Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My family and I have been trying to sell our cute, little house on the Northshore of Lake Ponchatrain for about 15 months now to no avail. We had it listed with an agent and showed it dozens of times without an offer last year. We have since sunk more money in it jazzing it up and have had it listed FSBO since Jan. We have even, since June, had it listed to Owner finance. We have had several people tell us they want it, one even signed a lease purchase contract, and they have all backed out. This is my home on Craigs list:
Huge porch and Landscpaed corner lot (broken link)
I don't think it is a bad house. It is very competitively priced for the area. It is 5 years old and shows really well. Any advice you guys have would be greatly appreciated. Any and all suggestions will be taken into account. Don't worry about my feelings, they have already been hurt by this whole situation so give me what you got!!
The house is really really nice. If I were looking to buy and in that area it would be ideal. Some things I would suggest just based on the home shows that I watch would be:
1. "shop in back" should be clearly defined. People don't want to use their imaginations anymore. If it's a shop then it's a shop, make it look like one. If it's a garage then you should make it clearly a garage.
2. Outside looks great but ? about photo number 2. What is laying in the yard? Are those boards? Is there construction going on? If I'm asking, others are too.
3. Kitchen is great. I would suggest clearing off the counter as much as possible. Take out all the extra pieces like bookshelf and microwave stand and make it look bigger.
4.Dog crate, computer stuff a no no. You'll probably have to take the dog on a walk during open houses and such. Animal haters are out there unfortunetly and besides you want the room to look big. Having a computer stand and chair there make it seem like there is no other place in the house to put them.
5. Bedroom seems dark. I know, who wants to sleep in the light? For some reason they always say let as much light in as possible.
Just my 2 cents. Place really seems like a steal for the price.
I've got a house for sale also that I'm out of options on. I'm down to refinancing it and making it assumable. Now just have to find the assumer.
Best of luck!
Your house looks lovely, just went through real estate hell in Boston, so I know how you feel. If I were you I'd rent one (or two) of those storage pods and take about 1/3 to 1/2 of your stuff out of the house. It looks pretty crowded in the bedrooms, and whatever room that is with all the electronics. Really, people want to think you don't own anything!
Also, you may want to direct to another website with smaller, more easy to see photos (of course you have to be able to click on them and see them bigger) with labels so they know what they're looking at.
The market sucks right now, and I can't imagine it's great in the New Orleans area. Good luck to you!
My family and I have been trying to sell our cute, little house on the Northshore of Lake Ponchatrain for about 15 months now to no avail. We had it listed with an agent and showed it dozens of times without an offer last year. We have since sunk more money in it jazzing it up and have had it listed FSBO since Jan. We have even, since June, had it listed to Owner finance. We have had several people tell us they want it, one even signed a lease purchase contract, and they have all backed out. This is my home on Craigs list:
Huge porch and Landscpaed corner lot (broken link)
I don't think it is a bad house. It is very competitively priced for the area. It is 5 years old and shows really well. Any advice you guys have would be greatly appreciated. Any and all suggestions will be taken into account. Don't worry about my feelings, they have already been hurt by this whole situation so give me what you got!!
I would definitely clear away the clutter in the kitchen -- all the stuff on the counters makes it look you don't have enough room. Same with the pictures showing the stuff peeking out of closed drawers and the stuff leaning up on the walls-- it makes your house seem overflowing, and people will think there's no room.
I agree about the boards on the front lawn -- they make it look unfinished.
You also have very heavy dramatic window coverings on smaller windows, but they seem like single tab top panels -- which make the windows seem smaller. I'd ditch the curtains and open the blinds to let the light in -- OR ditch the blinds and use white light curtains that split in the middle and tie them back to show the windows off. Get the light in!
Your hallway is long and EMPTY. Warm it up with a couple of cheap art posters from WalMart or Pier One (framed).
Recover your dining chairs -- easy to do, and if you take the heavy panels down you can use that fabric. Those chair seats should unscrew and you staple on the new stuff. Ditch the bookcase....
If you can afford to rent a small storage area -- I would start packing and storing stuff. Your daughters room seems VERY filled up.
I have cats -- I know Febreeze -- Put it AWAY... if people even see it they will start to imagine odors.
Declutter your bathroom. Toss what you can and use straw baskets that hide stuff. I know it's a pain, but you really have to make it look like no one lives there in the whole house.
Clean your fan blades. Ceiling fans are nice touches, but dirty fan blades are gross.
You've got that beautiful inviting porch and nothing on it -- place a few outdoor chairs and a table and set it up with some plants.
It's sad -- I watch a lot of these home selling shows like Sell Your House on A&E on Saturday -- people really can't wrap their heads around a house that people are living in. They'll go in, and if it's not like a hotel, they'll start critiquing. They will step out of the "Can I live here" mindset and go straight into "What was this person thinking?" mode... which is totally stupid, because they're buying your HOUSE, not your furniture, not your pictures, not your TV -- and not your paint colors. Practically every single person that buys a house repaints it, but that doesn't seem to matter -- if it's a color you would like, they won't be able to see past it.
But when you generalize it, and make it look like no one lives there, all of a sudden they CAN start thinking about themselves living there. It's no longer Look she can't fit all her stuff in these cabinets... how can we -- it becomes Look we can throw great parties here!
