Is Your Home too Personal to Sell?

If you are preparing your home to go on the market and to be viewed by potential buyers, you should know that along with a clean home, buyers are attracted to a house that they can easily picture themselves living in.  This means sellers should be aware that items or bold colored walls that make each room uniquely “their own” should be removed or changed to make it “anybody’s home.” In the world of real estate it is called “depersonalizing.” This means clearing out personalized décor, pictures, and objects that prevent the buyers from seeing the house as their new home.

What qualifies as too personal?
Quite simply, anything that makes your home reflect your personal taste and style can be considered too personal. Family pictures, trophy or sports memorabilia collections, large unique pieces of furniture and bold paint colors are a great place to start when removing your personal style from a room.

Items and pictures should be packed away, and since you are moving anyway, this is actually a great step toward an easier move.  Paint colors that are not neutral, like earth tones of beige, should be on your list of items to consider changing before the home’s showings begin.  How important this painting job is depends on how radical your paint colors actually are.  If you have a red bedroom, for example, you need to realize that this will not appeal to most buyers looking for their bedroom to be a sanctuary and restful sleeping place.

Old wallpaper is another issue for buyers who typically have a hard time picturing a room without it.  It is worth the effort to remove any peeling, stained or busy-printed wallpaper and paint the walls a neutral, warm and inviting color.

Another thing is to consider how gender specific your décor is.  If you have ruffles everywhere and pink flowers on every pillow, it might be a good idea to pack those ruffles away and choose more gender-neutral bedding and window coverings.

Remember: Though you love your family photos, they are a clear reminder that stakes an unspoken claim that this is YOUR family’s home.  It is hard for buyers to come in and try to picture their own family living in what is clearly a space filled with another family’s memories and photos.

By packing away personal items and making the décor appeal to the masses, you are creating a “model home” of sorts and this increases your chance of getting an offer from potential buyers.  Think about how a home in a magazine looks: open, clear of clutter, and anybody could move in and feel comfortable there.

photo courtesy of reynolds.james.e