Although this is a very cute house and quite a novelty, it is a prime example of going a bit far in the realm of “taste specific” choices.  I am sure that there would be a niche market for a house like this. After all, there are a lot of Lord of the Rings fans out there ( I liked the movies too, and own them all).  But how many fans would actually want to live in a hobbit house on a full-time basis?  I am guessing that not many of even the staunchest Lord of the Rings fans would be willing to go that far.  Maybe as a vacation home-like a fun little cabin in the woods.

As cute as it is though,  I would like to use this little house as a slightly exaggerated example of a pretty common problem- personalization.  The longer we live in even a “normal” style home, the more personalized the tends to become.  In most cases, when you are selling your home, your goal should not be to find a buyer that “wouldn’t change a thing” and that has your same taste and hobbies.  To have a much easier time of selling, you want to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible.  The more people that want to buy your house, the better your chances of getting multiple offers, getting offers sooner, and getting full price or maybe even more than the asking price.  Isn’t that what the real goal when selling your house?

Sellers who “take their taste out of a house” help buyers more easily see themselves in the house, instead of being distracted by things like the seller’s family photos, a chartreuse dining room wall, and things like religious artifacts everywhere, a huge PEZ dispenser collection, and/or Lord of the Rings swords above the fireplace.  (Is the buyer going to be looking at the great fireplace feature of the home- or the cool sword that is probably not even included as part of the sale).

In the case of the Hobbit house in this post, the sword is probably okay!  After all, they are trying to appeal to a very tiny niche of buyers.  But chances are, most of us don’t live in a house that is this unusual.   So the rest of us are going to have better results if we stick to the tried an true rules of selling.  Paint the house in more universally appealing color schemes and present a clean and de-cluttered home that does not have any unfinished projects or repairs needed.  That is the formula for making buyers want to make it their home.

I hope you enjoy this little peek at the Hobbit house- I certainly did.   I think it would be “a nice place to visit”- but like so many buyers that see overly-personalized homes… “I just wouldn’t want to live there”.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home, I would be happy to help!  Feel free to contact me using the form below!