What a cute little house! I agree with the other's though: Clear ALL the clutter! I watched one of those "Sell this House!" programs a couple weeks ago. They hired one of those "stagers". The woman came in and removed ALL "personal" objects: photos, knick knacks, etc.
According to her, it is best to make the house as "empty" looking as possible because it allows the buyer to better envision what THEY want to do with the house. She said that otherwise, they are trying to imagine themselves living in YOUR environment. She kept some vases and a few non-personal artwork hanging on the walls though.
Also, remove about 90% of the books on the shelves and tables.(she mentioned that as well). I would change the dark curtains as well. You want to show the house as "light and airy". Also, as a more drastic change, perhaps throw a lighter coat of paint and/or change the lighting in the bathroom.
And I just read the poster above me said the same thing more or less; we must've seen the same show! lol
It really is a cute little house though. I hope it sells really quick so you can join me on my return to the 'Burgh! :-) Hope that helps some!
Ditto what the PP said. DECLUTTER, DEPERSONALIZE. When I put my house on the market I put EVERY personal item away. Every area in your home will now be a public area. Think like window dressers in department stores, in fact, go to a couple of higher end department stores, and look at their displays in the furniture, bedding and kitchen areas. Most of all, do not be afraid to spend some money to get your house sold! I spent about 1500.00. My house was 12 yrs. old. It sold in 11 days. I bought: paint (and supplies), a new refrig., carpeted 1 room, new bedding for 2 rooms, new towels, some art work and home decor items, lots of cleaning utensils, light bulbs (people forget to check that), 3 new lamps, cute baskets and bath stuff. Make your bath look like a spa, the bedroom like a vacation retreat. Clean every closet to the walls, and vacuum them. Clean out cabinets. Give the illusion that there is room to grow in your house. I spent 2 months preparing my home before our realtor came in to see it. He was very happy to see a home READY to show. HTH
As an aside...unless that TITANIC artwork in your dining area has some significance to you...you might want to store it for the time being
By the way, we seem to be moving OPPOSITE of each other! If the timing was a little better (like next year) I would take your house if you took mine. A move south appears inevitable!
Last edited by Hemingway; 10-09-2007 at 07:14 AM..
You guys have pretty much said what i already know. Its just a pain in the Booty to live in a house with nothing in it.LOL. We did it when we had it on the market with the realtor but after it has been on the market so long the obsessiveness about it starts to wane. I had just about all of my daughter toys in storage in the "shed" but everytime she goes out there she grabs something new. Guess I will have to make her trade. As to the books, you guys don't even know. I have literally ten boxes filled with the ones I have already put away. These are the ones I ahve acquired since then We have also put quite a bit into the house and we aren't going to stop until it sells. We have a new project we try to attack every weekend. Oh and the boards were in transit when I tool teh picture. they are no longer there but nobody knows that! So, I guess one of the main things I need to do is spend a day decluttering and take new pictures. The old pictures I have in there don't reflect the new painting we have done or stuff we have moved.
A question for you guys, would you be more attracted to a large work shed or a garage. Ya'll keep in mind, we are in the south and don't have to dodge cold weather I will have new pics later in the week and will get your opinions!!
Oh and thank you all soooo much for your advice. Ya'll got me planning. Since we put the house back on the market, our TV has pretty much stayed on DIY or HGTV so I have tons lined up!!
I would prefer a Workshed, but, either I think would be a selling point. If I were you, I'd try and do BOTH. Have your Hubby set up a little workbench area on one side and leave space for a car on the other. (If it's a 2 car garage) That way, you can appeal to more people in a "best of both worlds" way.
I may be a little biased though cuz I am REALLY excited about the basement/garage in the place I am moving too. I have wanted a workship for a very long time!
You guys have pretty much said what i already know. Its just a pain in the Booty to live in a house with nothing in it.LOL. We did it when we had it on the market with the realtor but after it has been on the market so long the obsessiveness about it starts to wane. I had just about all of my daughter toys in storage in the "shed" but everytime she goes out there she grabs something new. Guess I will have to make her trade. As to the books, you guys don't even know. I have literally ten boxes filled with the ones I have already put away. These are the ones I ahve acquired since then We have also put quite a bit into the house and we aren't going to stop until it sells. We have a new project we try to attack every weekend. Oh and the boards were in transit when I tool teh picture. they are no longer there but nobody knows that! So, I guess one of the main things I need to do is spend a day decluttering and take new pictures. The old pictures I have in there don't reflect the new painting we have done or stuff we have moved.
A question for you guys, would you be more attracted to a large work shed or a garage. Ya'll keep in mind, we are in the south and don't have to dodge cold weather I will have new pics later in the week and will get your opinions!!
I'm 50/50 about the garage or work shed thing. My garage IS our workshed. I think the most important thing is to keep it what it is now, but neat as a pin! If you had to put money into it to 'change' it ( I don't recall the situation with that)then you wouldn't see a 'return' on that money. Put your money into 'window dressing'.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. I think the most important thing is to keep it what it is now, but neat as a pin! If you had to put money into it to 'change' it ( I don't recall the situation with that)then you wouldn't see a 'return' on that money. Put your money into 'window dressing'.
