Friday, February 8, 2013

How to sell your house. In 4 days.

Write a letter like this and leave it on your counter.


To the potential owners of XXXX,

We found this house probably much the same way you did, scrolling through hundreds of web pages, sipping wine and dreaming. Our kids were young, three and seven. We wanted a safe, family-oriented neighborhood with a pool and playground and good schools nearby. We hoped for a flat, fenced yard and beautiful big trees on a cul-de-sac, a house that we would make a home.
 That was eleven years ago. Our son is now in college and our daughter's a freshman in high school. They were born on different coasts, but this is the house they'll speak of when asked about their childhood. This is the place where Christmas magic happened, where baby birds fell from trees and were handfed until they could fly, where puppies grew into dogs, where slumber parties and birthday celebrations and over ten years of mystery parties were forged into lifelong memories.
This house has a distinct soul. You'll feel it on quiet mornings sitting on the patio with a cup of coffee, on cool evenings burning twigs in the fire pit as owls hoot, cooking and baking in the kitchen, scents drifting into the dining room where guests wait, lounging in the family room on movie night, or hosting outdoor barbeques on game day—even in those times when the pace slows and the bubbling aquarium tells you to relax.
 We have been very blessed in this house. It has, what some call "good juju." We welcomed that and tried to add special touches along the way, upgrading features whenever possible, yet always honoring the bones of the home.
This is a special community. We've made many wonderful friends here and enjoyed pool parties, bunko night, book club, and swim team. We've even kept in touch with neighbors who moved away. It's that kind of place. You'll meet people who grew up here twenty years ago and have returned with families of their own to call XXX home again.
I know we'll miss living in the yellow house on the hill. And we really hope she finds someone who will love her and care for her as we did. Maybe that's you.

*** also called, how to make your family cry***

2 comments:

Elizabeth Seckman said...

I'm jaded. I'd see this and think...so WHY are they leaving? My next thought would be, "House is haunted," and I'd scoot!

Steve LaFleur said...

I have felt the distinct personalities of each place I have lived in. My place in NY when I went through my divorce always had a bad vibe to it, complete with the woman we bought it from showing up to look at the place about a year after we bought it, and bursting into tears. It creeped me out and I didn't understand it until I sat in it ... vacant.

My place in Florida, a former clubhouse. Happy times, happy vibes. A serenity to it that I captured in thought and pictures.

You have left your mark and your good karma within the frame of your place. Your laughter and love will carry through to the next owners.

I guess to rip you off, it could be just another good thing. :)