Lesson learned the hard way - lots of $$$ later

Sometimes people have to learn lessons the hard way. I really appreciate the people who try and help others learn from their mistakes. I try to pay that forward as often as I can. This month I wanted to share one of the very hard lessons learned while selling a house we owned years ago.

We had a few months to sell our house before reporting to the next duty station and that seemed like plenty of time given the excellent market conditions at the time. After receiving orders, we immediately called our realtor. During the listing appointment we asked about changes we should make and our realtor said to get some scented candles to give the illusion of baking and to turn on all of the lights for showings. That was easy - we could do that! Our house was going to sell in no time, right?

We purchased a new wreath and welcome mat for the front door. We made sure everything was clean. We bought some cinnamon scented candles and hoped for the best. We had plenty of showings, but no offers.

We couldn't understand why people weren't falling in love with our daughter's bathroom that had been painted in an "under-the-sea" mural from top to bottom, complete with an octopus with the cutest eyelashes you ever did see. We couldn't imagine them not falling in love with the faux finished fire box that housed our gas log fireplace that didn't work correctly. Did they not love the wall paper that we had put up in the dining room? Couldn't they see my wonderful Precious Moments collection in the beautiful curio cabinet we purchased to house the 75+ figurines? What about all of the great family photos that lined the walls? Why weren't people falling in love with our house????

All we can say is that if we knew then what we know now. We would have hired a professional stager who would have given solid advice and devised a plan on how to accomplish it. Working with a realtor is key in getting a house to sell - there is no doubt about that. Working with a stager is also critical for guidance and direction. If we had employed a stager from the beginning, then we would have known to "fix" all of the detractors in our house before we put it on the market.

Our house oozed with our personality. We loved it, but it wasn't everyone's taste. We left most of the walls builder's beige, but that was the only thing neutral in the whole place. We blamed our realtor for not working hard enough for us, but the reality was: who could imagine themselves in our personalized home filled with our pictures and our collections?

If we were to have a consultation done in that house, there is no doubt that it would have saved us the thousands of dollars that we lost on that house. Making a few changes and packing some of that stuff a little early would have yielded us much higher gains than complaining about our realtor did. Creating a comprehensive plan for the home and additional marketing help could have made all of the difference.

The moral to this story is that even though you may have a great house that is well decorated and beautifully landscaped, doesn't mean that it will appeal to buyers. It is worth the investment to hire a professional stager to do a consultation for your home. It would have ultimately saved us a ton of money and time in the long run. It would have been worth the investment! Please don't make our mistake: a professional stager can assist you in making great decisions while saving you time, stress, and money.

As seen in The News Enterprise, July 24, 2009