People who have sold their homes

[melodramatic26]

or looked at buying a new one, question. I've seen the suggestion that when staging your home for viewings, to remove all personal pictures. Is this really a big deal? When we've looked at houses to buy, it's never been something I've cared about, but HGTV keeps saying it.

We don't have a lot of family pictures up, but there is one in our living room that is the focal point behind the couch and we have a few down the hallway- nice professional ones. I could easily take them down, but then the walls would be bare and to me, that looks worse.

so tell me honestly, is it REALLY that hard for a buyer to picture themself in your home if you have pictures up?

[mishap]

Just take them down.

[discogranny]

When we looked at houses I only noticed really outlandish or different color schemes/decor. I say keep them. But some of the people on HGTV seem unable to even picture their furniture in furnished homes, so I have no idea if "they" are the buyer norm.

[Deleted]

My mom is a REA and swears by this rule. She herself has personally sold all of her houses in under 4 weeks (even during the market down turn) and this is one of the things she attributes to it. Her clients that don't listen to her always take longer to sell the house but those who do listen to her, always sell quick. She has 6 rules (I think) and this is one of them. So, I'd say yes, it's important.

[KKD]

Personal pictures never bothered me when we were house-hunting. I don't remember taking any down when we sold our first house, and we still sold it quickly. We didn't have any large framed portraits, though; just a few small frames on shelves and dressers.

What does your realtor say?

[circa1978]

I'd take them down but the only time it bothered me as a buyer, the family appeared to have set up a kind of shrine to someone I assume had died in military action. There were pictures of this person in every room, with candles and memorial booklets. Our realtor got so distracted by the entire display she ended up closing the lockbox but leaving her keys inside. Her partner had to come rescue us.

At least the house was memorable.

[Deleted]

Go to IKEA or Home Depot, even Walmart and you can buy inexpensive frames and prints to replace your personal pictures. We've always done this and sold quickly. Not sure if that's why, but I wouldn't want to test it on my sale.

[lemondrop]

When we bought our previous house, I remember seeing their family photos hanging on the stairs and it made the house feel more like a home and allowed me to picture where we'd put ours. When we sold our house last spring, our realtor told us to keep our large gallery. We did and we sold quickly for a large profit. I'd just keep it up.

[averyjessup]

Jan 28, 2013 17:14:27 GMT -5 @utahlove13 said:

My mom is a REA and swears by this rule. She herself has personally sold all of her houses in under 4 weeks (even during the market down turn) and this is one of the things she attributes to it. Her clients that don't listen to her always take longer to sell the house but those who do listen to her, always sell quick. She has 6 rules (I think) and this is one of them.

Would you be willing to share her other rules (if you know them)?  We're putting our house on the market soon and I'm more than a little nervous about it.

[melodramatic26]

Utahlove, thank you. That's actually helpful.

Kristin, She's coming over on Saturday. This is just us thinking that if we need to take them down, patch holes, paint over etc., better to do now so she'll have a better idea of our home's appearance.

And honestly, like I said, we could easily take them down it's just not something that's ever bothered me so I didn't know if this was just a TV thing, or something homebuyers actually care about.

[cheeseandcrackers]

I never really thought about it, but now that I do, for me, I prefer not to see personal photos when I go in to view a house and it probably would turn me off the house.
Mostly because I'd feel like that family owns that house, and I would feel weird buying it. I am not sure why I feel this way.

[mishap]

Honestly, it's just one of those things that give a feel to a house. No one is going to say, "I didn't buy that house because I didn't like the pictures on the walls," but it can cause them to say, "Meh. Next house please!"

When a house has ugly decorations, it makes the house look ugly. Of course, I'm sure your house is lovely, but everyone thinks their house is lovely.

[melodramatic26]

Jan 28, 2013 17:22:19 GMT -5 mekiakoo said:

I don't really care about pictures, but dear god, PLEASE, PLEASEPLEASE clean up your house.

I couldn't believe how dirty/messy the house was when we first looked at it. There was a half glass of old wine by the bath tub and a coffee mug left sitting in the laundry room with coffee still in it (obviously very old).

