Keep emotions out of your Fox Valley house sale

Selling your home in the Fox Valley will be a major life change that can bring out various emotions. Most home owners have many attachments to their house. Maybe you associate the house with certain memories, such as being a newlywed or having children. Unfortunately, getting emotions involved in the sale process can make everything more difficult.

Take a look at these tips in order to help keep your emotions out of your Fox Valley house sale:

​Hire a professional to deal with pricing

​Home sellers that let emotions get involved in their home sale generally make the most mistakes when it comes to pricing. Unfortunately, how much you feel the house is worth does not have any bearing on what it is actually worth. Home sellers tend to want to think about all of the money they put into the house over the years. The factors that actually determine the home price are the size of the house, the location, and the current market. Having your local expert real estate agent Ken Ward advise on how much similar houses nearby have recently sold for will help you determine how much to list your house for.

Your Realtor can also be key when it comes to many other issues during the selling process; negotiation time for example. You do not want to become insulted or take it personally when a potential buyer gives a low ball offer.

​Do not stick around during showings

​There is no reason for you to be in the house when a potential buyer is there. Potential home buyers will want to talk freely about the house at the showings. Do you really want to hear how they think the carpeting you picked out and installed yourself is hideous? Or how they’d want to repaint all of the walls you just ​painted? Probably not. Also, having the owner on the premises can make potential home buyers feel awkward. They may even get distracted by you and stop paying attention to the house.

​Start referring to it as a “house”

​The words you use represent your thoughts and feelings. Calling the house you’re putting on the market a “house” and the place you’re going to move your “home” will help solidify in your mind that this is a physical structure and business transaction you’re dealing with. Your new home--which represents comfort, family, your place in the world--is the place you want to think of with fondness and as “yours.”

​Depersonalize the inside

​Remove all items that display your personality. This might sound cold at first, but it helps in two ways. One, seeing all of your things packed up and being put into storage makes the upcoming sale and move more of a reality, mentally. Two, home buyers prefer less cluttered homes that they can imagine themselves in. Removing your personal items could actually help the house sell more quickly. Items to pack up for storage include any framed photographs, children’s drawings or papers, books, DVDs, etc.

Hopefully these tips help you as you prepare to sell your Fox Valley home. If you have any questions about selling your home, about the local community or about real estate in general, do not hesitate to contact us anytime through www.wardteam.com, by email kenwardteam@gmail.com, or by phone (630) 262-WARD (9273).