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Can You Sell a House That Looks Like "THIS" at Christmas?

What are the rules anyhow? Should families trying to sell their home decorate their house inside and out at the holidays? Is this encouraged or discouraged in your book? It looks really pretty at night...don't you think?

Does this make the house look cluttered or too personal? Does it "junk up" the yard with all this "stuff" hanging around in the daytime? As long as it's dark outside you don't notice the clutter. At this house there are even bulbs hanging from the tree if you can see them. Is there an etiquette for homes on the market at Christmas?

I had sellers one year who wrapped Christmas lights all over my sign! I cracked up when I drove by one evening. She had it pretty cluttered inside too...but was I going to tell her NOT to decorate and enjoy the holidays with her 3 young children? NOPE...so I let it ride and she cleaned it up after the New Year.

ANY OUTRAGEOUS STORIES of DECORATIONS at the holidays? Share them or show them if you have pictures...right here!

PS...Do the Northern states decorate as much "outside" with all the snow? I've lived in Florida since I was 6-years-old and can't say I really remember.

Make it a GREAT DAY! ☼

Susie Roscoe

Brandon, FL

Posted by Real Estate Specialist | Brandon, FL | Susie Roscoe on 12/01/2007 06:09 AM

Comments (24)

holidays

Originally posted at: Brandon FL | Valrico FL Real Estate Chatter: Can You Sell a House That Looks Like "THIS" at Christmas?

24 Comments on Can You Sell a House That Looks Like "THIS" at Christmas?

DEC

2007

Hi Susie,

I love all the Christmas lights, some homes have competitions with each other up here. Your sign must have looked pretty cool with all those lights, did it help sell the house....:)

Susie,

Oh my yes, they most certainly do decorate up north. In my neighborhood in Pennsylvania, you could see anything from reindeer on the roof to a snowman tied to the mailbox and many, many things in between! I really like the idea of the lights on your sign...people surely could see it, right? However, you're right, there've been some winters that had so much snow that you had to wait until almost the end of January (maybe Feb. or March!) for some thawing to take down your Christmas decorations! ;)

Susie, How can you not enjoy all those lights? I agree wait until after the new year. Enjoy your December..:-)

Hi Susie, I was asked this question at a listing appt. the other day. If my clients, this time of year, are serious about moving in Dec. then they usually do not decorate a whole lot.

Although, if it is likely a family with kids to buy the home and need to move before Christmas...wouldn't it be a good thing to decorate?

"Move in Ready for your this Christmas! Christmas Tree and all!" Could be good marketing. :)

Were the lights around your sign running? That would be so cool. I'm jealous. :)

Suzanne - it did look pretty cool! This particular house did NOT sell during Christmas but it had incredible lights!

Faith - I'm "for" decorating but it still needs to be show ready. I was just looking for opinions because I wouldn't let a few yard ornaments sway my decision as a buyer.

Matt - I'm with you! I love the lights! Happy December!

I, too, am jealous of your sign in lights! I think we should all do it this time of year. Definately memorable and noticeable! Can't help but love Christmas, and if it's a little too personalized "oh, well!" We typically get less than 100 Christmas's in our lifetime :)

You need to put lights on your yard sign so that it will blend in the rest of the surroundings. I guess that this is something that agent's must contend with during seasonal holidays.

I like it - I love the Christmas time of the year. I wouldn't stop her. I think when a house is all decorated up I think it make the house feel more like home.

Susie, I enjoyed this post !

Christmas is Christmas.....I love touring homes this time of year and seeing all of the lovely decorations.

To me, and I believe to many homebuyers, there is nothing sadder than going into a home that is lacking the holiday spirit and is totally devoid of holiday decor. Of course, it may be their religion does not celebrate Christmas, however to those of us who do, decorations and Christmas go hand in hand.

Yes, people up here in the frozen north (southern Ontario, Canada) go all out on decorations too....it's done tastefully, however the lights are hung and the yard reindeer make their appearance.

((-:

Connecticut residents go all out. In an adjoining town there is a street with every house lit up to the nth degree. I would hate to have their electric bill. Also, we haven't had snow on the ground around Niantic, CT on Christmas Day in about 10 years.

Susie, my opinion is that, yes, it should be perfectly fine to put lights and decorations out during the holidays. They should be removed promptly afterwards though. Having lived in NY most of my life and calling South Florida home now, i can say that there is no difference to the decorating. Everyone loves to do it!

That may be festive, but in selling your home a bit overdone. I would recommend simple wreaths on the windows and maybe a spotlight. Classic and charming.

Susie--I think the photos are hilarious from a northern perspective. People do decorate with all of the stuff...prior to the snowfall. If we don't get any before Christmas, it looks just like yours...with brown grass, dead looking trees and junk all over the yard. But when the snow comes and the lights twinkle from under a blanket of snow, it is magical!

As for what to do for decorations when selling...I would recommend to my clients that if they have 3-4 boxes of decorations, only use one box...or less. A few well placed decorations make a home inviting...too many becomes the Grizwold's from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. We want people looking at the house not the decorations! I try to have the conversation prior to the decorations going up to avoid offending the client...Once up, I would live with it and recommend immediate removal Jan 1!

Susie- I do think decorating for the holidays brings a certain warmth to the environment, but as I stager I note two things: 1) a potential buyer might be thinking "will this seller be willing and able to close as quickly as I'd like with all these decorations, in the timeline I have in mind and 2) just as Jo-Anne said in her comment, she "loves touring homes this time of year and seeing all of the lovely decorations" - while some decorations can create an emotional connection , too much becomes a distraction and soon the decorations can become the focus.

Jackie

These are three or four weeks of the year that you can never get back. If you don,t decorate and then your house doesn,t sell during that period anyway(Typically a slow time) then you,ll just have double dissapointment

I tell homeowners to not set up yard displays. It is too distracting.

If a seller is serious about trying to sell this month, I would recommend limiting the holiday decorations. Remember, not everyone celebrates Christmas and some potential buyers may find it offensive.

Less is more. However, it is the holidays and if they have children, I try to tell them just not to go over board with the decorations. Making it warm and cozy this time of year does help a home to sell...but put a limit on it, especially inside.

Christmas decorating is fun and does bring a lot of warmth and color to a cold, drab season. But if selling your house, it should be tasteful, at least. A house is for sale a few blocks down and they have Santa in a hot-air balloon hanging in a tree, along with about a thousand other "decorations", even leaving a scary halloween zombie sitting on a bench looking up at Santa.

Something tells me this house won't sell during the holidays...

This is what I advise...

"Decorations can sometimes be BEAUTIFUL distractions."
"The home needs to be the star... not the stuff."
"If you must... less is more when selling."

Hi Susie,

I'm a fellow Floridian, transplanted to TX though. Those FL Christmases spent at the beach...

Anyway, I'm not going to link it here, but I just posted an article I wrote to my blog about this very subject. As in all things, MODERATION is key (and you know everything is bigger in Texas!)

As Craig said above, the home should be the star not the stuff.

Merry Texmas! texas flag

When the decorations are simple and tasteful I'd say yes but if they have a collection of 1300 Santas, villages that spread from every room and themed trees everwhere I'd say no.

DEC

2007

you know I really think people expect the place to be decorated over the Holidays if someone is living in the home. you can't expect people to ignore the Holidays just because their house is for sale.

DEC

2007

No junk or clutter in my book when it comes to the holidays, all bets are off... Bend all those staging rules I say!

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