De-personalize the House

The main reason you want to “depersonalize” your home is because you want real estate buyers to view it as their potential home.

When a potential homebuyer sees your family photos hanging on the wall, it puts your own brand on the home and momentarily shatters their illusions about owning the house. Therefore, put away family photos, sports trophies, collectible items, knickknacks, and souvenirs. Put them in a box. Rent a storage area for a few months and put the box in the storage unit.

Do not just put the box in the attic, basement, garage or a closet. Part of preparing a house for sale is to remove clutter, and that is the next step in preparing your house for sale.

Removing personal picture frames can be emotional for many sellers. You must think about selling your home first. All your memories and photos will be prominently displayed in your new home, but you have to get there first.

That means removing everything that personalizes your home. Studies have shown that real estate buyers will spend more time in a home that has less pictures of the family and mementos of their travels. It’s human nature to feel like your invading someone’s space if it appears to be too personalized.

Selling your home is a process that starts with good preparation. By removing clutter you are staging your home for potential buyers. Buyers will see your home in its best light and they will spend more time in your home than a competing listing that fails to remove the clutter. Better showing will result in better offers and you’ll get to the negotiation table and on your way to next new home faster than you could have imagined.