Do we take these family drawings down?

I've read that you should take personal photos down because it is harder for a buyer to see themselves in the house with your photos (which I think is ridiculous, by the way).  Should I take these drawings of my kids down ?

While you may  believe that this is a silly point there is lot's of truth behind the addage "less is more". Too many personal mementos will distract people from seeing the real home that will come from purchasing your house. That's right to buyers it's just another house and it's all about the merchandising. Neutral sells.

Best of luck with your sale

Great pictures of your family!

Home buying and selling is an emotional process and as a professional home stager one of the first steps I tell my clients is to "emotionally detach" from your home, make it become a house = product to be sold like any other on the market.

Personal items such as photos, name tags/artwork, diplomas whatever it may be keeps your home YOURS still and buyers do see these items as YOURS not theirs.

Another reason I tell my clients to remove photos, names on art, calendars etc. is for security. A number of people will be viewing your home and personally I don't want my children's identities involved in the selling process. So for this reason alone most people agree.

A suggestion for you though is to replace the current pictures with more generic ones as you are right, you don't want a bare wall necessarily where that space is (I can't tell from the photo). Maybe you have other artwork in the house or you can find something very inexpensively at places like Marshalls or TJ Maxx.

While I am in agreement with the other two folks who posted here regarding the removal of personal pictures, I will chime in from the home buyer's perspective... I will tell you that when I first went home shopping, I was completely distracted by looking at photos of the home's inhabitants - and if you are selling your home, you want 100% of a buyers attention on the house itself, not the details of the life of people who currently live there. One wedding picture that was in the master bedroom of a home was so intimate that I felt like I was intruding.... and frankly, as a buyer, I should be feeling welcomed, not intrusive! Right? So yes, I highly recommend de-personalizing by way of removing family photographs. It will have a subtle but dramatic influence on prospective buyers.

Absolutely! The drawings are really no different than personal photos. They make it difficult for a potential buyer to imagine themselves living in the house. Pack them up to display in your new home. 

A few decades ago the military ran a study on what distracts soldiers (read that as 'most people').  Faces were one of the top distractions, impacting even soldiers under battle conditions.  Add to that, numerous recent studies that show most people stop what they are doing to look at a baby's face and try to make eye contact (take a baby to the mall if you want to see this one in action).  This happens very quickly even when the baby is a picture and not the real thing.  Now add that this is obviously a 'personal' work of art and you have most buyers forgetting your house and concentrating for a few seconds on the picture.  I tell my clients, you do not want buyers exclaiming "What a beautiful child!"   You want buyers exclaiming "What a beautiful fireplace!"

Hi Marcos A,

These are very nice drawings. When I show homes in Dallas, TX area most of my clients look at family pictures of the homes. They are mostly nice family pictures or drawings but possible home buyers get distracted easily, they can not remember the home but they only remember the family pictures or drawings. At the begining of my real estate career, I did not believe in this either but after many years and many clients act exactly the same. It is your decision to make the change but it is better to get ready for your new home...Good luck...