Selling My Dream Home, Again

by Missy Neu

In 2006, I was a single, successful REALTOR in the market for a new home on St. Simons Island, Georgia. As someone who knows the market inside and out, knows every neighborhood and knows current market value, I thought it would be easy to separate my clinical knowledge from the emotional process. As hard as I tried, my overwhelming emotion was “YES” when I walked in the doors of 120 Palm Drive. I simply fell in love. Like a good agent, I made sure all the boxes were ticked: good bones, desirable location, fairly priced, meets my personal checklist. There’s always a compromise or two, but the emotional and the business side balanced and I purchased the home.

The next two years were spent carefully making three additions to the home, choosing paint colors, remodeling the kitchen and baths, landscaping, adding a pool and getting every single thing just perfect, just the way I like it. I made my dream home more dreamy than ever.

In that time, I also met my future husband and we began planning our next steps together. This included selling the dream home at 120 Palm Drive. This was again, another interesting process as a REALTOR and a homeowner. Everything I had so carefully chosen and every detail I had pondered became part of the overall house for potential buyers. They couldn’t see the before and after, the large and small improvements. People liked the house, but my labors of love were almost entirely lost on the lookers coming through.

After a short time on the market, the house sold and I remained in touch with the new owner. And now, six years later, the new owner contacted me to list my old home at 120 Palm Drive. Over the years, much about the home has stayed the same, but many things have changed. As I take potential buyers through the house today, I still try to retain a balance of emotion and acumen.

The process has reminded me that real estate is about location and value and market conditions. But it’s also about life and love and dreams. A house is not just a collection of paint swatches and light fixtures, it’s a collection of life stories. And as a REALTOR, I am always balancing the two on behalf of my buyers and sellers. And I realize that sometimes the heart wins and sometimes the head wins, but we wouldn’t be alive if we didn’t use both.

Missy Neu is an Associate Broker and Vice President of New Business Development at Hodnett Cooper Real Estate. Missy has over twenty years of experience in the real estate industry. She is dedicated to assisting her clients in making the right real estate decisions by providing thorough research and communication.