This is a funny but true post - No Nudes is Good Nudes! If you are a seller ditch any of the 'racy' photos you might have or any unclothed pictures, photos, statues of ANYONE in your home. Why make buyers feel uncomfortable if they are overly conservative?
What would be your purpose? Buyers expect that from the Art Institute but not from Joe Homeowner in the suburbs.
I’m not a prude. I promise.
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 pocket doors? No. He started talking about the seller, and why he had amassed such a collection of nudes.
Even though Nudes and Neutralize start with the same letter, they sure have nothing to do with each other. When selling, Nudes out, Neutralize in!
Last year I had a listing where there was a large nude photograph in the dining room. Like I said, I’m not a prude. But 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!
Remember, No Nudes is Good Nudes.
Richard Strahm
Realtor, ABR, SFR, SRES
439 Main Street
Harleysville, PA 19438Direct: (215) 853-2624
Office: (215) 256-1200 x-223
Fax: (215) 529-8931Email: Richard@RichardStrahm.com
PA Lic # RS310765
Copyright © 2010 Richard Strahm. All rights reserved worldwide.
Thank you for the re-blog!!
Yikes! I'll better run to my display wall and take down the pictures taken at the nudist camp when I was single... Just kidding of course! I do not have such pictures (anymore) But I can see how such displays could take the attention away from the house. Good point to remember. Thank you Richard and Lyn.
Antonio
Antonio: Too funny. It really does make buyers uncomfortable.
Richard: Thank you!
LOL, I took some clients through a house recently that was covered with nude photos of the owner when she was pregnant, they were beautiful but my client's boyfriend was extremely unsure of where to rest his eyes!
Lyn - Great re-blog! I have yet to see these types of photos hung in a home, but I have seen playboys laying around. Seller's definitely need to remove items like these.
I thought they only came painted on black velvet?? :)
Liz & Bill: Those are the dogs playing cards another Livingroom favorite.
Carla: Yep, a little too much showin' of the seller. Like Demi Moore in Vanity Fair.
Michelle: It's very uncomfortable & all I do is shrug my shoulders & keep moving.
Lyn,
As a Home Stager we see pictures like this too. Of course we advise the homeowners to neutralize their home to appeal to the most potential buyers. Personal taste is fine for living but not for selling.
I don't know why but this strikes me as pretty funny. I guess it is because I am picturing Richard trying to answer the question of whether to take the painting down or not.
Bill: I just love the title on this post. I'm not sure that Richard has a hard time telling the sellers to take the pictures down as much as what if the 'pictured person' is standing right next to you? LOL