In the real estate world, sellers will hear the word “de-personalizing” when preparing their house to sell.
Most people think it means removing personal photos and portraits so that they buyer will be able to imagine themselves living in the property that they are considering purchasing. And yes, that is part of de-personalizing, however it is really much more than just removing personal photos.
De-personalizing involves re-moving any or all of the following:
personal beauty items- medicines or prescriptions
- DVD and CD collections
- sports team memorabilia
- collections in general
- specific paint or wall paper choices
Sellers will often ask me “why do we have to remove these things”. Let’s think about it….take personal collections for example. This could be anything to collections of old cameras, clocks, figurines, etc. Once a buyer starts noticing the collection, that ‘s what their focus is towards and guess what? YOU HAVE JUST LOST YOUR BUYER! They are no longer looking at your house, but caught up in your collections
Same thing for DVD or CD collections. Nothing says “THIS IS OUR HOUSE, NOT YOURS!” more than the tower, basket or shelves full of family movies and music choices.
And don’t even get me started on sports team memorabilia….especially college teams. I’ve seen buyers strike a house off their list because their opposing college football team banners are on display in a sellers house. It’s ridiculous, I know, but it happens!
Smart sellers may want to ask themselves if they are will to take a chance of losing a buyer for their house in this real estate climate all because they were too attached to their personal items?
For more information on “de-personalizing” your property to sell, let’s set up a staging consultation BEFORE your house goes on the market!
