House hunting.

We went out house hunting today.  Again.  Two of the properties were too small and oddly enough the exact same floor plan.

One property, the owners hadn't quite figured out how to stage yet.  The purpose of staging is to entice the buyers.  Put some furniture and knick knacks out so the buyers can get a feel for a home, not just a house.  Most people don't know how big their sofa or couch is, if a king bed is fitting perfectly in the master bedroom then they know their queen will fit and give them some room for the night stands.  The furniture lets the buyers block out the rooms so they can get a feel for how their stuff will fit.  The knick knacks give the home a personal feel.  If you sell your house everything you have will work to stage it, with a little difference-pack up most of your stuff.  If you priced your home right then it will sell.  If it will sell then you need to start packing.  If you have bookshelves full of books or "things" pack up about 75% of it.  Five books and a knick knack will show off a shelf just fine, you don't need clutter.

This house had big furniture and lots of it.  I like wood boxes so when I saw three wood boxes on the dresser I looked closer.  Two were glass topped and filled with watches.  Did he plan on wearing that many watches so soon that he couldn't pack any of them up?  The house won't sell anytime soon, I'm guessing either the sellers agent doesn't know much or the seller subconsciously doesn't want to sell.

The last one was the biggest and an abandoned short sale.  When we walked in we were struck by the dirty carpet (fixable) and the clothes.  Every room had clothes and shoes in the closets.  The garage was full of boxes, it looked like they were on the run.  The sad part to me was the certificate on the wall.  The owner was a minister, in the same room was an open bible.  I scanned it looking for something that might have to do with lenders, money, faith in God, or anything that might have a meaning.  Nothing that I could discern.  I'm an atheist and I hope that having to put the house on the market and starting over doesn't mean that the minister loses faith.

I have faith, it's just not in a higher being and I think it's sad when someone does lose their faith.