No nudes is good nudes in selling property
Posted on Mon, Aug 02, 2010
Richard Strahm (REMAX) on difficult encounters in houses:
As an estate agent, I’m not a prude, really. But I always wonder what’s up when I show a home that has nude paintings and photographs hanging on the wall.
The nudes don’t make me uncomfortable – but they might make some potential buyers uncomfortable. And an uncomfortable buyer may not remember all the good things about your home. They’ll just remember it as the house with all the nudies in it.
I showed a house yesterday that had an entire wall in the living room covered in nudes. Reproductions of old masters, contemporaries, abstracts. One that I could only surmise was the homeowner’s mother-in-law. Did my client talk about the magnificent fireplace? The wall of windows overlooking the lush back yard? The historic doors? No. He started talking about the seller, and why he had amassed such a collection of nudes.
Last year I had a listing where there was a large nude photograph in the dining room. It was a nude of the homeowner herself, as taken by her artist husband. It sure was a beautiful and artistic photograph. But it made even me uncomfortable knowing I was standing next to the (clothed) model at the time. She asked me if it would be alright if they left the picture hanging while trying to sell their home. It’s so easy to hypothetically say “no” to that question, but not so easy to do in real life!
I put it in the same category of questions as, “Do these pants make me look fat?”
My advice to all people trying to sell their home: Lose the nudes.
If you have to ask yourself (or your Realtor) if something might not be conducive to a sale, you already know what the answer is. “Is this picture too risqué? Should I take it down?” YES! I always tell people that it's not their "home" when it's on the market -- it's a high value asset that they need to get top dollar for!
So, No Nudes is Good Nudes.
Author: Dieter Deppisch