Do houses sell better if bland?

[lizzieoak]

At some point I may have to sell my house. An estate agent told me years ago that I’d have to clear away all family photos, the front of the fridge must have nothing pinned to it, no books on the bedside table sort of thing. Depersonalize it completely.

For me that’s not the case, in so far as if I look at a depersonalised house it seems like a hotel and I can’t imagine living in it (I’ve only lived in fairly old homes and flats, never new). Is this just me, or do a fair whack of people prefer to buy homes that look ... homey!

I think a major declutter is a good idea , it can make a room look bigger for a start. A few personal bits should be fine but bland is the way to go.

Homey yes, cluttered no!

I'm currently house hunting and I love it when they have candles and photos around as I can imagine myself there much more easily.

I think it also depends who your likely buyer will be. For me (single, no dcs) if there were kids toys everywhere It'd but me off a little, however I like to think I'm an open minded enough buyer to look past that!

We left up personal photos but had absolutely no clutter anywhere. Clutter implies that the house doesn’t have enough storage. We also touched up some paintwork but it was white to begin with. We sold immediately, but there are so many factors when selling. Decluttering and making sure everywhere is clean and tidy can never be a bad thing though!

Oh, I’d need to massively declutter. There is very little storage as it’s an older house. The attic is only accessible by a ladder & a tall person, consequently stuff pools about behind furniture. I really need to get rid of stuff and shove the rest of it up in the attic. Even if I don’t move!!

But good to know some of us (not just me) like to see a home a bit more personalized. I hope not to move, not till I’m much older anyway, but if I have to I shall keep the framed photos up.

I’ve already taken the tree down so plan on attacking the dining room (which is madhouse central for clutter, the other rooms are fine really) today.

De-personalising completely can make a house look cold and sterile IMO. I'd do it up to a point, though, simply because so many buyers are apparently too dopey or lacking in imagination to see past the normal lived-in state of many people's homes.

look at photos on rightmove or zoopla, family "mess" looks awful. It feels cluttered, make the space too small and dirty. If there's a lack of available properties in your area, you will sell regardless of the mess, but otherwise of course you should make an effort.
People dress up for interviews, why wouldn't you dress up your home?

It's not lacking imagination that makes people go for bland, it's because it will be easier and much cheaper to personalise for the buyer later on. I hate magnolia, but I'd rather buy a magnolia house which can be redone quickly, than something with strong "feature" wall which needs to be stripped or will require several coat of paint to hide.

Lack of imagination means it's easier to sell a furnished house, with at least a few pieces than an empty one.

I sold my house empty in 4 days so it worked for me. I think it also makes you look ready to move out. Not a good sign for a buyer if you look like you are not serious. If you leave stuff around you are making assumptions they like the same stuff as you or live the same lifestyle.

People are buying homes not houses, so don't make it too clinical looking, but I agree that a messy, cluttered house looks like you don't want to sell. It gives the message that there isn't enough storage space, and makes the house look much smaller.

Re the decor, it isn't necessarily about buyers not having enough imagination, but how much work they think they need to do. Our house had magnolia in every room when we bought it. Yes, it was boring, but we could live with it until I had time to repaint every room. Hideous decoration can be off-putting to the buyer because they have to consider the time and the cost to redecorate straight away.

We’ve just bought a house. It was completely depersonalised for the photos (and painted magnolia all over). I have plenty of imagination, but one of the appeals for me was that it was an almost blank canvas for me to put my own stamp on. DH and I have done loads of painting/DIY since we moved in 3 months ago but with 2 pre schoolers it was good to know that there was nothing we urgently needed to do.
It’s lovely and homely with all our stuff in, and the clutter free space helped me to envisage that.

If our children were older and we had more sleep and free time I’d probably be happier to buy something that needed more imagination!

I prefer no clutter, blandness as I want to imagine living there myself.

However saying that I bought a very cluttered house. But then I only managed to buy it because it sat on the market for ages- I think partially due to the clutter- and therefore it had a significant price drop by the time we bought it.

It's not one or the other. Houses look best in photos if the household clutter is removed, and accessories put in so there is still a personal touch. If you look on rightmove you can see the homes where the seller has made an effort usually look more appealing. It's about making your house look like the best version of itself to encourage buyers.

People may define clutter differently though. Some people think books are clutter =:-0

To me birthday cards on the mantle, piles of books on the floor, paperwork on the sideboard are clutter. Family photos, more than a kettle and toaster on the counter, probably not clutter.

I guess I connect more with a home that exudes a homey feel, and not with an empty house or a house w no homely atmosphere. My imagination doesn’t work that way. But I wasn’t sure if that was just me - this thread is giving me the impression it’s 50-50.

There is no issues with a few photos etc. The issue as others point out is when it's cluttered with folks crap lying around everywhere.

The problem folks have is they often don't see just how cluttered their homes are, or they are so overwhelmed with it they don't know what to do with all their stuff, or simoly they think it's lovely and homely.

Books for me can equate to clutter, yes, so for example a simple bookshelf filled with books, not clutter, many bookshelves filled with books dominating a living or bedroom , then yes, it's cluttered.

I'm also not a fan of loads of stuff on kitchen work surfaces and see it as clutter. So we all have different views.

Hi,
maybe have a read at this:

I think there's a difference between stripping it bare and removing some of the "You"

daisymoove.com/8-things-you-must-do-before-selling-your-home

When I was house hunting I found huge walls of family photos creepy. Some are ok but not hundreds!
Too much furniture makes the rooms look small.
Bright coloured walls which aren't to your taste seem like a lot of work. Likewise a messy kitchen.