Nothing personal

Tyrone Walker
The Post and Courier

Kristin Kuhlke, whose house is for sale, had to strip it of many personal touches so potential buyers could see themselves living there. It only feels about half as much like home as it did before she listed it, she says.

Kristin Kuhlke loves her pink Volvo with the giant cupcake on top. People see it and they immediately think of her business, Cupcake. She also likes the fact that they sometimes think of her as well.

But when real estate agents show her Mount Pleasant house to prospective buyers, Kuhlke doesn't want them thinking of cupcakes or her. So whether she gets a half-day or half-hour notice about a showing, she hurries to hide the car.

In addition, Kuhlke has stripped her house of the little touches that make her feel at home, part of a process called staging. It's popularity its growing in the current buyers' market.

For the seven months her house has been on the market, she's worked to make it look as though she doesn't live there.

There is no shampoo and conditioner on the bathroom counter. Few decorations on the walls. No photographs of family and friends on display. Not even an unnecessary lamp or artificial plant.

The only room of the house that looks as if it's lived in is her office.

"The homeowners' goal should be to make their home look like it's never been lived in," says Bevin Harmon Googer of First Impressions, a local home staging and design firm. "The home-owner is trying to compete with new construction and everything out there. Unfortunately, the way you sell your house and live in it are opposite "

Whether homeowners succeed in living in their house as if they were guests depends on how motivated they are to sell it, says Googer.

One thing homeowners sometimes forget is how important it is to remove pet items such as a dog bed, says Googer. Potential buyers, especially those with pet allergies, sometimes can walk in, see the bed and walk right out.

Tyrone Walker
The Post and Courier

Kuhlke's home office is the only room that the busy business owner doesn't keep in model-home shape.

"Some of them can't get past that even if it's clean," Googer says.

Just the fact that there is a pet can turn them off. The dog is part of the family for those who own it, but not everybody loves pets. Some experts recommend that a homeowner should consider taking the family pet to live with a relative while the house is on the market.

Kuhlke, who keeps her Maltese and border collie mix at home, says she makes arrangements for them to be out of the house or drives them around Mount Pleasant for an hour when her house is being shown.

Robyn Hermans and her husband, Jake, had their North Charleston house listed for sale from the time their baby was 5 months until 13 months. Her husband got a new job nearby while the house was listed, so they took it off the market.

"I'm glad it's off the market," Hermans says. "The baby has a lot of toys, and when you have a lot of toys, it's hard for people to visualize their stuff in your house."

It's also hard to put the baby's things away and get yourself and the baby out of the house when a real estate agent calls to show the home.

Babies also need to take naps at certain times and can be fussy, especially if they're sick.

When buyers were looking at the house and the baby was there, it was a bit awkward, Hermans says, and some people were taken aback.

She sometimes decided to just cancel the appointments.

"When your child is sick, there's nothing you can do. I would say if they really want to see it, they'll come back. We learned that they wouldn't. There is so much on the market, they can see 10 other (homes) that day."

Reach Wevonneda Minis at 937-5705 or wminis@postandcourier.com.