When staging your home for sale, you may hear advice like “remove personal items and family photos”, but isn’t that what makes a house a home?  Well, it’s what makes your house your home, but buyers want to buy “their” home, not yours.  Buyers need to take mental ownership before they can take physical ownership of a house.  It needs to feel right to them, and if your personal imprint is too deep, they’ll only feel your presence.  

Ask yourself this question “Am I ready to let go of this house?”  If the answer is yes, then let your actions match your goals.  Prepare your house in the same way that visual merchandisers create a display at a store.  Make sure it appeals to a broad range of people.  Remove anything that is unusual, unique, personal, or even bizarre.  If you ever had a party, and a number of people made comments about an item that you are not selling with the house, then ask yourself if this item is calling too much attention to itself.   If so, pack it up and hide it away.

It won’t feel like your house anymore, but you are saying goodbye to this home, and moving onto bigger and better things.  Even if you are downsizing, or moving because of a less than ideal situation, the future will be brighter once this chapter is behind you.   If each little thing helps the house sell one day sooner, then you’re one day closer to your new beginning.  Start to detatch by depersonalizing, say goodbye, and move on.   In a few months, you’ll be glad you did.