When you're preparing your home to go on the market, one of our main goals is to help buyers see themselves living in the space. That means creating a neutral, welcoming environment that allows them to focus on the house itself -- its layout, its features, its flow -- not on the people currently living there.

And yes, that sometimes means taking down a few family photos.

To be clear, it's perfectly fine to leave a personal photo or two here or there, especially if they blend naturally into the decor. But if you have a full wall of family portraits or dozens of family photos throughout the home, it might be time to scale back.

Why? Because buyers are naturally curious. If they walk into your home and see a hallway of framed pictures, they'll stop and start trying to piece together your story -- how many kids you have, what ages, where you've traveled, and much more!

And while that curiosity is totally human, it takes their attention away from where it should be -- on your home, and whether it's the right fit for them.

So, when we meet to prepare your home for the market, we'll walk through together and identify any spots where personal photos -- or other types of distracting decor -- might keep buyers from seeing the bigger picture. It's not about erasing your family from the home -- it's about helping buyers picture their own life in the home!