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Some kind folks here looked at our agent's photos of our house a while back and made suggestions which we gave to her. Here are the photos she took (had to go out to buy a certain camera -- I would have thought with some years of experience she would have already owned a good camera.) What do you think?
We've had this home on the market for a long time. The consensus seems to be that while priced right, the taxes are too high and people are afraid of heating it. The last year we lived there ('06-'07) we used about 1100 gallons of oil. Th windows are replacement windows, at least. The taxes ARE high to me compared to other places in the neighborhood, but we've had them come out and reduce them once, and they just went out again and said they won't reduce and couldn't believe how low of a price we're asking (me either -- we paid $185k, lol.) Ideas?
The last pic is the master which the tenants we had in there painted -- we said a "neutral" color -- guess we should have defined the term. It is not that bad in person, however. The front hallway/stairway is dark and we had planned to remove the wall paper had e continued to live there. We put in 10K for the kitchen but it's not high end by any means We replaced the blue carpet there with bamboo flooring, new counter tops (not granite obviously) new sink, stove top, DW and fridge (not stainless steel however.) It's not a high end house for sure.
I am not impressed with the pics regardless of price range, but if your not going to freshen up some paint in hallways and and ditch the orange paint, old wallpaper, maybe stage it with a little furniture asking the agent to take new pics (although easy) may be fruitless. Fresh paint even a few pieces of furniture and fresh pics then you should be off and running. Also house looks big on the outside, but interior pics make it feel small. maybe a couple end to end shots or a few camera tricks to show the homes size like backing out of a room/doorway while taking pics of a room to maximize the feel. Seems like most the pics are of the corners which makes things feel small to me.
I agree with Eric. I think the photos are still unappealing. The red room has to go. It just ruins the house as far as I'm concerned. I understand that this is not a high end home, but visually that room is a real turn off.
The kitchen looks drab and I would hire a stager to do some accessory staging in it, to liven it up a bit. The fireplace in the living room (not the red room) looks like it has soot all over it. I remember your previous photos are these are a lot better than the original ones (although the main photo is blurry). Your agent is moving you in the right direction, but get a stager to help. Your home lacks web appeal.
Some kind folks here looked at our agent's photos of our house a while back and made suggestions which we gave to her. Here are the photos she took (had to go out to buy a certain camera -- I would have thought with some years of experience she would have already owned a good camera.) What do you think?
We've had this home on the market for a long time. The consensus seems to be that while priced right, the taxes are too high and people are afraid of heating it. The last year we lived there ('06-'07) we used about 1100 gallons of oil. Th windows are replacement windows, at least. The taxes ARE high to me compared to other places in the neighborhood, but we've had them come out and reduce them once, and they just went out again and said they won't reduce and couldn't believe how low of a price we're asking (me either -- we paid $185k, lol.) Ideas?
The last pic is the master which the tenants we had in there painted -- we said a "neutral" color -- guess we should have defined the term. It is not that bad in person, however. The front hallway/stairway is dark and we had planned to remove the wall paper had e continued to live there. We put in 10K for the kitchen but it's not high end by any means We replaced the blue carpet there with bamboo flooring, new counter tops (not granite obviously) new sink, stove top, DW and fridge (not stainless steel however.) It's not a high end house for sure.
I'm pretty picky, and I have bought and sold homes many times. I have flipped several in bad markets, too.
I looked at the pics and frankly I am a bit surprised it hasn't sold yet.
How's the neighborhood and school system?
Any recent "events" that would scare prospective buyers out of the neighborhood? Have you checked to see if any registered sex offenders have moved into the neighborhood (via your local police department)? Most parents check those things nowadays, and so should a seller!
Also, if you can get rid of the flowery wallpaper, and paint with a color that will brighten the darkness up a bit that should really help!
I don't even know if there are stagers in that area of Maine.
I can say that in person the house looks better -- I just wish there was a way for that to come across online, as I know when people look it's first online and if they are turned off they won't go see the house in person.
