Dress for Success

A few extra minutes on the treadmill, a haircut and some new teeth whitener…things I do to improve myself. Even my car gets a tune up every few months to make sure it’s running properly and looking its best. Why not do the same for the place I spend the most amount of time in, even if the largest portion of that time is with my eyes shut. I make myself look nice so that I’m more marketable in the marketplace, why not do the same thing for the place I would like to sell? We are contemplating giving our humble abode a face-lift. When the time comes that we are able to sell our house, we know we will probably never recoup these costs. Yet we are considering making these unnecessary improvements to make our home more aesthetically pleasing to potential buyers. When I wake up in the morning I blow dry my hair, making sure it looks nice. I apply makeup to bring out my best features and add color to my face. I put on an outfit that flatters my figure. Why not make the same accommodations to our home. At what cost though? We have already embraced that we are going to severely lose money in order to unload this property. Our asking price has already gone way below what we originally paid almost six years ago. And now we are going to put even more money into getting rid of our home. Where’s the justice in that? As the competition gets more and more fierce in the real estate industry, what can we do to set ourselves a part? Isn’t that basically the same challenge we face as individuals going out into the workforce? For me, I work to separate myself from every other young, female sales rep. I make myself look nice so that I feel good about myself but I also do those things so that I can get the attention I need to make my sales pitch. Is that the same thing as dressing our house up for success? Or does there come a point where you say enough is enough, I’m not willing to invest anymore into this depreciating asset? Couldn’t we say the same thing about ourselves, as we get older and less able to do things? But I’d like to believe that my go-getter attitude is my biggest asset so I should always work towards being the best version of me. Wouldn’t investing in my home be the same point and essentially convey the same message to prospective buyers?