What Do You Do With Family Photos During Home Showings?

One important aspect of home staging is removing your family
photos. Why? We’ll explore a few reasons why family photos can
cause home buyers to pass on your property.


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You have probably heard about the importance of staging your home
before you put it on the market. Today, I want to focus on one
specific aspect of staging: removing your family photos.

Everybody sets up their homes to be attractive and comfortable to
live in, but the way we live in a home and the way we sell a home
are very different. Of course, you love your family and take pride
in your family photos. However, in the eyes of a buyer, family
photos are actually a territory marker. 

Like cave paintings, family photos send a subtle message to people.
To buyers, that message is, “If you don’t see yourself in these
photos, then you don’t belong here.”

It’s very interesting to go through a home with buyers when family
photos are out. At the beginning of the showing, everyone is
excited and chatting in their normal voices. As we go through the
house more and more, they start to bring their voices down and
whisper. Why? They feel like they’re in someone else’s den.

“

Buyers need to be able to envision themselves in your home.

”
That is not what you want when you are trying to sell your
home. You want potential buyers to feel welcome, but family
photos make them feel “other.” That is the anthropological
psychology behind family photos.

So, box up your family photos before home showings. If you have
photos that are hanging up and you think you still need a picture
on the wall, here’s a quick tip: slide some kind of neutral
magazine clipping or landscape between the glass and the family
photo, and then you can leave the frame on the wall.

If you have any other questions about staging your home in order to
sell for top dollar, give me a call or send me an email. I would be
happy to help you!