When people are selling their house, it's often a fault to try and sell their home. This may seem like a weird statement to make, but a house and a home can be two quite different things. Buyers are seeking to purchase a house - and then turn it into their own home. You are selling your home - so to some degree, you need to turn it back into a house.
Has that made it any clearer?
Think about some of the things that make the property you are currently living in a real home. It's the personal touches that deliver a lived-in ambiance. Anyone who is inspecting your property, with a thought to buying it, has to find a way beyond that to see it as a home for themselves, and probably, their family. Imagine trying to sell a painting that people could only examine through a filter screen!
Remove, or adjust, the personal barriers
If you are still living in the property then you obviously can't completely depersonalise or declutter it. But, at least, you can control the number of items that might hamper the person inspecting it from building their own vision of this house as a home.
Many homes are stacked full of personal photos. Every wall and surface is covered - and, generally, that's brilliant. However, if they are all still in place when a potential buyer looks round, it becomes more difficult for them to imagine how it would look with all their chosen images on display.
Certainly, leave some where they are - you don't want to make an impersonal impression - but also ensure there is plenty of space so potential buyers can envision their own belongings in your home.
Other distractions
Along the same lines, homes often reflect the hobbies and interests of the owners. Not everybody will think yours are as wonderful as you do! Hopefully, as an extreme example, nobody would leave a half-repaired bike sprawled across a room - although, as people in real estate sales will tell you, it has been known! Again, some decluttering will be helpful.
Preparing to sell - and move
Removing the things we're talking about will be part of your moving process. Get a little ahead of yourself by packing up some of the personal items in your home. Our team here at House Estate Agents know that this can then present a slightly more attractive potential home for those who come to view it.