Getting a home ready for staging can take some serious time and energy. You want to be sure that your home is showing to the best of its abilities. Doing so will ensure that you can earn the best possible profit when you put your Alexander real estate on the market. Taking down personal items is a crucial step that must be a part of every home staging process. Here are a few reasons why you should depersonalize your home before you take pictures to include with your listing or start welcoming guests for in-person showings.
1. It prevents the buyer from feeling like they are intruding
Think about what a buyer wants to feel when they enter a home they are thinking about buying. They need to have an opportunity to visualize the home as if it were theirs. They don’t want to feel like they are intruding or walking in on your space. First impressions make a huge difference when shopping for a home, and you don’t want your buyer to struggle with imagining their family in the home because they can’t erase the image of your family pictures on the wall. Taking down personal items will ensure that your guests can imagine what their day-to-day life would be like in your home.
2. It’s one way you can cut down on clutter
Most expert home stagers recommend clearing clutter throughout your home as you get ready for staging and showing. People often have too many belongings in their homes, especially if they have lived in one place for a long time. Clearing out personal belongings is one step you can take to make spaces feel more open and inviting. This tip goes hand-in-hand with the first point as well. When you remove unnecessary personal items and create more open spaces in your home, your buyer will have an easier time visualizing themselves living in your home.
3. It decreases the possibility of the buyer developing any sort of bias
You’re proud of your alma mater, and you love to display pictures of your family at your favorite vacation spot. What if your potential buyer has a difference of opinion? This is a small matter, but if a buyer is on the fence about whether or not they want to put an offer on your home, little things could end up making a major difference.
4. It makes the home appear cleaner
Many homebuyers have a keen eye for small details like a home’s cleanliness and organization. They may associate a home’s appearance with the quality of the home’s overall condition. They can easily assume that a well-manicured home is also well-maintained, or they may think that a home that is disorganized and cluttered has not been kept up with or cared for.
5. It gives you a head start on packing
You’ll have to pack up all of your belongings at some point in the near future since you’re getting ready to sell your home. Why not get a head start? Packing up an entire house can feel overwhelming, especially when you don’t know where to begin. Start by taking down personal items and packing them up to bring with you to your next house.
6. It cuts down on potential distractions
Your buyer isn’t going to purchase your home because of the family pictures or kids’ artwork and trophies that are out on display. They are going to buy the home because of the rooms and spaces as well as the curb appeal. If you keep too many decorations out, you run the risk of distracting the buyer from the primary selling points like your open-concept living spaces or your upgraded kitchen. You would prefer for these things to dominate their attention.
7. It’s a good way to protect your privacy
It’s unlikely that your buyer has a prior connection with you, but many buyers will take a look at your family pictures to see if they know you. They may also want to determine if your kids are close in age to their own children or if you look like anyone they know. Do you want them thinking these thoughts, or would you rather have them imagining how great their life could be if they purchased your home? This could also be an issue with degrees and certificates that you might have hanging up in your home office. Don’t lead potential buyers to wonder about what you do for a living or what your current salary is. Go ahead and take these things down as well.
8. You can replace personal items with matching decor pieces
Perhaps you don’t want to take down family pictures or framed degrees because you don’t want to paint over holes in the wall from the mounting materials that you used. It won’t require as much work as you think. Simply replace these items with generic pieces of artwork or decorations that better match the overall aesthetic of the room. Potential buyers will appreciate the beauty of these pieces without slowing down to study them as they often do with family pictures. This will not only depersonalize your home but will also improve the appearance of your space in the process.
Partner with a qualified real estate agent
For more information about how depersonalizing your home can lead to a faster and more profitable sale, reach out to Martha Wright-Martinez. Martha knows what it takes to sell a home in a competitive market. She has spent years helping buyers like you earn top dollar for Alexander real estate. She works hard to ensure that each of her clients feels respected and valued throughout the entire process. She would love to help you when you’re ready to take the next step toward buying or selling a home in the area.
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