I love reading, but when I think about why, it links to why selling a house is stressful. Reading isn’t only about the incredible inner journeys that books take me on. Thinking about reading connects me to a place.
Here’s an example (and trust me, this does get to why selling a house is stressful!) I’m about 14 years old, in my bed at home. My room has a desk where I do my schoolwork and listen to Springbok Radio. It is arranged so my back is to the window that looks into the garden. I remember once spilling ink into a brand new maths textbook. I was petrified about what my teacher would say the next day. But that bed! I get under the duvet early, switch on my little yellow lamp and get lost in whatever book.
Home is about memory
Looking back now, the image is vivid. Memories of emotions and the very space sharpen to the point that I only see clearly once I pick up its strand at the point of thinking about reading.
Everyone has this kind of recall, which is what makes selling a home so difficult. It’s also largely why selling a house is stressful.
Buying a home is often said to be the biggest financial transaction most of us will undertake. But it is also a deeply emotional trip too.
Apart from linking to our hopes for the future, it ties in to the essence of who we’ve become. It’s not magical thinking – plenty of research has been done on the topic.
Selling a house is stressful because sellers are caught up in the financial uncertainties, but also because a property is often tied to identity. One doesn’t know what the future holds, but is also acutely aware of the certainty that lies in memories.
I keep this in mind whenever I’m involved in staging a home; that spaces are about people – those who are moving on and others hoping to move in. I remain keenly focused on a client’s expectations and the biggest concern that occupies their mind: why selling a house so stressful.
Call me.