I don't know what the *should* is but can tell you I plan to leave all hooks, even the smaller regular picture hooks, in place. Whatever was hanging was visible for the purchase so it's not going to be a surprise that there are hooks but holes would certainly look worse, IMO.

The smaller nails/hangers etc I took out. If the hole is really small, an easy way to patch is toothpaste!! Yep it works out doesn't show if you have light colored walls. The larger heavy duty things I left in place. Particularly now since many things require 2 hanger to mount them.

If you aren't going to patch and repaint the holes, then I would leave the hanger. The new owner's will probably want to rehang pictures in several of the locations anyway.

If you aren't going to patch and repaint the holes, then I would leave the hanger. The new owner's will probably want to rehang pictures in several of the locations anyway.

Thank you, everyone, I think I will leave nails and hangers in. Just that they do not look very appealing. They are not old and rusted but they are just not very pleasing for the eye.

Our agent told us to leave any nail in the wall. If we removed a nail it was our responsibility to repair the hole and repaint.

This is a topic that a lot of buyers, and agents, overlook everyday. If my buyer is making an offer on a house that has an above average # of hanging items, I ask my buyers if they are bothered with the fact that the wall, and probably much more, will have to be spackled and repainted. Usually, one just can not repaint the one wall... it usually requires a stopping point where that color meets with the next color.
If it is a big deal to my buyers, I write it up in the offer as an agreed upon repair at contract signing. I do not wait to bring it up during the inspections.
As far as this OP is concerned, I would not worry about it as nothing has been said about it.

Nail holes and hangers are expected in an existing home, unless the pictures were all removed for staging (which, frankly, they should have been but many sellers neglect to do so).

When selling, I've always removed all pictures/mirrors from walls, spackled and repainted to give it as neutral a look as possible. You didn't, still sold it, so at this stage I'd just take your pictures and leave them.

That's what my REA also told me, to leave nails and hangers as is.

I've so far repainted the interior of every house I have bought, so that isn't something I even worry about when buying.

We relocated and rented before buying. We had quite a bit of overlap between buying and end of lease. While we still had the lease the rental house sold. The new owner sent a curt email saying he was going to withhold some of the deposit for cleaning (to his high standards!) and fixing nail holes. First, the house was cleaner than when we moved in and second it was a 1950's house with some updates, that had been a rental for 8 years with several tenants ... I don't think we made any of the holes! The new owner though he could move in because we had moved to our new house, but we still had the lease. Basically we told him he was crazy and that we would keep the lease till the last legal minute ... that put a big wrench in his remodel and move in plans. We got all our deposit back!

I was getting ready to hang some pictures and decorations in the house we are going to list soon. I am thinking now, maybe I should not. I plan to use Monkey hooks to make as small a hole as possible.

Think I should change my mind and just leave the walls bare? Almost every room has a fresh coat of paint.

You could use the 3M hooks that come off of the wall without a trace. They have them in different sizes which will hold different weights. The only thing I seem to recall is that maybe your paint has to cure for 30 days, but I am not sure. HTH

I think you need a help of professionals to remove those hooks...!!

"I think you need a help of professionals to remove those hooks...!!"

What???

I bought a house once, where we specifically asked the sellers to keep all the hooks in. They were all in exactly the perfect places where we could just replace with our own pictures.