When it comes time to sell your home, it’s always a wise decision to make your home as empty and plain as possible before allowing prospective buyers to be shown around. Your home likely possesses a good deal of your personality inside, and that’s perfectly fine – for you! However, house hunters aren’t looking to live in your house; they’re looking to live in theirs. When the home bears too much of “you,” it will be difficult (if not impossible) for buyers to envision their own things within the home. Additionally, they may be turned off entirely if your taste and their taste don’t necessarily match.
For example, imagine walking into a home where the owner was enamored with the color green. Everything in the home was one hue of green or another, the floors, ceilings, accent wall, couches, lamps, etc. Now, if you also love the color green, then welcome home. But if not, the simple fact that this home contains too much of a color you don’t find attractive may turn you off the home entirely, regardless of the fact that all of the items would be removed.
Don’t make the same mistake as the seller in the example above. If you can show your home completely empty, it will make the place look bigger and allow prospective buyers to imagine their own things in the home. If you can’t, try and keep as few pieces of furniture in the home as possible. Remove picture frames and posters from the walls, remove end tables, book shelves, lamps, etc. Anything you don’t need in the home should be taken out. The more your home appears to be a “blank slate” to buyers, the more likely they are to purchase the home from you.
