Okay, admit it.  You've done it.  Maybe not while you have the house listed, but eventually. We all do.  Sometimes, there is just something that sticks out - some oddity or strange thing that causes a house to be 'named' and sometimes even labeled. 

For example, I recently viewed a house on an agents caraven.  It is really cute with a nice layout and some charming farmhouse details.  It presents well from the outside as it is a neatly landscaped brick ranch, but the minute you walk in the door, you know what to call it. It is the COW HOUSE.  There are cow figurines, cow artwork, stuffed cows, cow wallpaper borders, outlet covers painted like cowhide, and so on and so on.  There are even cow statues in the back garden.

Then there was the CREEPY HOUSE.  It is an older home with great architectural features such as the original wood floors and gorgeous built ins for miles.  What was wrong with it?  Did I tell you it was creepy?  It was covered with spiderwebs, the lights were missing half the bulbs and there was a dim eerie light, it smelled old, all of the doors creeked, and it was mostly vacant save for the room that was filled with small wicker furniture for the dolls to sit in. Yep - CREEPY!

So what is the point here?  The point is that these names are born from elements that overwhelm a house and prevent buyers from actually 'seeing' the house as a potential home.  Have you ever had a buyer say "We really want to submit a bid on the CAT PEE HOUSE."?  Didn't think so.

These elements need to be addressed and eliminated before the house goes on the market so that the property appeals to a broad range of buyers, not just people who like cows, don't get creeped out or have no sense of smell.  They must be able to mentally move in to the house to be moved to make an offer and these mental roadblocks will prevent that from happening.

The solution?  Either gather up the gumption to speak to the seller about these issues yourself - and offer real, effective solutions - or hire a stager to do the dirty work.  That is what a staged home is - an attractive, distraction free house that appeals to most buyers because they can see it for what it is, not what the sellers have turned it into.