I don't care what you have on your walls as long as your house is clean.

dude, no shit. lol. Looking at pictures on zillow of homes I wonder WTF they are thinking. We have had an 18mth to-do list of decluttering and fixing stuff to prepare for this. Some of them look like the realtor came in during a spring break party to snap photos.

[snatchparade]

I am in the process of selling my place. I can recall right now that my realtors suggesting taking down all personal pictures, cleaning out my closet so that there is nothing on the floor (walk-in closet), the rule of three for the kitchen counter (only 3 main appliances displayed out), and exposing wood flooring (removing any area rugs).

[Deleted]

Jan 28, 2013 17:20:51 GMT -5 Loco Coco said:

@utahlove13 - what are her other rules? (If you don't mind sharing) :-)

I can't remember all of them, but these are the three that I remember. I texted her, so I'll update with the rest once she replies!

1. No personal pictures. Oh, JK she's saying no personal items anywhere. Take everything down! 
2. Put a fresh coat of paint in the common areas/entry ways
3. Remove half of your furniture from your house (put it in storage) And when I say half, I mean like the things you don't use regularly that clutters things  up. If you have 2 couches and a chair in your living room, take out one of the couches or the chair. Take all of the things off of the counter, take the dresser out of the bedroom if you don't absolutely need it. The idea is to create space so people can imagine THEIR furniture in your space easier. 
5. Half empty closets. 
6. All counters, tables, dressers are completely empty on the top. 
7. Half empty kitchen cupboards (wipe them clean too) 

I know it seems intense, but she has sold every single one of our houses in less than a month. Her clients that don't listen to her always have their house on the market longer and the houses that listen to her always sell fast. 

[starlily]

The only time personal pictures bothered me while we were house hunting was when this one couple had skanky, half-dressed, MySpace-esqe photos of the wife all over the bedroom. No one needs to see that shiz.

Even weirder in the same home was the fact that the tub in the master bath was surrounded by dozens of teddy bears.

[melodramatic26]

I'm leaving for now, but thank you. Any suggestions welcome.

[Deleted]

averyjessup, I updated them above. There were 7 rules!

[pantsparty]

Ooooh...GREAT tip on half emptying cupboards. If you have a ton of stuff in them, people will automatically think, "There's NO WAY we can get all our stuff in here!"

[Kristinmo]

Jan 28, 2013 17:26:32 GMT -5 @utahlove13 said:

Jan 28, 2013 17:20:51 GMT -5 Loco Coco said:

@utahlove13 - what are her other rules? (If you don't mind sharing) :-)

I can't remember all of them, but these are the three that I remember. I texted her, so I'll update with the rest once she replies!

1. No personal pictures. Oh, JK she's saying no personal items anywhere. Take everything down! 
2. Put a fresh coat of paint in the common areas/entry ways
3. Remove half of your furniture from your house (put it in storage) And when I say half, I mean like the things you don't use regularly that clutters things  up. If you have 2 couches and a chair in your living room, take out one of the couches or the chair. Take all of the things off of the counter, take the dresser out of the bedroom if you don't absolutely need it. The idea is to create space so people can imagine THEIR furniture in your space easier. 
5. Half empty closets. 
6. All counters, tables, dressers are completely empty on the top. 
7. Half empty kitchen cupboards (wipe them clean too) 

I know it seems intense, but she has sold every single one of our houses in less than a month. Her clients that don't listen to her always have their house on the market longer and the houses that listen to her always sell fast.

I wish your mom could come to MN and be my REA.

[Deleted]

Kristinmo She is awesome. She learned everything from my grandma who was an awesome REA and one of the top sellers in Michigan at a time when women didn't really ever work.

I remember we DREADED when we sold our house (we sold our houses a lot. My mom got restless/bored easily) because she'd turn into the house nazi. Everything had to be perfectly clean and nothing out of place, but dude, it got the job done.

[averyjessup]

Jan 28, 2013 17:38:34 GMT -5 @utahlove13 said:

averyjessup, I updated them above. There were 7 rules!

Thank you!

[Deleted]

Jan 28, 2013 17:41:52 GMT -5 Loco Coco said:

Utah, that is super helpful! Thank you!

