you should take down all artwork that could be considered remotely offensive. This includes artwork with political messages, nudity, sports teams, religious imagery, and so forth. Other accents, like family heirlooms, should be taken down, as well. While you might very well be proud of that mounted moose head from your grandfather, potential home buyers could be put off by hunting wild game.
GET RID OF RELIGIOUS ITEMS
While it’s certainly fine to be proud of your religious beliefs, affiliations, and convictions, not all home buyers will appreciate religious items on display. Some buyers might not be religious at all, while others may carry completely different convictions from yours, and might find such displays offensive. Buyers who see these types of displays may also make inferences about the types of neighbors you have.
GET RID OF ODORS
Our sense of smell can immediately conjure up both good and bad memories. While agents have used the lure of a freshly baked apple pie to entice home buyers’ olfactory recall, bad smells can have a similarly off-putting effect. What’s worse is that homeowners can become acclimated to the scent of a house, leaving them “nose blind” to potential smells. For instance, cigar and cigarette smokers typically view the smell of smoke in a home as familiar, whereas a nonsmoker might be put off by the same house. The same goes for mold smells, especially in basements, where it can seem like the house could be at risk for flooding from sewers or catastrophes (hurricanes, in proximity to flood plains, etc.).
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