May 29, 2011: Accreditation: Home Style

As I prepare to both sell my house and buy a new one, I am struck by the painful similarity between home selling and college accreditation.

We must stage, whether it's the family room or the resource room. Clean what's never been cleaned. Draw attention to what we want our visitors to see. Some bushes and fresh paint can do wonders.

We must do what's not been done. Fill in the holes that didn't matter until now. Fix what we'd said we'd fix when it first became broken. Take care of that annoying squeak. We let some things slide over the years, but that must be rectified.

We must let strangers look wherever they want. Open that door. Examine that foundation. Be our guest, we say. We'll even move the things that we used to hide the not-so-nice places.

We can't be defensive. Say what you wish. Criticize as you see fit. The visitors are in control and everyone knows it.

We are each other. Inspect my place now, knowing inspection of your place will be soon. Take comfort in that we will inspect some other place too. It's our own fraternal initiation.

We hope and we wait. Verbal agreements are made. Everyone leaves seemingly happy. In the end, we desperately wait for the final paperwork.

Even in the end, we will probably get dinged. Something still needs to be fixed. Concessions get made and we must agree to following up.