Getting your house ready to sell

Boomer, here are four sites which basically repeat the same thing. The tv shows say you can use colour on your walls, but it should be a neutral... however, I sold a house that had a deep sage in the hallway, a wine-burgundy in the dining room, and a deep moss in the kitchen - it looked fabulous and it suited the home (heritage).

Check out these links:

http://www.realtor.org/libweb.nsf/pages/fg303

http://www.globalspan.net/staging.htm

http://homebuying.about.com/od/sellingahouse/ht/homeprep.htm

http://interiordec.about.com/od/moving/a/a_homestaging.htm

Let's see some before and after pics, eh?

Oh, for showings, we had the dining room table set, flowers in the major rooms, candles here and there, ambient lighting throughout the house, and some classical music.

Bake a lot of cookies.

Leave lights on -- LOTS of lights. Even if it's not necessary.

And sorry to say it, but bland probably increases your ability to sell. People who like color and pattern will usually be more interested in creating their own than in living with someone else's decisions. People who don't like color and pattern can decide they don't want to buy a house just based on that. (I've told you this already but the house we live in now languished on the market for a really long time in no small part because the outside was painted a really bright, unusual color. I liked it fine, but it was a huge turn-off for a lot of people. The previous owners had already decided to re-paint and had a big apologetic note to that effect when we saw the house the first time -- there was a lot more interest after that, but we had dibs.)

People like blank slates. And light. Light, bland colors accomplish both of those things.

That's if you really need to put extra effort into selling in your market, though -- it sounds like things are really hot, there. As in, maybe you could sell more quickly if you blandify everything, but if it's the difference between selling in 4 hours or selling in 12 hours, does it matter?

boomer, do you have any idea about the potential buyers? is there someone concrete that showed interest? if so, can you gage whether they are orderly or laid back? I myself would be far more inclined to go for colors. my mother would go for white... people are just funny that way.

We aren't going to be living here when the house is up for sale so setting the table and that kind of thing won't really be up to us.

With the exception of Mo's room our house is pretty zen - greens and browns. Neutral but not. We did use a particular brand of paint that is super, super popular. The RMLS always lists "painted in Brand X colors" and we're on the neutral end of Brand X.

One thing about the wall colors in the major parts of the house -- I chose them becasue they really highlight the colors in the wood floor. It's an "exotic" wood - epi, and really fabulous. People flip over it. White walls would "bore" the floor.

Mo's room is another story -- it has black and white checked laminate flooring. I can see it working in a gazillion ways but would we be better off carpeting it? I know I'll have to tone down the walls.

My house is an absolute disaster right now so photos wouldn't be a good bet. I should be able to start clearing some things out of it this weekend and maybe I can do some photos then.

I'll check out those links....

Greens and browns are definitely more towards neutral -- I don't think you need or want a hard white, more the creams and taupes and such. Sounds like you're close to that anyway.

Do you mean that other houses use the Brand X as a selling point, and that you used that same brand? That seems like it would also be a reason to keep those colors. And I know you painted pretty recently too, in terms of how fresh it looks.

If the colors aren't too in your face, I would say leave them. Most people are fine with soft colors found in nature. It's when people do the big purple room or pink ceilings or black trim that trouble results. Everything should look clean, including the interior of cabinets and closets. Since you will already be out, clutter will not be a problem.

It's often a good idea to leave a few things in each room - a rocking chair, a nice (healthy) potted plant, neutral curtains on the windows, etc. When I first saw my (now) living room there was nothing in it but a besom broom and a little wooden stool by the stone fireplace - it set a nice atmosphere. Someone had also put a rag doll on the windowsill of the room that was meant to be a nursery, but I turned the space into a walk-in closet. It was like they wanted to whisper suggestions, but not impose.

Yeah... Brand X is a selling point and I used Brand X. A lot of the houses in the neighborhood we bought in, and it's a pretty pricey neighborhood, listed Brand X paint as a selling point.

Brand X is an expensive paint.

And yes, I painted not too long ago.

Mo's room aside, it sounds to me that your colors would be fine, especially if they make the floors wowwee!

Mo's room, well, primer and a quick coat of something. The floor, hmm, what does your realtor say? It's new, right? I might leave it. New owners can always decide to put carpet down...


Now, when I sell my house (hopefully not any time soon), I know I'll be buying primer and some boring off white.... These colors here are nowhere near neutral....
The new owners will just have to live with the floor in the kitchen, if I ever get it down...

Mo's room aside, it sounds to me that your colors would be fine, especially if they make the floors wowwee!

Mo's room, well, primer and a quick coat of something. The floor, hmm, what does your realtor say? It's new, right? I might leave it. New owners can always decide to put carpet down...


Now, when I sell my house (hopefully not any time soon), I know I'll be buying primer and some boring off white.... These colors here are nowhere near neutral....
The new owners would just have to live with the floor in the kitchen, if I ever get it down...

