Overcoming the emotions of selling your home

There is no doubt that selling your home is a highly emotional experience, and this can hamper the selling process, according to Seeff Centurion. Sellers often have an inflated sense of the value of their property.

People are generally attached to their homes in one way or another. It might be that you had put so much effort into creating the home to your taste, or it could be that it was the place where you raised your family.

Regardless, there will be a lot of emotional attachment, and this can be challenging for sellers, especially if they have specific notions of who should buy the property, and how much they should pay.

The best advice to sellers, says Tiaan Pretorius, manager of Seeff Centurion, is to think of the sale as a business transaction. Appoint a good agent, and then trust that they will give you the best advice, and act in your best interests.

Start by making sure that you are in fact ready to sell. You will need to let go of any emotional attachment that you have to the property. Think of the property as a commodity, and take the advice of the agent insofar as things that are required to make the property sellable, and get the transaction done efficiently.

If you have decided to sell, stick to that resolution. Speak to the agent upfront about your price expectations, and ensure you fully understand what is realistically possible. That will make it easier to let go, and wait for an appropriate offer.

Be realistic about your price expectations. The agent will provide you with an assessment of the property and a recommended price based on recent sales in the area. Assess whether that can meet your needs, if so, move forward with the process.

Ensure the property is in a sellable condition. For this, you may need to make certain changes. The better the condition of the property, the better the price that you can likely achieve. Take heed of the advice of the agent, it will be in the interest of getting the property sold, and achieving a good price.

Don’t hover during viewings. It is important that you leave the selling job up to the agent. Be sure to give the agent necessary time and space to show the property to prospective viewers, and to negotiate a suitable deal for you.

Focus on the future. By looking ahead in terms of where you plan to move to next, and working towards that, will help you shed some of the emotional attachment to the selling of your home. Excitement about where you are purchasing next can be a real upliftment.

Do not take negotiations personally. It is vital not to take a low offer personally, or to be offended by it. Do not be offended if the buyer does not come back with a higher price, it was likely not the right buyer for the property. Selling a property is seldom forthright, it often involves a process of negotiation and deal-making.

Writer: Gina Meintjes