You're welcome!  

[candreco]

We did take ours down, but more because they were mostly of DD and it kind of freaked out to have random strangers knowing what the kid who lived there looked like. We took her name letters off her wall and put her chair with her name on it at my parents' house temporarily. I couldn't believe listings that had of course the address, and then shots of kids' rooms with the name there and easy to read.

Otherwise, we did move some extra furniture to storage, and emptied closets and storage areas of out-of-season clothes and decorations, which made a huge difference, and it was that much less to sort through and pack when we moved. I also got baskets for the linen closet, and just put stacks in them, but they made the closet look much more spacious.

As kind of a daily thing, we made sure beds were made, dish drainer emptied and put away, waste baskets emptied in to the closed kitchen trash, etc. We didn't have to keep it up long, we had offers the first day on the market and were under contract within 4 days.

[flex]

Listen to your realator. They know what they're taking about.

I don't know if this has been listed yet, but take EVERYTHING OFF of your refrigerator--pictures, magnets, drawings done by your kids, etc. It looks cool to you because it's your personal stuff, but it looks like crap to a potential buyer.

[lolc]

Jan 28, 2013 17:26:32 GMT -5 @utahlove13 said:

Jan 28, 2013 17:20:51 GMT -5 Loco Coco said:

@utahlove13 - what are her other rules? (If you don't mind sharing) :-)

I can't remember all of them, but these are the three that I remember. I texted her, so I'll update with the rest once she replies!

1. No personal pictures. Oh, JK she's saying no personal items anywhere. Take everything down! 
2. Put a fresh coat of paint in the common areas/entry ways
3. Remove half of your furniture from your house (put it in storage) And when I say half, I mean like the things you don't use regularly that clutters things  up. If you have 2 couches and a chair in your living room, take out one of the couches or the chair. Take all of the things off of the counter, take the dresser out of the bedroom if you don't absolutely need it. The idea is to create space so people can imagine THEIR furniture in your space easier. 
5. Half empty closets. 
6. All counters, tables, dressers are completely empty on the top. 
7. Half empty kitchen cupboards (wipe them clean too) 

I know it seems intense, but she has sold every single one of our houses in less than a month. Her clients that don't listen to her always have their house on the market longer and the houses that listen to her always sell fast. 

I agree with this wholeheartedly!!! We put our house up for sale in what I felt was an impossible market, and we listed it for what we paid for it in 2005 (which I also thought would be an impossible price to get in this market)....

My realtor had these same rules (the only difference (#2), was that since our house was old and had very big and bright baseboards and moldings, he suggested to touch them up with some fresh paint to make them pop more)

Our house went under contract in less than 3 weeks. We listed it on February 16th of last year, and had an offer by March 1st (and the offer was 2k less than full price!!)

So I am a big believer that these tips work. And our house never looked so good!! It was the first time in all the years we lived there that I actually thought our house was "cute."

On the buying end of things, I don't think people's personal pictures bothered me at all. The only thing that bothered me was when the buyer hung around the house (in sight, following the realtor around or staying within earshot) while we were being shown it.

[Deleted]

@theycalledherkate - Oh, I wasn't saying remove ALL personality from the house, I was just saying removing the personal items (pictures, awards, etc) from the rooms. Keep the books, the lamps, the things that make it 'styled' but not cluttered. The point is to have it look presentable, but not cluttered and like someones living there so the person who is potentially buying can see themselves in the home easier.

[lolc]

Jan 28, 2013 19:46:15 GMT -5 @theycalledherkate said:

Jan 28, 2013 17:26:32 GMT -5 @utahlove13 said:

I can't remember all of them, but these are the three that I remember. I texted her, so I'll update with the rest once she replies!

1. No personal pictures. Oh, JK she's saying no personal items anywhere. Take everything down! 
2. Put a fresh coat of paint in the common areas/entry ways
3. Remove half of your furniture from your house (put it in storage) And when I say half, I mean like the things you don't use regularly that clutters things  up. If you have 2 couches and a chair in your living room, take out one of the couches or the chair. Take all of the things off of the counter, take the dresser out of the bedroom if you don't absolutely need it. The idea is to create space so people can imagine THEIR furniture in your space easier. 
5. Half empty closets. 
6. All counters, tables, dressers are completely empty on the top. 
7. Half empty kitchen cupboards (wipe them clean too) 

I know it seems intense, but she has sold every single one of our houses in less than a month. Her clients that don't listen to her always have their house on the market longer and the houses that listen to her always sell fast. 

