8 Things That Should NEVER Be in Your House When Selling

These things can impact your sale price and your safety and privacy!

Let’s be honest.  Preparing your home for sale is a pain.  You have to turn your home, and all the great memories that it contains, into a commodity ready to compete on the open market. Yuck.

There are better (and worse) ways to do this. Being informed is definitely the better way!  When you’re done reading, we’ll tell you how to make your sale and move even easier!

1. Photos or Any Personalization

I don’t know about you, but when I go into a home and see photos, I am immediately drawn to the photos. I want to know who the family is, I want to know their story. That’s why we share photos in our homes. So we can share our family story with our guests. But when a buyer walks into your home, you want them to be focused on the features of the home. You don’t want them to feel like a guest in your home. Remember, we are hoping they will make it THEIR new home.

If there is anything in your home that gives a buyer an idea of your family story, remove it. Personal items such as family photos, names above beds, or custom decor can make it difficult for buyers to imagine the home as their own. Before showings begin, remove these items and replace them with neutral decor. Consider storing photos and personalized items in a secure box or container. This is both for personal reasons and for safety reasons. 

2. Potentially Offensive Artwork

Just like family photos, the art we use to decorate our homes is an extension of ourselves.  The art you have chosen speaks to you, but what will it say to the prospective buyer?  One of the most challenging parts of selling your home is preparing it for the market.  That means taking the home that you love and making it a home someone else can love. 

Art is subjective, and this is a judgment free zone, but items like hunting or fishing trophies, political posters, or sexually explicit artwork can deter buyers. It’s best to replace such items with neutral art pieces or leave walls bare.  (But don’t leave holes or bare nails in the walls!)  Store these artworks in a safe, climate-controlled area or consider renting a storage unit.  You’ll have them back in your new home in no time and it will be like meeting old friends again.

3. Surveillance Equipment Without Notice

When you tour a home as a prospective buyer, you roam the house trying to imagine yourself living there.  Imagine how much more difficult that would be if the owner was right behind you, looking over your shoulder.  You wouldn’t feel free to be yourself, and you would have a harder time imagining yourself living there.  Security cameras can have the same effect. 

While security cameras are common, they can make buyers feel uncomfortable.  At the very least you should disclose, with a clear notice, if you have surveillance equipment that is operating.  If you have equipment that is currently disabled, let the buyers know that as well.  Notices such as this enhance your trustworthiness in the buyer’s mind.

4. Valuables

Yes, it is sad to say it, but opening your home to strangers, even when accompanied by a licensed real estate agent, creates the potential for loss.  The most common perpetrators of theft in homes for sale are children and thieves posing as buyers.  Thieves that target homes for sale are typically looking for items that can be quickly converted into cash – silver, small electronics, ATM cards, jewelry, watches, or keys. 

Children can be attracted to interesting objects, but sometimes a toy or children’s collectible might be too much temptation for them to bear.  So, yes, that display of collector cards or miniatures that is the pride of your child might be best put out of sight.  Like your artwork, it is best to go ahead and pack these items first and store them securely either in the home or offsite.

5. Medications

Prescription Medications are also sought by phony buyers.  But aside from that, you don’t want to share your personal information with legitimate buyers either.  Medications should be removed from sight to protect your privacy and prevent theft. Store them in a locked cabinet or drawer, or take them with you when you leave the house during showings.

6. Personal Bills, Checkbooks, Sensitive Information (even Safes)

You want your prospective buyers to know about the house, not about you.  Personal financial documents should be kept out of sight.  If you have a home office, now is the time to do that cleaning and organizing that you always wished you had the time to do!  Lock any file cabinets containing sensitive information. If you don’t have a locking cabinet, use a portable lockbox that you can take with you.  Don’t leave a portable strongbox out for others to see. 

Safes, while secure, can signal that valuable items are stored within. If possible, cover or disguise safes with furniture or decor. I once heard of a seller who used cardboard to cover their safe, making it looked like a packed box. It’s a great idea. Alternatively, store valuables off-site to mitigate any risk.

7. Dirt and Clutter

Buying a home is an aspirational endeavor.  Buyer’s will likely imagine that they will keep their new home even cleaner and tidier than their current home.  You want to help them with that aspiration.  Show them a clean (a really clean) and uncluttered home!  Prospective buyers who see dirt and clutter will make judgments about you and your home.  Dirt and clutter will bring fears of deferred maintenance to buyer’s minds and they’re likely to make a lower offer.

8. Signs of Distress

Every home sale involves negotiation.  You don’t want to give your prospective buyers any indication of distress on your part.  This could impact how much a buyer might offer for your home. 

Visible signs of personal distress, such as notices of foreclosure or divorce documents, or even half the clothing missing from your closet, can also negatively impact the buyer’s perception of you.  Even a home in the midst of packing could indicate distress.  (Sometimes this might be unavoidable, we know.) Ensure any items that could indicate distress are completely out of view. 

We can help!

OK, like we said, getting your home ready to sell is a pain.  But if you’d like some help with it all, Harmony Realty has a program that might be right for you. 

What if someone could come into your home, and tell you exactly what you need to do, when you need to do it, and even do it for you if you need the extra help? 

Check out the seller’s resources on Harmony’s website to see what we can do for you.  We can clean, declutter, and stage your home on top of giving you first in class real estate service.