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The furniture in the room with the bar is very large and it looks like it's lining up for some kind of turn. The bar is super disruptive to the flow of the room and makes it seem like the bathroom was wedged in... it's a crowded room with too-large furniture. You don't need a lot of open floor space to make a room feel larger; it just needs to flow.
There is already a living room; what you lack is a dining room. Get rid of the recliner and loveseat in the den, put the dining room table and chairs there, extended as long as possible but still fits that sub-section of the room. Show them that they can close and be able to seat congratulatory parents and themselves. Show that there's room for a highchair. Take the TV off the wall and get rid of the bar. No wires exposed there at all. Put a long table or buffet in front of where the TV was with a large mirror, a runner cloth, and a lamp or two. Have someone come in and switch the dining room light and fan. Get rid of the massive stucco lamp.
In the actual living room, get the bookshelves away from that beautiful fireplace! Put those on either side of the window where the dining room table *used to be.* Set the recliner (or a nicer armchair) on the right side, angled (don't line it up against the wall.) Set the end table to the right of that, with a lamp. It's now a reading nook or potential office area that is removed from the kitchen and living room... what a buyer would want. (And if not, it's an out-of-eyesight area where a children's toys could be... good for having over other friends with children... to talk at the table but still be able to see excused children occupied with something else.)
If you can get rid of the recliner in the living room, please do! It doesn't go with the rest of the room and impedes traffic right at the door. Two people and a realtor don't want to feel crowded right off the bat.
The pots in front of the house look like a kind of pox growing on it, near the foundation. No pots, urns, chairs, tufts of grass, etc. All yard tzatchkes in front need to be gone. It looks cluttered.
I hope that helps and that I didn't come off too harsh! Good luck!
No - these are all great suggestions!
But much of it IS different now lol. Different from the photos.
So if we do all of that, we need to have different photos done then - you're saying?
We have not changed the rooms around, but we have moved furniture, and the front yard is different, with flowers growing for whatever season we are in. No chair is out front in the yard.
Also - if we take the recliner and loveseat out of that front room and make it the dining room (which my sister also suggested) - that is where the front door comes in, would that matter to people?
The room with the bar in it is actually the biggest room. The furniture is not on an angle, but may look it in the photo. I have the bar for sale - so hopefully it will be gone soon! Those are good ideas for that room. The lamp is not big either... but i guess it looks it in the photos. He used a certain kind of lens to take them.
One bedroom is used as an office already, so i really don't want to try to make another area for an office. I can't change that room either, as i use it daily. He did not put up photos of that room, as it was full of boxes the day he took the photos. It's since been cleaned out, and i keep it neat and put my desk things away when showings come thru. We clean, and put just about everything away that we can.
I will talk to my husband and see how many of these ideas would be feasible. Thanks very much.
Last edited by Jellybean50; 09-30-2017 at 03:24 PM..
But much of it IS different now lol. Different from the photos.
So if we do all of that, we need to have different photos done then - you're saying?
We have not changed the rooms around, but we have moved furniture, and the front yard is different, with flowers growing for whatever season we are in. No chair is out front in the yard.
Also - if we take the recliner and loveseat out of that front room and make it the dining room (which my sister also suggested) - that is where the front door comes in, would that matter to people?
No- the front room (with the fireplace) needs the recliner and the bookshelves removed entirely. Then, that room is DONE.
Quote:
The room with the bar in it is actually the biggest room. The furniture is not on an angle, but may look it in the photo. I have the bar for sale - so hopefully it will be gone soon! Those are good ideas for that room. The lamp is not big either... but i guess it looks it in the photos. He used a certain kind of lens to take them.
That room needs:
-the bar, TV, stucco lamp, and couch removed completely. (Sell them, store them, put them in a shed... they just need to be gone.)
-Put the dining room table in the middle of that room.
-Switch the fan-light to where the dining room light is now and the dining room light where the fan used to be, over the new spot for the dining table. Essentially, switch those light fixtures.
-Put the bookshelves on either side of the window in the smaller space where the dining table *used to be.* As they fit.
-Put the beige armchair across from the stove, on the right side of that area, facing the left bookshelf.
-Put the end table to the right of that chair and put a lamp on it.
Quote:
One bedroom is used as an office already, so i really don't want to try to make another area for an office. I can't change that room either, as i use it daily. He did not put up photos of that room, as it was full of boxes the day he took the photos. It's since been cleaned out, and i keep it neat and put my desk things away when showing come thru. We clean, and put just about everything away that we can.