I realize your mom is a pro---but I disagree with a lot of this---a staged home is one thing---but to remove all decorative elements, especially if they are nice ones, is a mistake IMO.  We really "styled" our last home before we sold it---tried to make the bathrooms look "hotel-like" and had a nice flower arrangement on the coffee table, etc.

Our current home was a model home when we bought it---and even it had decorative elements on the kitchen island and little decorative items here and there---if done well, I think they add style and beauty to a home, they don't take it away.

I guess it all depends on your aesthetic though. I suppose some people *think* their house looks nice but in reality it would not appeal to a lot of people. 

Personally I'd rather see a beautifully decorated home with personal touches here and there (yes, even on countertops) than an empty-ish house that looks "blah." 


However---I do think your mom's expert tips apply well to people who don't have nicely decorated homes/have no style/have messy homes. Then, it really is best they get rid of a lot of things because it will just turn buyers off.

.... Or people who have small homes. The less there is, the bigger the space feels. It has nothing to do with having a messy home or no style.

[WOT?*]

Jan 28, 2013 17:26:32 GMT -5 @utahlove13 said:

Jan 28, 2013 17:20:51 GMT -5 Loco Coco said:

@utahlove13 - what are her other rules? (If you don't mind sharing) :-)

I can't remember all of them, but these are the three that I remember. I texted her, so I'll update with the rest once she replies!

1. No personal pictures. Oh, JK she's saying no personal items anywhere. Take everything down! 
2. Put a fresh coat of paint in the common areas/entry ways
3. Remove half of your furniture from your house (put it in storage) And when I say half, I mean like the things you don't use regularly that clutters things  up. If you have 2 couches and a chair in your living room, take out one of the couches or the chair. Take all of the things off of the counter, take the dresser out of the bedroom if you don't absolutely need it. The idea is to create space so people can imagine THEIR furniture in your space easier. 
5. Half empty closets. 
6. All counters, tables, dressers are completely empty on the top. 
7. Half empty kitchen cupboards (wipe them clean too) 

I know it seems intense, but she has sold every single one of our houses in less than a month. Her clients that don't listen to her always have their house on the market longer and the houses that listen to her always sell fast. 

<object style="position: absolute; z-index: 1000;" id="plugin0" width="1" type="application/x-dgnria" height="1"><param name="tabId" value="{093D83B0-4569-401A-BA61-F533AC065AB9}"></object>I did this when we sold our house.  Packed up most of our tupperware, all our small appliances except what was on the counter (what everyone would consider the essentials), cleaned out our closet except for two weeks of clothes. I didn't have totally empty dresser and table tops but they were uncluttered with almost nothing on them (master had a valet/jewelry box, table had a bowl with fresh fruit...)

On the cleaning front, I woke up a half-hour earlier every morning and ran a swiffer across the floors, did a quick vacuum job to erase footprints, took a cloth to the faucets in the kitchen and all bathrooms and wiped down the mirrors and sinks before I left for work.

Don't forget to make your pets as "invisible" as possible too.  I had the catbox down in the basement so it wasn't seen in any living areas (shoot, that's where we kept it anyways for precisely that reason).

I also burned a cinnamon candle a half hour before we left or put sugar or cinnamon cookies in the oven on the weekends we had showings.  Yeah, I was *that* seller.

I had showings every day for my house and it sold in less than three weeks, in Cleveland, in 2005, and that is with ten houses in our development for sale (most having been on the market for multiple months), new construction going on down the road and existing construction built within a year or two in several directions.

[muffin0]

The only personal pictures that bothered H and I were pretty much porno-maternity photos.

We didn't buy the house because it needed a bunch of work, and it wasn't in a neighborhood we loved anyway (so really the photos didn't play a role in it)