I have sold houses with turquoise colored bedroom, yellow kids room,
red doors and lots of colorful drapes and accessories. If someone likes
the house, they'll look beyond the color. Then again, we live in crazy
California.

Leaving a few furniture pieces is a good idea. I'd rather negotiate on
the price a bit than change things in the house. Just leave everything
like it is, even Mo's room.

Are there different rule for different parts of the country and different seasons?

Like -- our house isn't air conditioned. Most houses here aren't. Leaving all the lights on and making it really bright in August sounds like a bad idea. That time of year people are looking for coolness.

I imagine that whoever buys this house will be a young family or a retired couple judging by the other people who live around here; most likely a young family. Most likely they won't have a lot of money to spend fixing things up since houses here are expensive.

I'll try to get photos of potential problems areas for input....

CJane - I was thinking of some of the photos that you've posted over the years -- like Little Jane's shower and those of the tudor house. Very colorful and fun.

I know I would be much more attracted to a house with a creative spirit.

Would this be cheating?

I'm a professional photographer. I could take photos that could really highlight the better aspects of the house.

Could I photo the house with some of our nicer stuff around, our window treatments, etc. , that we plan on taking with us and let the realtor use those in on the RMLS site?

And what about my vegetable garden? The plants will all still be producing after we leave. Leave them? Pull them out? What?

I don't think using your own photographic know-how is cheating!

The one thing I'd say is to keep it as close to reality -- if well-lit reality -- as possible. I checked out a few houses that were downright false advertising, and it just pissed me off. I don't think you'd do that anyway, but that's something I noticed, in my own reaction and in others'.

I totally don't think using your own stuff falls in that category.

Check out the rules about window treatments, though -- I seem to remember (and this might be just for Ohio) that all window treatments need to stay, as well as anything that is screwed in (mirrors, light fixtures, etc.) I think there's a particular term for that though, and there are exceptions. Also might be something about whether it's there when you start to show the house? Hmm. All I'm sure of is that when we bought this house, the previous homeowners were required to leave that stuff (and broke the rule by bringing one of the mirrors with them, but we didn't pursue it).

People seem to want LIGHT all the time (as in no matter what time of year) but if you don't have air conditioning, I totally see your point there. (Interesting, E.G. and I were just talking about this yesterday. Sozlet and I had spent yet another day at the pool -- about 4 hours -- and he was saying that he just didn't get it. Not his experience at all -- maybe go to the pool to do something, like take swimming lessons, but not to stay there for a big chunk of time and just hang out. We traced it back to his Pacific Northwest childhood, and the fact that it simply wasn't that hot very often. As kids in MN, if we wanted to survive outside for chunks of the summer it had to be in, or in close vicinity to, a body of water. Too miserably hot for anything else. Same here.)

Anyway, I digress...!

House 'presentation' is quite regional.

You'd be hard-pressed to sell an empty house around here - it's just not done. It's usually a hint that the house isn't good for anything - you're really only buying the lot.

Here, if you were trying to sell an empty house for some reason, you'd hire a company to stage it - bring it furniture/lighting/artwork, all that jazz. Staging's a major business in our market.

The ads here have to state specifically what is being taken - including window treatments and plants - so taking photos of things you're taking/pulling out wouldn't be acceptable.

Neutrals are all right in terms of wall colour, but all white/off-white walls are a bad indicator in our market - means the "white-painters"/flippers have come through. People try to avoid flipped houses as it's suspected that the renos are half-assed.

b wrote :



better NOT have any DEAD plants in the garden imo
if necessary , reseed with rye or other quick-growing grass .
i also think you would want the frontgarden to look INVITING .
if you are moving out of the house before sale , will someone keep shrubs and lawn trimmed , flowers watered ?

houses in our neighbourhood usually sell quickly , but one house has been sitting on the market for months !
the family moved out rather quickly some months ago .
the hedge is overgrown , lawn chocked with weeds , flower-pots with DEAD flowers , windows dirty ... people stop , look and drive on !
i'm afraid they'll have to drop the price considerably .
in the meantime they are paying taxes , insurance , basic utilities and losing out on the interest(they could have the money in a bank account or the new house) !
my guess is it's costing them close to $2,000 for every month that the house is not sold - and house prices seem to be dropping !

GOOD LUCK ! WISHING YOU A QUICK AND PROFITABLE SALE !
hbg

I'm often hired to tend or upgrade the landscape of a house up for sale. I agree things need to be kept tidy. Veggie gardens can be a big plus if they look nice. First time home buyers tend to have a very romantic view of veggie gardens- and one filled with tomatoes especially so. Maybe it's my disgust of lawns and what they represent in general, but I think you should leave the gardens and just make sure they don't look messy.

What does your real estate agent say? She would know the local market.