How “neutral” are you?

Anyone who has ever sold a house can probably attest to the fact that it is stressful. You have to figure out how to live your daily life while at the same time maintaining a certain level of “house readiness.” You have to be prepared when your agent calls and wants to show your house in the next five minutes. If you’re like most people, you immediately hang up from your agent and start cleaning like crazy! But is a clean house enough? If the decorating shows on TV are to be believed you must neutralize your decor before you can reel in just the right buyer. But how “neutral” is neutral enough? Are you destined to live with boring beige until your house sells? And who has time to redecorate for someone else anyway?

Years ago when I was house hunting there was one house in particular that stood out in my mind. It was an unassuming ranch house. When I drove up to the property the selling agent came outside to meet me. She wanted to “caution” me that the house was owned by a father and son and that they had done the decorating. She reminded me that I could always paint. I was intrigued! When I walked inside I saw a rather bland (aka neutral) house – with the exception of the living room which was painted bright aquamarine! Was that the reason I didn’t buy the house? No.  But the color choice – and the agent’s reaction – made me wonder if the color alone would deter other buyers.

Today there are a wide range of colors and paint products that can help homeowners to neutralize their decor and still set themselves apart from other homes on the market. Before you repaint your entire interior white, get advice from your real estate agent, an interior decorator, or your painting contractor to choose the right color palette for your home. The goal is to set your home apart in a good way, not to have it blend in with all the other neutral homes on the market.