglect all of the years they have lived there. In each circumstance they were hesitant to “confess” to me that they no longer really WANTED to sell, and instead just wanted a “second chance” at loving where they live now.

These are success stories for me just as much as the homes I was able to get a contract on in one day on the market for over asking price, or the buyers who I’ve helped to beat other offers and get the home they want. I know that these people made the very best decision which was right for them at the time and that is my main objective, not closing a singular transaction but serving as a resource for life.

Make 2019 the year you feel better in your own space, don’t wait to sell to love where you live! Here are some tips to help you to get started, and if you find yourself not sticking with it then just get right back to where you left off when you are able.

1.      Take the time to look around the rooms of your home objectively. Ask yourself if you were to move, what would you take with you and what would you get rid of? Make a real plan to eliminate the items which no longer are serving your regular purposes.

2.      Does the use of space make sense? Sometimes we get so used to things the way they are that we forget what the spaces were actually intended for. Are you not being afforded the use of an entire shelf or drawer because it’s full of things not often used like empty jars or old chargers?

3.      Has your mudroom been converted over the years to storage? If so then try placing an imaginary dollar value on the precious limited real estate within your home and seeing if “dollar-for-dollar” it adds up any longer or if you’ve just become “blind” to your surroundings.

4.       Make part of decluttering a part of your daily or weekly routine instead of waiting for a big event to clean out. Looking around it may seem like an overwhelming or daunting task but even a few minutes each day will make a huge difference as long as you keep at it and don’t get distracted or give up!

5.      Buy nothing.  Try incentivizing yourself with purchases by Goal Setting, for example: “I will not buy the new “X” until I get rid of “Y &Z”.

6.      Put aesthetic projects on hold and make maintenance issues a priority. (Steps #1throught #3 are the aesthetic focus which will pay off big time once finished.)

If you have ever considered selling but are too overwhelmed to break it down into steps or can’t begin to wrap your mind around how to approach it then call an experienced Reator®.  It costs you nothing to meet and have us take a look at your property and give a professional opinion of value based on its current condition or with improvements and upgrades. You may decide to create a plan and be surprised where the journey leads you!

Nicole Foster is a real estate Broker and Realtor with Locations Real Estate Group and a Windham resident.