Quote:
Originally Posted by redshoe
Selling is harsh in a slower cold housing market. Keeping the homes show ready can be exhausting. How do you stay positive and focused when feedback from showings list things you can't change like. "Our Furnitire won't fit". Rooms too small. Etc?
My home is 2500 sq foot w a 1400 sq foot unfinished basement. Lowest priced in the subdivision but it's rough up here and I'm feeling bummed at all the hard work and money spent to make home look like a model home and no interest.
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I have seen lots of crummy "shoppers" leave feedback that really made the sellers sick to the stomach.
First thing: You can't control what other people, just how you react to it. When it comes the house that you are selling you sound like you somebody that as already taken the time to declutter and make the place ready for showings so if one or two idiots with furniture designed for somebody whose tastes are 100% "super sized" don't give it a second thought --
If the buyers have a couch like that their feedback is not somebody that should alter your vision! {Heck, they should get their eyes checked, maybe their binges on TV dinners should be cut back too...}
Second thing: If you have any kind of decent listing agent they almost certainly have gotten nice pictures online that showcase your home to potential buyers. One of these pictures is going to tell buyers "this home is too small and we could never fit our stuff in it" while the other says "wow, if we move here our lives will be wonderful". Make sure you listing agent has chosen shots that do the latter, not the former --
Sub topic: While I generally agree that homes should be staged to showcase how most people live, my personal view is that if you have a home in an area where it is more common to have kids running around with juice boxes and bowls full of mac 'n cheese it does not make sense to make the whole house look like it is ready for a wine and cheese soiree. That means even a nicely staged room can unfortunately turn-off buyers if it does not reflect the reality of the neighborhood. What is great for a retirement community is going to alienate buyers with kids --
Sure, your buyers are not going to have
white jacquard sofas if they give their kids grape jelly sandwiches, but subconsciously this image tells those buyers with kids this is "not the
HOUSE for us". If you are able to, stage to the EXPECTATIONS of buyers even if that is not how you live. I know it is a pain, but consider your house to be essentially a "
store" where you are
selling buyers a little
'fantasy'. { If you have to promise the kids a trip to DisneyLand or get them prince & pirate customers (that they tuck into their toy chest before you leave for showings) or have to get a 'French Maid' outfit to have hubby hang up his jeans & sweats it will all be worth it! }
I know that sometimes rooms really are kind of on the small side (heck, that might be why you are moving). You can't do much to make it actually bigger. If you just empty the room out and are left with something that now looks even smaller it may be worth consider trying to
play up the fantasy. Consider getting rid of the bed and furniture and make it an extra playroom. If you can justify a fun mural (and that fits with the target of family with pre-school kids for your neighborhood...) you might be amazed at how that formerly "small empty room" leaves buyers WOWED --