Last thought before bed

[unixronin]

And it's more than half rhetorical, inspired by a mention on a mailing list of selling your house yourself, and advice on preparing to do so.  Right there on the list of to-do's, sure enough, was"de-personalization".

I've always wondered about that.

Why is it that, when endeavoring to convince some person that your house is a place they want to live in, the first thing a realtor will advise you to do is to remove all personal touches and turn the house into a bland, sterile, cookie-cutter place that you wouldn't want to live in?

Comments

[drdemure.livejournal.com]

Ok, what I call it is the "blank canvas". A house is a reflection of your personality, and it's a lot easier to picture what you would do with a place if it isn't already decorated, i.e., the canvas is blank.

Our house stood empty for six months when it was painted strong colors. They came through and painted the walls white, and a month later, we owned it. (I know this because the website had a virtual tour of the house before it was repainted.)

[elegantelbow.livejournal.com]

Our house stood empty for six months when it was painted strong colors.

*nod*

Strong colors can make the rooms look smaller. Most buyers judge house size by how big it feels, not by the square footage on the sheet. And, truthfully, two houses the same size can feel completely differently, depending on how the square footage is used.