I’ve been trying to sell my house for 4 months. It has not been going well. Not a single offer in the first three-and-a-half months, and only after we lowered the price by $30,000 did we get a nibble. At first we were elated with the interest, but elation quickly turned to disappointment because it was a crappy nibble. The offer was less than the lowered price and came with other requests.
Such is life, right? Nothing is ever perfect. We always overvalue our home because of the sentimentality it holds for us. And when is dealing in real estate ever easy?
Then the words of my Rebbetzin, Devorah rang in my ears from the Torah lesson she gave me last week. After sharing a Bible story, she explained the lesson in it was that the world looks different depending on whose eyes you use to look at it.
Sure, the offer on our house was low. Sure, they wanted us to pay their closing costs. Sure, they wanted some household items thrown in for free—but if I look at it with different eyes, they also wanted to close in 30 days (good for us), they were pre-approved (good for all of us), and we still make money on the sale (great for us).
I like using those eyes a lot more than the disappointed ones. Those eyes helped me return to gratitude about the offer and feel better about telling the agent to write it up.
Even if this sale goes through, I’m going to have to employ those “positive” eyes for a lot of other things. Selling a house (especially one where you brought your babies home from the hospital) is always emotional. Take cleaning, for example—there are many toys, memories, and ghosts in this house. I’m going take with me the ones I love and leave the others behind. I’ll need the “positive” eyes to help me discern what to pack up and what gets left in the past.
Getting my beloved home sold is the first step—actually leaving is the hard part. I’m glad I now have the proper eyewear to help me see clearly down this road. This week I wish you 20/20 vision to see the good in every situation that comes your way.
