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We were told to remove all family photos, as well as collections and anything that might in any way be controversial. Basically, anything that that reflects your personality can be distracting.
This.
The idea is that your home is not your home anymore when you're putting it on the market. You're trying to make it seem like the person who is looking at it can visualize that it's now THEIR home. They can't as easily do that when items that reflect your personality and your life are on the walls. It literally has nothing to do with your sexuality and more about the best way to promote the HOUSE and all of the features that the buyer is looking for, not the "stuff" IN the house.
No different than people who have guns and deer heads on the walls. Unless the market is 95%+ people who share the same values, then it's going to turn some people off who might have considered buying otherwise, as the goal is to cast as wide a net as you can for potential buyers.
My husband does all the decorations. We actually have very few personal pictures on the walls. Most of the house looks like this. Here is the formal living room. Can we leave decors like that painting on the walls or take them off too?
I like it...
Remove the coffee & end table to make it look bigger
Blue sofa pillows ..
During the day let light in that window somehow...
I think it might depend on your location. If you're in a relatively progressive city then have at it. If you're in a small redneck town down South, maybe not. Sadly, prejudices against your lifestyle still exist and it could possibly turn off those potential buyers. I know that when I photograph a home for an appraisal I intentionally "shoot away" from family photos, religious pictures, African art, etc. just in case there's some bigoted loan officer that might use their bigotry to deny the loan. Sick, but redlining still happens.
we're a straight couple and always took personal photos down and put them away when we put our homes on the market to neutralize anything in the home to do with us. we also put away dog beds and food bowls for the same reason.
Screw PC. I'm not here to be coddled. Please be honest.
We are a married gay couple. Will be selling house in a few months. Should we take down our pictures or leave them up for staging?
Again, please be honest.
Well you, yourself said "Screw PC" - the SAFEST thing to do is to take down ANYTHING that might offend anyone.
But, in this case, I would not.
Do you REALLY want to deal with people who hate your sexuality? Who you are? Your spouse? Selling a house is a long drawn out process. You will be dealing with these people for a month at the very least - maybe more.
It could be difficult and annoying. Or worse, the deal could fall through.
We looked at a house with Klan memorabilia. We just walked out. We don't want to deal with haters.
My husband does all the decorations. We actually have very few personal pictures on the walls. Most of the house looks like this. Here is the formal living room. Can we leave decors like that painting on the walls or take them off too?
You are fine. Your husband has good taste. If your home looks like that don't worry about the declutter comments as you live decluttered. Take any religious items off walls and furniture, remove family photos, keep closets neat and clean so that it looks like a closet commercial.
Edit: Don't go too far. Sometimes people take out too much and make their homes sterile. Don't do that.
Well you, yourself said "Screw PC" - the SAFEST thing to do is to take down ANYTHING that might offend anyone.
But, in this case, I would not.
Do you REALLY want to deal with people who hate your sexuality? Who you are? Your spouse? Selling a house is a long drawn out process. You will be dealing with these people for a month at the very least - maybe more.
It could be difficult and annoying. Or worse, the deal could fall through.
We looked at a house with Klan memorabilia. We just walked out. We don't want to deal with haters.
(3rd paragraph).....He is selling his house .
The object should be to offend no one and if I was selling I wouldn't care if the person buying was a Klans man. belonged to BLM, was a homophobe or racist or practiced polygamy.
The color I am concerned about is green $$$$$$$$$$ and I most likely will never see those buyers after I receive their $$$$$$$$$$$.
So many houses we looked at, had cob webs hanging from the ceiling. That is a real turn off for me.
You can't swing a broom?
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74
I took down the mezuzahs I had in my home - partly to depersonalize, but specifically because they were part of a minority religion
I think it's sad that you thought you had to remove your mezuzahs. Sad that there are people who are that petty to let the sight of a mezuzah affect their decision to buy a house or not. Sad that people don't have the imaginative capacity to look beyond a house's contents or colors.
As a society, it seems we're de-evolving instead of evolving.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlearts
We bought the place anyway, though.
See? You didn't let an item of decor that you dislike affect how you felt about the house. Good for you.
When I bought my first house, the elderly owners had died and their children were selling the house. Photos of their family and mementos of a long, well-lived life were all over the place. You could tell a very happy couple had raised their children and welcomed their grandchildren into that house. The house had happy vibes, and after assessing the infrastructure of the home, the floor plan, and all the other nuts-and-bolts stuff that's the most important and approving of the state of those things, those happy vibes stuck with me and I bought the house.
My husband does all the decorations. We actually have very few personal pictures on the walls. Most of the house looks like this. Here is the formal living room. Can we leave decors like that painting on the walls or take them off too?
Very nice, and the wall art is fine. However, you should remove the side table and if there is room, you might consider putting the chair at an angle to the sofa. That's what I see in a lot of staged homes, and it helps to create the sense of spaciousness, and invites people into the conversation area.
It's fine to have a small coffee table; however, the type that does not have a "floor" to it, i.e. one that shows the flooring under the table, thus creating a sense of more continuous space, is the type shown in staged homes:
Here is one example of the type I see most often in staged houses (the side table is small, also):
Metro your question is an easy one. I helped a lady sell a few years back who was into Bondage / S&M and making Videos who worked out of her home. She asked me if all the tools of her trade needed to be packed away.
That was an easy answer also. Ahh yes. That one took quite a lot of work to get it to look "normal".
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