you may be starting an argument here-- but I've always made sure a home I sold was clean (always had a pro cleaning company come in before new owners took possession), but I've never patched holes etc. I've made sure to leave all paint clearly marked in case the new owners wanted to patch and paint, but I've never done the patching. Personally, I'd leave the picture hooks. But I'm sure you'll get dissenting arguments.

We pulled ours and didn't spackle or touch up. No one said anything about it. I also wonder if it has to do with certain areas as well. If I spent $400k (NJ prices) on a house I'd like them patched. A $200k house I wouldn't expect it.

We pulled, spackled, and touched up both houses we sold last year. These were on homes that sold for under $95k. I did the same when I moved out of an apartment I once rented. I like to leave things nice.

That said, our sellers pulled some hooks/nails but not all. I'm still finding nails in the walls. Kind of annoying...

Ours were still there when we purchased our house, and I didn't mind it. It actually worked well and we have hung our own pics on the previous owner's picture nails.

If they are the well secured hooks (the ones that are impossible to remove without damaging the walls) then I would rather have them left in.

In our area I do not know of anyone having the PO's freshly paint and patch the house. I think this seems to be related to the area. I also noticed that most owners are around for when we look at houses in our area, although it seems to be the opposite for other areas.

The picture hangers are (arguably) fastened to the house and stay.
The pictures are not.

Pulling nails can cause damage to the wall.

Just leave the hooks.

If you plan on painting prior to selling, pull and patch. If you do not plan on painting prior to selling, leave 'em.

I generally removed most stuff from my walls BEFORE the house goes on the market and make sure it's all been properly patched and painted.
Leaving too many things on a wall can give a season homeowners cause to pause so I like to reduce it as much as possible.
If they were there when you sold the house and did the contract then leave them alone. It's no longer your problem.

Well, my agent says to pull them. But, her answer to everything is "leave it the way you'd like to find it" and since I am somewhat of a perfectionist, I'd be pulling, patching and painting. I told her she could come over and help if she likes! She's actually great and this is all in good fun...

So, I have started to pull some of the hooks by hand. They are the ook brand hooks, so they're easy to get a grip on. The ones that come out easily are not messing up the paint. If I have any trouble pulling one, it stays.

We left almost all of our art collection hanging as we felt it contributed to the mood of the house. We also left all the dramatic paint colors. Not one person who came through said to repaint in For-Sale-Beige, thank heavens. And we sold pretty quickly, for a good price in a tough market (Sarasota, FL) in spite of it all!

We will have a professional cleaning service come in even though the buyers said our house was by far the cleanest they looked at. Also had the trees trimmed this past week, as we would normally do at the start of summer. And we topped up the propane tanks. I'm even leaving them a small lamp for the bedroom and a small supply of basic cleaning items and paper goods. I don't think they'll be complaining about picture hooks!

Thanks for the input everyone!

Hi Amy,

Like you, I left our art on the walls as it added to the look of our house. We also kept our accent walls. Everyone liked them.

I wasn't sure about the hooks either so I asked the buyers what they would prefer. They were very happy I gave them the option and said "please leave them!".

When people like the way you decorate, they also might want to place wall hanging where you had them.

Well, we close tomorrow and I have been too busy to go after all the hooks. I think that if it were me, I'd be happy to be able to hang some of my artwork without having to commit to yet another hole in the wall! So, I will leave most of them after all is said and done.

Hooks were left in place when I bought my house and I was happy to have them. One less thing I had to run out to buy when I painted.

"Well, my agent says to pull them. "

Hope she advised to repair any damage from pulling them ...