How to respond?

Ralph, what did you end up doing?

Ralph I have avoided commenting until now and I hope your listing is going well. But ask yourself this "Do I want to make my point, or do I want to sell my house?" The agent is an expert at selling homes, he/she only gets paid if the house sells. Take down your art, pull the nails, patch the holes, paint the walls if needed. Get it done so that you have a new home for your art.

I would remove the images for any further viewings. And refuse to sell to; or demand a premium from, the people that have already complained - if they make an offer.

Just about any home show on tv or estate agents recommend 'de-cluttering' and giving the home a 'blank canvas look' = usually with magnolia walls throughout.

Well, we did that to sell our last home over about a year and as expected it took a while to sell. But it did sell. A few years later on I saw that the buyer was selling up after totally changing the colour throughout the house, as well as the layout. So all the work we did was a total waste of time! I believe he would have bought the house regardless of the work being done or not.

Do what you feel comfortable with the house. I believe that, yes, people can imagine putting their 'look' on a house without all the above being done whatever the tv shows etc say. If the price is right, the house is in the right nebourhood for them and about the right size, they will buy. It's just a matter of time in my opinion pictures or not on the walls.

Skiver101 said:

I would remove the images for any further viewings. And refuse to sell to; or demand a premium from, the people that have already complained - if they make an offer.

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Perhaps you are forgetting the goal... to sell the house, not to impose punitive measures against art critics or folks with different values.

Perhaps my 'values' outweigh material gain.

Skiver101 said:

Perhaps my 'values' outweigh material gain.

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That's easy to say when it's not your money.

You can pay dearly for your principles.

I can see the value of clearing a house of as much personality as possible to make it easier to sell. But I do wonder if the kind of people that are put off by the colour of a room would ever be interested anyway. I've actually heard people looking around my property complain about the colour on the walls. You tend to think that when they're spending a six figure sum on a house, a couple of tins of paint shouldn't break the bank.

But in hindsight I think that they didn't like the house enough to buy it and rather than try and articulate their actual reasons (which they were probably incable of doing) they pick on an easy target, no matter how trivial. Had they wanted the property the colour of paint on he walls wouldn't have been an issue.

But to come full circle, a bland and 'safe' decor removes your personal aesthetic from clouding their feeling of a property. I think it's entirely possible some people dislike a house because of the decor and don't have the imagination or common sense to see past the contents and interior design.

As for people being offended, it's amazing how one sided that becomes. They feel entitled to being offended by whatever they like and are yet intolerant of anybody else's opinions and don't care how their actions afffect others. They are so self absorbed they can't see the hypocrisy.

So it's ok to tell you that your picture offends them but they don't care if that is upsetting to you.

You only need to read a few threads on APUG to see that kind of attitude in action ;-)

"There's nout so queer as folk".

Some of the views from the USA completely go against what I was advised when I tried to sell my house 4 years ago. I assume it is mostly the same thoughout you always get a lot of prospective buyers in the 1st few weeks among which are a good proportion of time wasters just being nosey. My house took a good while to shift mostly of which was blamed on the recession and the number of buyers all tried to force a hard bargain. There was a lower limit to which I was prepared to go.

After a conference with the agent it was suggested the Agent did the actual viewing instead of me, on the premise that the agent was entirely neutral and knew what salient points should be brought to the for. So this happened and within a couple of weeks the offer was made and the house sold. What was brought home to me was the house was to be de-cluttered, clean, but still left in a state where the place looked as if it was a comfortable home.

As for your problem Ralph, the person who made the comment was almost certainly a time waster and a mischief maker and should be told to go and annoy someone else. So long as the images on your walls were legal (i.e. not kiddie porn) it is your place, and what you choose to decorate the place with is for you and your family alone. I would have told them so and they would be going with me. If they cannot see past the end of their noses then they have no right to dictate to anyone.

I would not want to sell my house to someone who complained to the "authorities" about my art. A sure sign the negotiations are going to be a SOB.

The house will sell with the photos on the wall -- might just take a little longer.

We've been considering a move, and had one agent suggest painting everything white. And of course removing everything personal. In trying to do as much as possible to make the sale, the price may not be what you hope for. An empty house may sell faster, but it would also suggest that you are committed to moving.

Empty houses do not sell as quickly nor for as much as they would have gotten. That is why sellers pay to have staging companies put furnishing in a house. The furniture and wall hangings help people imaging what the place could look like because many buyers cannot fill the rooms with their imagination. Furthermore the staging furniture is smaller than furniture actually is so that the rooms look larger. In southern California where there is a lot of home sales, staging companies do well and repeatedly in studies are shown to be quite effective.

You'll have to take them down before you move, anyway.

I know I would end up looking more at Ralph's photography than his house.
So if you want to have people pay attention to the house, simplify what is on the walls.
As for those who might be offended by nudity, accept the fact that all sorts of people with all sorts of values look to buy houses. There is no good reason to discourage those who are discomforted by nudity - you want to encourage them instead to make an offer to buy your home.

RalphLambrecht said:

I can't believe what just happened.Our house is on the market.Yesterday our agent held an open house and 30+ people came and took a look.One person found my images on the wall(all my own photographs)offensive,called the agency and demanded that these pictures are taken down. I am now pressured by the agent to take them down to avoid a distraction from the home and to theeby increase the chances of a sale. My first reaction is f&#ck 'em but how would you respond.The images in question are all on my website at rlambrec.com

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I never took the pictures down but the house sold anyway today for 96% of asking price. What can I say; I'm a pig-headed German.

RalphLambrecht said:

I never took the pictures down but the house sold anyway today for 96% of asking price. What can I say; I'm a pig-headed German.

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Well good for you; congratulations! If you are really pig-headed you'll leave the pics for the new owner... to really make your point. Ha ha ha.

It shouldn't make a difference - but it does. I photographed real estate for a few years, and we always tried for a "neutral" look, without personal things in the shot...

You sold it for 96% of the asking price? You guys don't realise how lucky you are..in Australia houses are advertised for a price, and generally sell higher....and when I say higher 10-20% is almost the norm

My wife just sold an inherited house at 110%, with no bidding war... just an above asking price offer for some odd reason. Talk about lucky! Maybe that's because all of the furniture and wall decor was removed.

RalphLambrecht said:

I never took the pictures down but the house sold anyway today for 96% of asking price. What can I say; I'm a pig-headed German.

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Yes, but you did cover them with those censored signs you posted photos of. Right?

thank you all for your thoughts;the house sold for 96%of asking with the pictures up!

congratulations on the sale... now on to the next stage!!!