I find that it's easy for buyers to criticize homes that they view because they want the best. Homes are expensive, it’s a big decision and they want the most they can afford with the highest quality materials, design, and no imperfections. Who wouldn’t want that, but in reality, very few homes will be perfect from the moment we walk into a showing for the next buyer. If you’re looking for perfection and nothing to change, my suggestion is to research new construction and we can go that route. A home that isn’t new construction will rarely be perfect and that’s because a home is more than just materials. 

I like to think that people putting their home on the market truly try their best in getting it prepared to appeal to the most people and put their effort into presenting all the things they love about the home for the next buyer. In reality, everyone is in a different place mentally, financially, and emotionally when it comes to selling a home they’ve lived in. Some might be excited to move up to a bigger home because they are expecting a new child or maybe some might be sad to move as they are facing a divorce and now have to downsize and are scared about all the changes to come. 

I’m thankful for most of my clients that are always respectful when we walk into homes that don’t always match what we see in the pictures online. Sometimes it's easy to call out the trim on baseboards that isn’t perfect, but what you don’t know is that maybe the guy who used the saw on the trim was using the saw passed down from his dad and it was his first time using it on his own. Kitchens are always a focal point of a home, and maybe the backsplash doesn’t have the best grout work, but the single mom of little kids had to update it on her own and was trying her best because she couldn’t afford a professional to do it. 

Homes that we see aren’t always meticulously maintained and that’s okay because what they have that you can’t see are the years of raising a family where their kids Tonka trucks put the dent in the floor and the sounds of giggles filled the hallways for hours each morning. Sometimes it is less about what you see and more about what you smell, like dogs. Not everyone loves dogs as much as I do, and that’s okay, my goal is not for my house to smell like dogs but sometimes it happens in other homes. While we might think the dog smell is overwhelming when we see the house, what we don’t know is that those dogs saved that man so that he was able to find some happiness and motivation to take care of them each day, keep his job, keep his home, save his money and is now able to move into a bigger home for the dogs with a bigger yard. 

The materials used to build a house are just wood, nails, paint, and things you can buy at Home Depot. But the materials used to build a home are grit, laughter, peace, tears, and love. If my clients want to shop for houses, we can look at new construction and I’m happy to help in that way, but most of my clients are looking for homes to make their own for many years to come and I love the honor and privilege that comes with that responsibility.