Preserving Your Memories

Dear Pat,
We're selling my grandmother's home, which has been in the family for 65 years. It's hard for us, but we all have homes of our own. We've been thinking about keeping the dining room chandelier and two matching wall sconces in the living room. I've always loved these treasures, and I know that keeping them will help us let go of her house. Should we take them out before we show the house, or leave them in and give an allowance for replacement?
---Hard Letting Go

Dear Hard,
I'll tackle your real estate question in a minute, but first let me implore you: please don't destroy the integrity of your grandmother's beautiful home by taking out parts of the original structure. I can't tell you how often I've seen lovely old light fixtures stored away in dusty basements, waiting the day when a suitable home can be found for them. (I suspect most never light a dinner table again.) Sadly, my own experience still serves as a lesson: a few years ago, full of romantic notions about memories and continuity, I took the chandelier from our beloved former home to the new one we were renovating. But, while perfect in our old house, it seemed wrong in the new space; a month later it was gone.

Remember that your memory of the home is with everything intact. You might try taking pictures throughout the interior with the furniture looking the way it did when you were visiting your grandmother. When we left the home we raised our children in, I made a nice album of interior and exterior pictures, and found it really helped me to say good-bye…

(sniff…) OK, Hard, here's the real estate answer. If you're determined to take an original light fixture, it's always best to replace it before going on the market, since a buyer is sure to fall in love with it. Pre-market replacement with a lesser fixture may lower the home's appeal, but a frustrated buyer can cost you both money and emotional distress. (Think of the old WW I song: "how you gonna keep 'em down on the farm/ after they've seen Paree…") However, it's common for sellers to take a special plant or two from the garden (like grandma's rose bush), or some cutting of perennial flowers. Do this before market if possible, or be sure to state your intention in the purchase agreement if you need to come back in the spring. Meanwhile, please consider my suggested option regarding the light fixtures. I know you'll do the right thing!