I was asked to stage a vacant house in Royal Oak which had been on the market for 6+ months with no offers. It definitely needed furniture in place to give it some “oomph” and show how lovely the property truly is.
As I toured the house to take measurements and devise a plan of action, I discovered this in the main floor bedroom:
Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure a potential home buyer would find that to be a positive feature. I suspect some would be quite turned off by it, in fact.Upon further inspection of the house, I found these in the bedrooms upstairs:
Not as offensive, but still not an asset most home buyers would emotionally connect with.
Most amazingly, the Realtor seemed surprised that I was so adamant that they be changed! I got the sense that she didn’t even realize they were there. Needless to say, I purchased and installed new switch plates.
So, let’s review:
- A house on the market must be neutral if it has any hopes of selling quickly.
- Any objects that may be seen as offensive MUST be removed (Playboy Bunnies would fit into this category).
- Items that are taste-specific, childish, or sports-related must go as well (custom cars and cutesy kissing kids qualify here).
- Nude artwork absolutely has to be replaced, no matter how “tasteful” it may be.
- In addition, family photos and religious articles must be packed away.
- Ideally, potential buyers should not be able to surmise anything about the current owners of the property.
Bottom line. . .
. . .don’t give buyers a reason to say “Thanks, but no thanks.”
Written by Marianne Sweet
Home Sweet Home Staging, (586) 212-8400
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Chris Griffith 03.20.08 at 6:47 am
Yeah, the light switch plates had to go. Hmmm, that’s one I hadn’t seen before. I thought I’d seen it all.
Kris Wales 03.20.08 at 8:46 am
Marianne, these cracked me up. It’s amazing how homeowners don’t understand “neutralize”. But then again, when I go to sell my own home I am going to become emotional about taking down my Detroit Tigers memorabilia…
Maureen Francis 03.20.08 at 1:07 pm
Kris,
Marianne is a big Tiger fan too. She is in Florida right now watching them play!
Lucky, huh?
Leanne Paynter 03.20.08 at 3:26 pm
These things are easy for any homebuyer to replace, however… if nothing else, they create a distraction and sometimes makes the conversation/comments while in the home take on a whole new twist. Maureen, I’m e-mailing you a photo of a room that fits almost all you mentioned in your bulleted list. Enjoy!
Marianne Sweet 03.21.08 at 7:23 am
I’m home now……bummer. I did, however, catch a foul ball that the Reds’ 3rd base coach threw right to me in the stands, caught on FSN’s broadcast of the game. Got a great close-up of Maggs, among others, and my husband shook Dave Dombrowski’s hand. Big fun!
So Kris, I totally understand why you’ll be sad when the time comes to take down your Tiger memorabilia. Like I tell my clients, just consider it getting a head start on packing for the move.
I once consulted on a listing that had an entire basement rec room dedicated to the Ohio State Buckeyes…….posters, banners, framed jerseys, you name it. I can’t think of a bigger no-no here in Michigan! Well, maybe the Yankees. The seller was stunned when I told him to remove ALL of it.
One thing I know, “neutral” means different things to different people!
Kris Wales 03.21.08 at 7:35 am
Maureen,
I am totally envious of Marianne! Next year perhaps I’ll get there for spring training…
Marianne,
It sounds like you had a wonderful time!! (So close to Maggs? Is he even more adorable up close?)
I hope your hubby thanked Mr. Dombrowski for coming to the Tigers. He’s just what the franchise needed.
As for the Buckeye fan, surely he couldn’t have been that clueless as to how his rec room would go over here in Michigan? Very cute.
Marianne Sweet 03.21.08 at 9:56 am
Kris, my husband told Dave Dombrowski “Mr. Dombrowski, thank you for putting together a team I can be proud of”. He smiled and said “You bet!”. My husband didn’t want to be a gomer and ask for a photo, which I punched him on the arm for!
As for Maggs……..cuter! I tried to insert a photo, but can’t. Sorry:(
People can be obsessive about their sports teams. Unfortunately, that’s not good when trying to sell to an opposing fan!
Kris Wales 03.21.08 at 10:07 am
I think not uploading a photo of Maggs is an unforgiveable offense
So glad to hear you had a wonderful time Marianne, and thank your hubby for me (for telling Mr. Dombrowski ‘thank you’)
Maureen Francis 03.21.08 at 10:34 am
Marianne, you can send me the photo and I will upload it to my flickr account and send you the link.
Maureen Francis 03.22.08 at 9:44 am
Here is Marianne’s photo of Magglio. There is a Kenny Rogers photo there to if you click through to see the rest of my pics.
http://flickr.com/photos/maureenfrancis/2351366539/
Kris Wales 03.23.08 at 6:02 am
Thank you SO much for hosting the photos Maureen and also to you Marianne! What a happy smile on Kennys face.
Ines 03.31.08 at 3:57 pm
you have to admit it could be worse - we showed a house last month where the actual lever was a man’s body part and my clients refer to that house as “the house with the penis switch-plate”
Chris Griffith 03.31.08 at 4:26 pm
Ines, tell me you took a photo of that one. LOL
Ines 03.31.08 at 4:44 pm
Chris - I was going to and the agent didn’t let me - can you believe that!
Maureen Francis 03.31.08 at 4:49 pm
OMG! I have never run across one of those here in Michigan, Ines. And that is just fine.
Marianne Sweet 03.31.08 at 5:09 pm
OH NO Ines!!! That’s way worse than my silly Playboy Bunny!