Home Decor Plays an Important Role When Selling Your Residential Real Estate

We all have our own personal style, but how much of that should you show off when it comes time to sell your home? A lot of us do like to decorate and have our own style but it may not translate so well when someone new comes into our home to consider buying it.

Below are real questions I have received from people who are trying to buy or sell their homes. I think there is some value here for many others who may be wondering about the same topics.

"We have our home on the market now but I haven't been able to convince my husband that he should put his trophy deer heads and animal skins away until we sell...what is your opinion on this topic?"

One of the toughest things to do when you walk into someone's home is to tell them they need to get rid of their trophies of various kinds because we all have stuff that's important to us. This question brings up not only the importance of de-personalizing your property, but also in remembering who the buyer is.

For example, a few years ago I listed a home that belonged to one of the former Tennessee Titan players. When walking into this home you could feel the testosterone. Instead of a table, the dining room had a big piece of exercise equipment right in the middle of the room; there were jerseys around, and there were men's magazines lying around.

I had to be honest and tell him that about 80% of the time, if there's a couple involved in the buying process, it's the woman that's picking out the home. And if a woman doesn't feel welcome in a home or feel that it's a safe place, then she's not going to enjoy that home no matter how well it's priced. He had to de-personalize and make if more female friendly so we brought an interior designer in to help. This home had been on the market for 6 months and had not sold, and I know it was because of the décor, because as soon as we got rid of all the "guy stuff" and made it more neutral and female friendly it sold in a short time.

"We have been trying to buy a home for a few months and every time one comes on the market in one of the neighborhoods we want to get into, it seems someone else beats us out. What can we do to know about new listings as soon as they hit the market and be the first in line for the good deals?"

That is a good question. There are online services, free of charge, for people who are serious about looking for a home. Various real estate websites allow you to select your own criteria such as the type of home you are looking for, what kind of area you want to stay within, and many other elements. You can save your home search criteria and then provide your email address and contact information so these services can send alerts to you. The MLS database will be searched twice a day and immediately email you when any new homes hit the market; that could mean a price reduction, or a new listing that fits your criteria. This is a great tool because nothing is more frustrating than falling in love with a home and then finding out that you can't have it because somebody else beat you to the punch. In certain areas the market is changing and it's important to stay on top of the listings.