Every generation has its industries and its fads. In the flower child generation (yes, that was my generation) the activists wore beads, smoked pot, had long stringy greasy hair and beards, no underwear to speak of, long flowing dresses and were forever flashing a "V" for peace. Thankfully, that fad disappeared as have so many others. Today we have piercings and tattoos, black spiky hair, studs, and black nail polish. In the flower child years, coffee shops were discussed as something futuristic, but no one believed they would actually succeed. Today, everyone drinks designer coffee, some beans that have even been eaten by rodents and recycled into very expensive coffee!
In like manner, every family has their things that are okay for family living. Many families realize that their teens need to express themselves through posters and wild colors. They are passing fancies. I was one of those parents.
The problem comes when the house goes on the market. Whether the children like it or not; whether the parents like it or not; the house has to be de-cluttered and de-personalized. If there are posters like these hanging in your home, they've got to go, along with many other similar statements of independence.
Stagers even recommend taking down family photos. The goal is to make the home attractive and to remove enough personal stuff so the buyers can mentally move in their furnishings without competition with yours.
De-personalizing is hard to do because your home no longer feels like it is yours. The home seller has to live in the property while it's being marketed. The question is, "What if it doesn't sell? All those changes will be for naught!"
The goal has to constantly be kept in mind. The staging, de-personalizing, and de-cluttering are the first ties with the old home that have to be cut. More ties will be cut as the house sells and the seller moves. They're all small steps toward the final new destination . . . a new house where you can move all that clutter: the toys, the refrigerator magnets, the posters, the family pictures, the religious icons, the plants, the collections, the snake, etc. The old house needs to be "stripped" of its personality so you can move the personality to a new location.
Staging is needed now more than ever. More homes on market means more dificulty diferentiating your home from the pack.
Posted by: Daniels Team | July 02, 2008 at 05:32 PM