I'm watching closely.

If you can sell, then surely I can sell.

Do potential buyers want to see your house looking clean and sparkly so they can trust you on more invisible questions, like the state of the drains?

or are they buying a fantasy? That is, do they think, oh look, this couple had their coffee in this charming breakfast nook; therefore, my spouse and I, though we've never had time for breakfast before, will sit and chat in like manner.

I think they're buying a lifestyle, which suggests that they're incapable of producing or importing their own. Sad, really.

So, your job is produce a canvas on which they can project a life better than the one they're living. One with more time for meals, conversation, wine, sex, good books, and self-worth.

Leave out some books (Pride and Prejudice, maybe some poetry books --warm poetry, cummings, not Plath or Pound!), a trowel and flowerpot and seeds, a smart, happy movie (O Brother Where Art Thou or Best in Show), and a very small bowl of chocolate (metonymizing your ability to balance pleasure and self-control).

Or am I wrong? Should you leave out a crack pipe and some really gross porn, so they can revel in a sense of superiority instead?

Who can say? Who knows what lurks in the inscrutable heart of the viewing public?

fuck 'em all!

you have my sympathies, babe! and if I had a spare $$$$$$ wad o' cash, I'd buy your house and spare you this hullabaloo!

Do potential buyers want to see your house looking clean and sparkly so they can trust you on more invisible questions, like the state of the drains

We're on our 4th house (retired military). People want to envision how they could live in your space. That's why it's best to remove a lot of furniture, keep the personal items to a minimum and yes, keep it clean and sparkly.

I think they're buying a lifestyle, which suggests that they're incapable of producing or importing their own. Sad, really.

Nope. What they're doing is trying to look past YOUR lifestyle to see how THEY would fit into that house. Dirt, clutter etc. are static that get in the way of doing that.

And yes, it's a hassle. We had 4 dogs when we sold our last house. I repainted, floors were refinished etc. and EVERY TIME someone came to see the house there were zero - and I do mean zero - traces of the dogs anywhere.

We got a cash offer for close to our asking price, with minimal other demands. The buyers commented that we had obviously cared for the house well.

For what it's worth. And yeah, it's a hassle. Hang in there!

It's a little different for us, since our asking price is below market, given how much extra land they get.

My office is still cluttered, but it's the smallest room in the house. By the time they see that, they've already decided whether or not they're in love.

I should have tat fixed by the time the open house comes 'round, this weekend. And I'm still not perfectly happy with the gleamage of the floors.

Frankly, though, with the land and the view and the mid-century construction, the house is selling itself.