Relative Something

When is selling a house like camping? When you enter the “showing” phase! It becomes an exercise in “leave-no-trace” living, just like camping. Of course, when camping, you only have to achieve the “no-trace” accomplishment on the day you pack up and head home.

Since the average length of time to sell a house is currently running somewhere in the range of 130-days, I could be in a mode that feels like I’m packing up from my camping trip everyday, for months!

I can already feel that my initial effort to leave the house spotless every time I leave, is most likely going to be short-lived. It seems unfortunate that, as time passes without a sale, our hopes will intensify, but my energy to make the house “show” well, will tend to dwindle.

I expect that I will become more aware, with time, of when I can slack off, and when I need to have the place looking its best. We don’t even have a “For Sale” sign posted in the yard yet. I have no idea what to expect in terms of agents wanting to schedule showings. So, for now, I am trying to leave the place looking tip-top every morning as I head off for the day-job. If somebody wants to schedule a showing, the house is ready, no matter where I’ll be.

It’s all good. I can frame this phase as preparation for the camping I may need to do if the house sells. I could end up living out of a tent for a while, until the dream property is acquired. I will be well-practiced at leaving no trace, when it comes time to pack up my tent and move on.