NW Wisconsin: A common reason that a house will not sell quickly and at the best possible price has to do with a seller’s emotional attachment. Some sellers have a hard time letting go and may unwittingly block the process by overpricing the home, unwilling to declutter, refusing to make repairs, or unwilling to negotiate with buyers.

A good Realtor can help sellers to let go of the emotional attachment and think of their home as an asset.

Shifting the language. A simple word change from home to the street name or property is a subtle step that begins the process of depersonalization.

Though a seller has created 30 years of memories, those memories will always be with them. Now that they have decided it’s time to sell, the Realtor’s job is to present the property to the marketplace. The marketplace is where people shop for products. In this case, the home is the product.

Simplify and pack up the memories. Because the homeowner is selling, a first step is to proactively remove items they don’t need for their next  move or pack up items they will want to keep with them.

When a buyer enters a home, they are visualizing how their stuff fits into this space. Creating an environment that is open and uncluttered for buyers to walk in and imagine themselves living in is a critical step in the selling process.

Rebranding or staging. Depersonalization is a way to repackage or stage the home to be more product-based. 

The biggest mistake a seller can make is to resisting the shift from viewing their home as their property. Without this shift, most potential buyers will move on.