You’ve been thinking about putting your house on the market to see what will happen. You’re not sure if you really want to sell right now because of the market, but you want to know what it could sell for. You talk to a real estate agent who is an expert at pricing, comparing your home to the competition, marketing your home to potential buyers, and negotiating that sales contract. So far, so good. But, are you really ready to sell?
If not, your home may linger in the market.
There are a lot of determining factors involved in putting your home on the market. One such factor you may not have thought of is a Feng Shui analysis. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice of object placement in an environment to change the energy of the space and ultimately of the people using the space; in this case, a Feng Shui analysis’ purpose is to create positive energy which could lead to a faster home sale. Feng Shui is not used in lieu of all your Realtor’s tools to market and sell your home.
The first step in this kind of analysis is for the Feng Shui practitioner to ask you some questions about your goals for selling your home. Are you looking for a quick sale so you can move before the start of the school year? Will one person have to move first and settle somewhere else while other members of the family stay put until the house sells? Are you downsizing or upsizing due to family circumstances? All of the answers will help the Feng Shui practitioner make recommendations that will help you reach your specific goals.
A most important aspect of a Feng Shui analysis is to ascertain your connectedness to the space and your willingness to say good-bye to the house as a whole, and/or to each room specifically. This process – whether formal and vocal or informal and silent – is very personal and can be deeply moving for owners. Its purpose is to help you to begin to see yourself in a new way: as sellers of the home instead of its owners. New owners will be invited and welcomed in as the space is cleared; the process begins with this good-bye. It can be a very powerful experience for all family members.
A Feng Shui practitioner can give you some guidelines for detaching from a home, but there aren’t any right ways of saying good-bye. The process should feel natural and comfortable. Some ideas include:
- having each family member write a poem, sing a song or make a drawing about an experience of being in the home and sharing that with other family members
- lighting candles and saying a blessing
- inviting friends over for a farewell party, announcing your intention of leaving the space but maintaining your circle of friends.
Once you’ve said your good-byes, there are space-clearing measures and Feng Shui practices that will help potential buyers to feel welcomed into the space. See Part 2 of the Real Estate Feng Shui Analysis in next week’s blog for more.
(This blog post was has been modified from its original version written for Perry & Co. Real Estate Professionals by the author.)
