An article going over things that can be done to help depersonalize your home for sale in Tucson, Arizona. This, along with getting a Top Real Estate Agent in Tucson, can help sell your home quick!

As difficult as it may be to hear, detaching yourself from the home trying to be sold is one of the best things that can be done to improve the results of the home sale. Depersonalization also helps a seller view their property through the eyes of a stranger or a potential buyer and to declutter the property of items that might have otherwise stayed around unnecessarily. 

The whole process of readying your home for sale can be stressful and overwhelming and depersonalization is a major part about readying a home for sale. With this being known, let’s go over a general list of things that can be done and what will be focused on when depersonalizing a home:

• Areas of Focus

• Putting away personal items

• Furniture replacement

• Adding a fresh or new coat of paint

• Adding charm and warmth to a depersonalized home

1.) Areas To Focus on in a Time Crunch:

When prepping a house for sale there is a deadline that needs to be met and there are no exceptions to this. So, whether the sale is being tackled alone or with the assistance of a stager and realtor, making sure that your efforts are best utilized is essential. Of course, it is advantageous to utilize the maximize the amount of prep time you have to stage the home for a showing, if things aren’t lining up and there is a time crunch, here are four areas that should be focused on when depersonalizing and prepping the home for a showing:

• Kitchen

• Master Bedroom

• Dining Room

• Living Room

As mentioned, it would be best to give yourself the maximum amount of prep time before a showing, however, if things are in a rush, these four key rooms have been noted to be the most important areas to focus your preparations on. 

2.) Putting Away Personal Items:

One of the most important parts of depersonalization is to make the home as neutral as possible, this helps cast the widest net to snag the highest number of potential buyers for your home. One of the best ways to achieve this is to remove any personal items from your home, whether it goes to a moving box or storage unit, is given away to a family member or charity, or is an item that can be tossed away; it is an important step in achieving depersonalization of the home.

Here’s a small list of items to include in the packing-up phase when prepping the house for staging:

• Religious or political items: As important as your faith or political alignment may be in your life, the best way to ensure the maximum number of potential buyers is to appeal to the widest array of people from all walks of life.

• Sports Memorabilia: Although that collection of vintage or rare baseball cards maybe some of your most treasured possessions, it can limit the number of potential buyers.

• Family name decor: This item may seem obvious but many homes include decor that includes the family name and limits a potential buyer from viewing the house as their home.

• Items from a hobby: These items play a similar role as the sports memorabilia where it may be important to you and stored in a convenient place but a buyer who doesn’t share that hobby may view those items as clutter and may get a negative interpretation from a potential buyer.

• Family Photos: These items have the same effect as the family name decor as it can possibly limit a potential buyer from viewing the property you’re trying to sell as their future home.

• Overly personal lawn or door decorations: Although these decorations may have been a staple in spicing up the look of your home for years, it also can be a mental block for potential buyers.

Generally, the rule of thumb to follow is that any items that may be viewed in a negative light by a potential buyer should be packed away.

3.) Sticking to Neutral Tones and Themes:

To some, this may seem like an arbitrary item on the list of things to do in preparation for a showing, however, most real estate agents would agree that a home with neutral colors tends to have more successful showings. One of the reasons for this is because a ‘blank canvas’ is easier to build upon in the minds of a potential buyer. Although, there are options for what neutral colors you can pick when depersonalizing your home. Many realtors and stagers have agreed that beige or white are great colors for keeping a charming and depersonalized look but these colors can range depending on the area.

4.) Replacing Furniture:

One of the biggest mental roadblocks a potential buyer can face is walking into a living room or dining room with bulky and unique furniture taking up the space. No matter how much you love that cheetah-print sofa or worn in Laz-E-Boy, these types of items can make it much more difficult for potential buyers to view the house as their future home. This quality can be exasperated in the living room and dining room as these are the rooms where they will spend much of their time and is highly valued by many potential buyers. However, if replacing the furniture entirely isn’t within the budget there are many options for furniture covers that can go a long way and help to accent the paint job you’ve done on the walls!

The process of depersonalizing a home is a balancing act where you want the house to be a blank canvas for potential buyers to be able to envision the property as their future home but you also do not want the property to be barren and devoid of any personality. Although this can be a challenging part of prepping a home for sale, given enough time and research can improve the results from your home sale. Since the process can be such a balancing act, do not be afraid to reach out to a home stager or realty office here in Tucson to help you along the process!