Ever wondered why it is so important to depersonalize a house before putting it on the market? Some sellers get offended when they are asked to pack away items like family photographs, religious statues, sports memorabilia and college diplomas because they feel it makes their home look too sterile. While a home for sale needs to look warm and inviting, here are three reasons why depersonalizing paves the way for a quicker offer.
(1) Buying a home is almost always an emotional process. So buyers must be able to imagine themselves living in the home before they are moved to make an offer to purchase. If the house is undeniably stamped with the seller’s personality (style of decor, photos, diplomas, crafts etc.), then buyers fail to connect emotionally with it and they easily move on to the next listing.
(2) The longer the sellers have lived in their house, the more likely that they have accumulated clutter. Clutter is very distracting to buyers since they tend to focus on the clutter and miss seeing all the positive features of the house. Sellers often fail to recognize that their home is cluttered because many of the items have personal significance or is stuff that “just needs to be put away”. Decluttering and depersonalizing the home removes the distractions and allows buyers to fully appreciate the features of the house.
(3) Buyers may be curious about the personality and lifestyle of the owners of a house that they are previewing, but it is often better for them to remain unaware of this personal information. Buyers may sometimes have certain biases and since the preferences or lifestyle of the seller ( political or religious affiliation, type of job, sports team etc.) does not impact the features of the house, depersonalizing the home avoids the loss of an offer based on knowledge of the sellers’ personal information.
Even when sellers are convinced of the value of depersonalizing and decluttering their home prior to listing, it may be difficult for them to accomplish this task themselves because they are so emotionally vested in the contents of their home. A professional home stager can offer valuable assistance in getting this done.