I'll ask her about getting someone in to paint the master. It's not red, it's half burnt orange and half yellow. It does sound awful and I was not happy the tenants did it but it does look better in person. How much do you think it would cost to have someone take the wallpaper off in the hall and dining room and paint a neutral color?
Thanks for all the input! Actually, it's on a somewhat busy street and some lookers have been concerned about their kids with no fenced yard. The schools are excellent. The street is on the edge of one of the best neighborhoods in the city, but there are some 2 family apartment houses right next door, so that might be a turn off for some.
I do agree about the wallpaper. It's been rough paying this mortgage and renting a home here, plus reducing the price so much we've had to save money for if we ever close on this place! We'll be bringing over $20k to closing at this price. But it wold be better to spend a few hundred now on paint and labor then to keep paying the mortgage, heating it and insurance.
Thanks for all the input! Actually, it's on a somewhat busy street and some lookers have been concerned about their kids with no fenced yard. The schools are excellent. The street is on the edge of one of the best neighborhoods in the city, but there are some 2 family apartment houses right next door, so that might be a turn off for some.
I do agree about the wallpaper. It's been rough paying this mortgage and renting a home here, plus reducing the price so much we've had to save money for if we ever close on this place! We'll be bringing over $20k to closing at this price. But it wold be better to spend a few hundred now on paint and labor then to keep paying the mortgage, heating it and insurance.
The red room I was referring to is the wall paper room. Honestly on the scale of things the orange room isn't that bad.
You can make it larger with a wider angle lens. If your agent can't get down to 14-18mm then you might want to pay a pro to come in and shoot the photos.
Some kind folks here looked at our agent's photos of our house a while back and made suggestions which we gave to her. Here are the photos she took (had to go out to buy a certain camera -- I would have thought with some years of experience she would have already owned a good camera.) What do you think?
We've had this home on the market for a long time. The consensus seems to be that while priced right, the taxes are too high and people are afraid of heating it. The last year we lived there ('06-'07) we used about 1100 gallons of oil. Th windows are replacement windows, at least. The taxes ARE high to me compared to other places in the neighborhood, but we've had them come out and reduce them once, and they just went out again and said they won't reduce and couldn't believe how low of a price we're asking (me either -- we paid $185k, lol.) Ideas?
The last pic is the master which the tenants we had in there painted -- we said a "neutral" color -- guess we should have defined the term. It is not that bad in person, however. The front hallway/stairway is dark and we had planned to remove the wall paper had e continued to live there. We put in 10K for the kitchen but it's not high end by any means We replaced the blue carpet there with bamboo flooring, new counter tops (not granite obviously) new sink, stove top, DW and fridge (not stainless steel however.) It's not a high end house for sure.
despite the fact that I really LOVE a dark house, most people these days do not. Most people these days want an "open, airy, light" house. This translates into light colors all the way around.
I think that your home is lovely but people are going to be frightened away by the dark colored wall paper and walls, and yes even the wood work. My advice is to lighten up everything as much as humanly possible. I know that is hard for you to understand, since the decorating is in keeping with the color theme for the age of the house and everything. But it is just what people WANT, dumb or not.
I just emailed the agent to ask her to coordinate some estimates. I do think it will be well worth it to lighten it up. I ain't touching the woodwork though!
Silver -- now I understand. The "red" is actually "pink" but I agree that it's a bit much -- we had planned to do that over at some point but moved away, and I guess we figured that since everyone has their own style it would make sense for the buyer to do it the way they want.
I think your home is charming and could really be great if it were painted and staged. Like the fireplace is lovely but looks cold since there is nothing on the mantal. And I think the red and red wallpaper make the dining room look even darker than what it probably is. The kitchen cabinets are dated but it wouldn't look that obvious if the kitchen was painted.
Good luck! I love this type of home. BUT I would never buy a home that was to be heated by oil...Just me!
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My advice is to lighten up everything as much as humanly possible. I know that is hard for you to understand, since the decorating is in keeping with the color theme for the age of the house and everything. But it is just what people WANT, dumb or not.
