Putting a price on memories

I just met with some men who are clearing out the house of their parents. There is something poignant about meeting with these guys.

They are patiently working their way through the closets and the books and photos. Every once in a while, they take a break to visit old friends and to reflect on past times. 

I think about their mother and dad and the little house in which they all lived … it was a good house; a house of the ‘50s. I remember when the boys rode their bikes up and down the middle of the streets wearing their plaid shirts and black high top sneakers. I remember also when girls, donned in smocked dresses and with a roller-skating key dangling on a string around their necks, would play hopscotch on the sidewalk. I remember.   

But today is different. As I enter the house, it has the smell, the look and the feelings of a place that is in a time warp; it has the wear and tear of a home that has not been loved or carefully tended to since the mid ‘70s.

The sons look at the house and remember their childhood: camping out and tossing baseballs in the back yard.. I look at the house and think: ouch, the "Gen-Xers" and the "Millennials" are not going to like this. It’s hard for all of us.

As I bring out the recent sales comparables, they tell me what a great street it is; how special the neighbors are; how their house is different and should sell for at least the same as that house across the street that sold a few years ago. 

Despite what they may think, I do believe in the house; I do understand the location; I do believe that new memories will be created and someone else will love the home. After all, it is a great neighborhood… it is a great street….   

So I try to explain, that while I believe everything they say, I also believe in the market and that selling a house means pricing it to reflect the market – not your wants, needs, feelings or even your memories.

It’s not an easy conversation. It’s never an easy conversation to tell someone that, the family home is now just a commodity in an ever-crowded market of competition. That today, the only thing that matters is the price....

 What does it take to get a house sold?