OK,  so by now we are good with overly-doting parents, refrigerator clutter, and ‘the party house’;    sex, religion and politics-right? 

 EXCELLENT!!  Onward, then!!                       

           

QUESTION:  What do pets, kids, people who smoke and cooking have in common?

ANSWER: Easy answer is they…ummm emit odors.  

 

QUESTION:  How to help a seller come to terms with, and remedy this condition?

(MY) ANSWER: 

A)   Elevate the discussion, and focus on the positive first.  Acknowledge that at the very core, in the majority of cases, these odor-emitters are also what bring light and love into a home and a  life.

 

B)  Separate the sin from the sinner.  Understand-while buyers will smell wet dog, nasty sneakers, stale smoke and lingering fish.

Sellers think of the wagging tail that greets them every morning, the pride of their kid making the jump shot at the buzzer, perhaps their beloved spouse who is so struggling to quit, or who very romantically made the grilled salmon or scampi for dinner the night before.

C)  Early on, everything is about getting the house sold. Period. It is the motivation, rationale and answer to everything. It allows for kindness, compassion and forthrightness to be present simultaneously.

D)   …is for ‘de-personalize’ it.  The reality is that  today many people have allergies, asthma, or  some other sort of respiratory ailment…why shrink the buyer pool unnecessarily?

E)  “We are all in this together”  My sellers know I am with them, every step of the way.  So they truly get that while it may be hard for them to hear of their odoriferous conditions,  it is just as hard to tell them.