People can easily change the contents of a bedroom. Keep your bedrooms as they are. The living spaces? Not so easy to visualize, especially with the TV wired into the wall, a bar that guards the TV and partially blocks the bathroom door, and the ceiling light fixtures all wrong for them to make that leap on their own. You currently have one crowded living room, an oddly-laid out den with a bar and TV protruding from the wall, and a too-small dining area on the other side of the den. That doesn't work for most people.
Quote:
I will talk to my husband and see how many of these ideas would be feasible. Thanks very much.
This is where I will just be harsh. These ideas are all feasible, on their own. Your husband will not like it. BUT - he doesn't have to like it. Does he want to keep it the same way or MOVE? Ask your husband if he'd actually like to sell the house or stay in it until you grudgingly accept lower than what you thought was your rock bottom, a year from now. The current setup is not useable for most people. You need to make it convenient and realistic for THEM, not yourselves. You're selling them the HOUSE, not your husband's furniture-arrangement preferences. He can do whatever he'd like in the NEW house.
Your realtor will RUN to re-take the pics when you're done making the above changes. Currently, he's either given up and is lingering until the end of the contract or is afraid to lose your listing by telling you to make these changes. And while he might be afraid to lose your re-listing or get a reputation for being too harsh; I'm not. :P
The only way the current living room would favorably become a dining room is if there wasn't carpet. Carpet is hell in a dining room... are there wood floors that match the kitchen, underneath it?
No- the front room (with the fireplace) needs the recliner and the bookshelves removed entirely. Then, that room is DONE.
That room needs:
-the bar, TV, stucco lamp, and couch removed completely. (Sell them, store them, put them in a shed... they just need to be gone.)
-Put the dining room table in the middle of that room.
-Switch the fan-light to where the dining room light is now and the dining room light where the fan used to be, over the new spot for the dining table. Essentially, switch those light fixtures.
-Put the bookshelves on either side of the window in the smaller space where the dining table *used to be.* As they fit.
-Put the beige armchair across from the stove, on the right side of that area, facing the left bookshelf.
-Put the end table to the right of that chair and put a lamp on it.
This is where I will just be harsh. These ideas are all feasible, on their own. Your husband will not like it. BUT - he doesn't have to like it. Does he want to keep it the same way or MOVE? Ask your husband if he'd actually like to sell the house or stay in it until you grudgingly accept lower than what you thought was your rock bottom, a year from now. The current setup is not useable for most people. You need to make it convenient and realistic for THEM, not yourselves. You're selling them the HOUSE, not your husband's furniture-arrangement preferences. He can do whatever he'd like in the NEW house.
I dont mean my husband has to "approve" the decisions. Our sheds are FULL to the max. We have no where to store anything else unless we rent a unit, and we are living paycheck to paycheck as far as paying someone to move the fixtures. I know it won't cost that much - and it's about selling the house - but i'm being honest, as you are. Just living our life as we best know how. My husband had heart surgery, so he has a need to be in on things as far as some of his comfort goes. Thanks again.
I'm not going to read the thread for a 3rd time - but have you been in contact with anyone on your agent's team that suggested some staging tactics, and knows you should have new pictures?
Jelly, just a suggestion. Your house will appeal to retired folks moving from high priced/taxed NJ 'burbs who wish to stay somewhat close to kids and grandkids in NJ.
Your floors and windows are a lovely asset, show them off by taking the window treatment off where you can (living and dining rooms?).
Arrange furniture to show the lovely floors!
Once the bar sells and you move out some of the excess furniture, yes, re-stage everything and take new photos. I can't comment too much on price because I think the listings that popped up at the bottom of the page may not be the same neighborhood but I would ask your agent for an updated market analysis and make sure that you are at the right price.
There are some nice things about the house, but it definitely felt overwhelmed by furniture to me.
OP, I didn't see a garage mentioned, or a photo of one? Is it true you don't have one? It looks as though at least some of the competing properties have garages, and in a climate like NJ's, lack of a garage would be a BIG drawback for me and I would have to figure about $50K to add one.
If the DOM reported for the other properties shown (6 mo to 1.5 yr) are accurate, it appears the local market is on life support and nothing is selling. There is not going to be a whole lot you can do about that except hunker down or sell at a deep, deep discount.
The median price in the area is $135,000. That is your competition.
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Put those on either side of the window where the dining room table *used to be.* Set the recliner (or a nicer armchair) on the right side, angled (don't line it up against the wall.) Set the end table to the right of that, with a lamp. It's now a reading nook or potential office area that is removed from the kitchen and living room... what a buyer would want. (And if not, it's an out-of-eyesight area where a children's toys could be... good for having over other friends with children... to talk at the table but still be able to see excused children occupied with something else.) 
