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You know what makes me crazy is the buyers, my friend does real estate and she says a lot of the new buyers don't even want to paint the wall if it is a color they do not like. I mean barring some crazy decor I do not understand this. I mean even when you rent you like to paint right? Whatever
When we bought the 1st 2 times we bought real handyman's specials, so, these fussy buyers bothered us, Big Time.
You have to detach yourself & see this as a business transation. If there are tons of mint houses on the market there is no real reason for someone to settle for one that needs work. If the market is tight you can see bidding wars for houses that need lots of TLC.
So, if the buyers look around & see there are hundeds of homes in their price range, they will look untill they find one with paint they like... because they CAN.
Trust your realtor's assessment of your particular situation, and go to some open house to see what the competition looks like.
As annoying as it was, we painted (the smell of the new paint was just as impressive as the color!) changed out some bathroom fixtures & a ceiling fan, & packed all the clutter (including outdoor toys & stuff) that made our house "our house." I even staged the patio!
You know what makes me crazy is the buyers, my friend does real estate and she says a lot of the new buyers don't even want to paint the wall if it is a color they do not like. I mean barring some crazy decor I do not understand this. I mean even when you rent you like to paint right? Whatever
Gees! If that is the case, I bet there are MANY sellers who would be willing to repaint their house in the colors the buyer chooses if the buyer put money where their mouth is.
Here in Portland (where housing is more expensive) many realtors have told us that there are a lot of people looking but only a small percentage of the lookers are serious buyers. A few years ago (here) realtors did not have to look far to find serious buyers so lots of people became realtors. Now the market has slowed so some of the less established realtors are showing properties to folks who are just looking, hoping they will bite and buy. So some of the people looking at your home might just not be in the situation to buy in your price range or might not be highly motivated. I hope that's not the case. IMHO, it's a waste of everyone's time.
Hang in there. The right person will walk through your door eventually. And just think there might be an even better house in NC that hasn't hit the market yet ...it's waiting for you to sell your current house!!
Whoever told you this was wrong. Believe it or not, most homes look bigger when they are furnsihed and painted in non-neutral colors. For example, I just bought a house that has suede paint in the master br, stainglass light fixtures, and nice colors in the other rooms. This was very appealing to me since I like the colors and I don't have to lift a paintbrush. The home had been on the market 9 days when we made our offer and they accepted it the next day. Here are some helpful articles.
Search page Local News | News for Charlotte, North Carolina | WCNC.com (http://www.wcnc.com/blcS.sc?search=home+staging - broken link)
Just for an example, I just sold my home (in about 1 week) which was built in 2003. But one of the comments left was that it looked 'outdated'. Wha??? How'd it get outdated in 4 years?!?
Yeah, like What the....
I'd like to see pictures of the new house that's outdated. I could use a good laugh this week! I guess it depends on where they were from, too. Huh.
The first offer we got was 20K below our asking price!
We were not too happy about that.
We managed to get within 8K of our asking price after 3 days of negotiation.
My parents have moved all their life (military) and what they have learned (from realtors) is that it is common practice to initially offer 10-20% lower than asking price on a home. One needs to be careful about not low-balling because it can insult the seller so much they won't want to sell it to you anymore even if you offer an outrageously high amount. It becomes personal. So it really is a matter of finesse' and knowing the market well.
Hang in there. The right person will walk through your door eventually. And just think there might be an even better house in NC that hasn't hit the market yet ...it's waiting for you to sell your current house!!
Awww, I like that thought & so did hubby. Thanks! We're trying to stay positive, (that we won't be stuck here forever). LOL
Honestly I'd prefer white walls over some of the colors I see in the MLS photos. Maybe I'm just a neutral kinda person. I also have no desire to have ANY wallpaper - I've had nightmares with that in the past. My current house is white, very white - and it's gonna be painted some neutral shade before I sell it. In my price range I expect it to sell fast, so I'm not going to try to second guess what colors people "might" like.
Its a fine line between being neutral and being boring. Neutral appeals to a wider audience, but if the house has no personality and looks like every other home they see, then its a turn off.
Maybe you can think about it from a different perspective - does it feel warm and welcoming? Is there anything you can do to infuse some personality into the home?
I went on a shopping spree yesterday and purchased some accessories to add a little color to some of the rooms. It is very easy to get carried away, but I think I did okay. We didn't have one showing yesterday, so hopefully today we will. The house will be on the market 1 month next week. I know I need to be patient, but I have heard things slow down after the first month on the market. One of our neighbors is having an open house today around the corner and our house blows theirs away and is 50,000 less. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we will have some activity.
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