When it comes to selling a home, there are some important steps that need to be taken to maximize your profit. To attract interest from buyers, the property will need to be attractive, well-maintained, and be priced right for the current market. If you really want to make a buyer fall in love with your home, there’s one significant way to make that happen: give them the opportunity to visualize themselves living there.
Selling a home isn’t just about convincing someone that this is a place they’ll want to live: you want them to FEEL like this is somewhere they want to call home. You want them to imagine preparing dinner in the kitchen before Thanksgiving, celebrating the holidays with family in the living room, and getting cozy with a good book on a cool autumn evening. These are very personal experiences that you want potential buyers to visualize as they tour your home during an open house, or even while browsing listing photos online.
How do you do that?
It’s nothing personal, but you must “depersonalize” your home. When buyers are trying to picture themselves and their family gathered around for family game night, that visualization crumbles when they see a baseball trophy on the mantle with your child’s name on it or a gallery wall of photos of your family. When first impressions are so important, depersonalizing your home may seem impossible without making it feel sterile and empty. Fortunately, that isn’t the case.
The goal of depersonalization is to remove items that directly connect your home with you. Try to see it through a buyer’s eye and think zero clutter, soft textures, warm wall colors, and small bursts of color. The idea is to present a space that is neutral but still charming. Consider removing personal collections, furniture or décor of a distinct style, certificates or diplomas Personal and family photos should be packed up and stored away. Replace them with tasteful paintings or photos that are of a less personal nature. Repaint loud accent walls with a neutral color and remove busy wallpaper. You want your home to be a beautiful blank canvas for those next buyers.
If time is short, consider focusing on depersonalizing the rooms buyers consider the most important: Living room (46%), master bedroom (43%), and the kitchen (43%) according to the National Association of Realtors.
Depersonalizing is a proven staging strategy that can help sell your home faster and for a better price. Depending on the number of personal items you have, you may be able to display them between viewings, or you might be better off renting a storage unit. It’s important to remember that you’re selling your home to someone else, who has had an entirely different life compared to you. While you’re moving on to a new home, they’ll want the same experience as they move into your old home. Let them experience your home with new eyes and discover new ways that they can fall in love.