For many sellers, one of the hardest parts of listing prep is de-personalizing the space. Removing personal imagery (weddings, babies, carnival caricatures) feels a bit like giving up on your home, I know. But: aside from increasing your privacy when inviting strangers into your space, removing your most personal effects also helps buyers focus and envision their own lives in the property. It takes time and practice for buyers to get comfortable looking past other peoplesā stuff; sellers can help them along by removing distractions.ā£
I love a quirky listing! Unique art, secret stairs, a cat in a Matterport scan - all can be excellent. Selling your house is about showcasing what youāve made of it, but also about helping buyers see what they can make of it, too. Buyers canāt help themselves: if they see your upcoming wedding invitations on the fridge, your credentials on the wall, your childās birth details framed in the hall, they will start reading and trying to understand who you are. Resist the urge to confront prospective buyers with too much of your own life; let them imagine theirs.Ā ā£
Also consider the security perspective: neutralizing your home is a safety practice. As a seller, youāre inviting strangers into your home. You need to assume that any serious buyer will open some closets and cabinets - just removing things from plain sight might not be enough. Are your valuables stowed? What about prescriptions? Is personal information about you or your family readily available to a visitor? Your agent can help here, too - high quality 3D tours like Matterport curtail requests from buyers to take their own video, and readily available professional photos minimize snapshots from your property floating around in visitorsā iCloud storage.
Items to put away for showings, if you can:ā£
ā¢ wedding photosā£
ā¢ family photosā£
ā¢ fridge artĀ ā£
ā¢ pet remainsā£
ā¢ birth announcementsā£
ā¢ invitations and incoming mailā£
ā¢ medications, supplements, and medical devicesā£
ā£Itās also always a good idea to safely stow (or take with you) jewelry and other portable valuables. As agents and stewards of your property we watch as much as we can, but during open houses we canāt see absolutely everything.
If you need help filling wall space after decamping your diploma, ask your agent: they may have some local art to loan for listing, without fully staging your space. (We do!)ā£
Is home buying a near-term goal for you?Ā Even if youāre not planning to make a move this year, practice touring listings to get used to looking past personal property. Open houses are open to you, too! Itās okay to be honest about being early in your search; starting before youāre ready to write offers will build your confidence in your own intuition, and help you narrow your focus and feel more prepared when your time is right.Ā ā£
ā£Keep in mind also: buyers should be doing due diligence in any purchase, evaluating things like neighborhood safety, home inspection findings, environmental constraints and concerns like flood risk - but a deep dive on the biography of the sellers is not part of that crucial information. So many buyers head straight to LinkedIn to find out more, and to Zillow to see what sellers paid, but neither is material to your prospective deal. Donāt add to your stress by trying to pathologize the people opposite you in a transaction! You wonāt ever fully know their motivations or the terms of their previous purchase; take what they tell you about each at face value, then focus on the property itself.
Good luck out there,
Kate