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Old 04-15-2007, 08:09 AM
 
Location: Springfield, Missouri
2,815 posts, read 12,965,224 times
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I like either empty houses so I can see everything, or a very uncluttered home tastefully furnished where I can still see most everything. Staging by professionals is a waste of money in my opinion.
The most important thing is that the house is in pristine condition inside, super clean kitchen and bathrooms, spotless tile or linoleum floors, and vacuumed repeatedly.
When I sold my home in Las Vegas, I vacuumed five times a day (only two days cause it sold on the second!) to get the traffic patterns from all the visitors out of the carpets. I used those socket perfume thingies and had zero clutter.
When I bought my current home, it was empty and the custom details, new paint, new kitchen updates, new carpets, etc. were clearly obvious. I knew it was my house the moment I walked into it.
A clean house that is empty and spotless or spotless and uncluttered has a much better chance of finding a new owner.
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Old 04-15-2007, 04:40 PM
 
19 posts, read 85,685 times
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Default Question on Staging a House for Sale

Would love to hear the realtors advice on this one: I've heard that houses always sell better with furniture rather than empty; however, is that true if your house is nearly new (less than two years old) and you are planning to have the floors rebuffed and coated w/a new coat of poly (to look brand new), to have all the walls repainted a neutral coat of paint and the house professionally clean. The competition will be newly constructed and preconstruction homes in the neighborhood. We thought that since the walls and floors will be perfect (wood floors throughout) that it would be better to put our furniture in storage and sell it looking new. Also which is the better neutral for paint - shades of ivory (what our builder uses) or shades of beige?
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Old 04-15-2007, 05:06 PM
 
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I am in no way a professional... but even in new developements, they like to have a furnished and decorated model home. Just something to consider.
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Old 04-15-2007, 05:11 PM
 
Location: Wake Forest
2,834 posts, read 12,009,424 times
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I think some people can visualize a house without furniture (I have purchased three homes that way), but it is nice when you see something decorated so that you can "compare" your furniture, and determine if things will fit. The place doesn't need to be crammed full, but sparsely decorated. I just think it gives it a more homey feel, and people will like it after they have gone through and looked at spec houses that are empty, yours will stick out!

Paint colors: more builders are going with a beige than the ivory. The beige tones will make your trim and crown molding stand out more than a color that is close to the trim color. Definitely neutrals throughout the house that are not white make buyer's think they won't have to repaint when they move in.

Good luck!

Leigh
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Old 04-15-2007, 05:30 PM
 
Location: Raleigh NC
161 posts, read 682,115 times
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When it comes to "staging a home" your on the right track by painting and cleaning, as you have mentioned. Don't forget cleaning door knobs/hardware and filter exchanges. Power wash where ever necessary. Along with major decluttering, your actual emphasis should be on de-personalizing your home so that a buyer can easily envision themselves in your home. On the other hand you don't want to have the home totally stark of furniture. Model homes that are decorated with furniture and landscape also sell faster than those models that are empty. I would suggest that you keep some simple furniture arrangements, tables/hutch, beds and chests,couches.(not to many pillows). Nice flowers on the tables and clean new towels/simple accessories in the bathroom for show. If you plan on buying a new bedspread, do it now and keep the master bedroom simple. Not to much on the walls by means of pictures especially family photos. Make sure all the kitchen counters are clear and clean. Don't forget your landscape. Try to get your lawn green and trim all bushes. Yellow flowers are said to provoke a buying feeling. A nice neutral color is a light taupe, it shows up nice against all the trim work and is a bit warmer than the ivory. If you do go bold with any color-try to reserve it for a dining/eating area and go with a warm terra-cotta color. In my experience, these colors seem to appeal to many. If your not trying to sell on your own, a good realtor can help you along. I usually take a some time helping my clients through this tedious rearrangement. I also provide some quality goods for borrow that really can enhance the look. It's not about redecorating, it is about setting a stage. Some of the most tastefully decorated homes can benefit from a stage setting. You are on the right track, statistics have shown that your home will sell faster and for an optimal price. Good luck!
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Old 04-15-2007, 05:44 PM
 
374 posts, read 1,595,633 times
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I'm no professional either...However I have just finished 2 trips to Raleigh where I searched thru almost 75 homes and I can tell you that when comparing new construction to the nearly new, a lot of the nearly new ones turned me off simply because they had someone elses furniture in them. Sometimes it was the furniture that we didnt like and it was really hard to look past it. Other times people had gone "faux painting CrAzY" and that was a real turn off. The best re-sells were the ones that almost looked uninhabited with minimal furniture and pictures and that had neutral but not white/cream paint. (khaki and tan looks the best).

Some of the homes we went in were staged beyond the ridiculous! I mean th dining room table was set with the good china and crystal, full napkin ring display and 4 foot high floral arragements. I am not that type of decorator and i was not impressed with it myself. Maybe some buyers are but i think its better to err on the side of simplicity.
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Old 04-15-2007, 06:20 PM
 
72 posts, read 297,741 times
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Do you think the neutral colors are necessary for bedrooms as well? We have a 2 year old house as well, and we have a PINK girl's bedroom and weren't sure whether repainting was necessary - would this turn people off? Also, should ALL the walls in the house be painted? Some of ours we never got around to painting so they are still pure white (master, upstairs foyer/hall). Should we really have the WHOLE house painted neutrally, or would having a couple rooms unpainted give a buyer a chance to choose their own colors?
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Old 04-15-2007, 06:24 PM
 
1,219 posts, read 4,210,278 times
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I agree...as a buyer, I have looked at both furnished and unfurnished houses and really, I prefer empty ones. I just have a hard time visualizing MY stuff while looking at someone elses stuff.

Of course, usually people actually LIVE in the house they are selling so therefore, need stuff : ) In fact, we sold our own home while living in it with all our stuff. But, if the house for sale is in a neighborhood where most houses are new and empty, then I'd be more favorable to it if it also were new-looking, which I equate with empty. Just my opinion!
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Old 04-15-2007, 06:35 PM
 
4,606 posts, read 7,673,001 times
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If new construction is your competition I would agree to have the house empty and up to "new" standards. And the edge also to having an empty house is people need somewhere within a certain amount of time, so they may think that is an option with an empty house.

I believe now a days tape measures are a must when searching for houses to measure room sizes and door ways and walls etc. for better notions of fitting your furniture. And the sellers furniture is not really necessary unless it is part of the sale. But that is just my thinking,
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Old 04-15-2007, 06:43 PM
 
237 posts, read 1,027,887 times
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I have never had a problem buying an empty house but I honestly dont think it is realistic to expect a person to LIVE in an empty house while they are trying to sell it. I think their are advantages and disadvantages over new construction and resales. Resales usually have more wiggle room in the price where as we have found new construction prices tend to be firm. As far as timing, I wouldn't assume every resale needs a lot of time to get out. I know for us, if we were to get an offer and people wanted us out in two weeks, we'd take the offer! It would be hard but not impossible. Many times new construction is not move in ready. There are a few last minute odds and ends. We had to wait a month to get into our new construction house. Took that long to finish up the last minute things, get it inspected, etc.

We hired a stager for the house we are selling now mostly to have her make it look more homey as we haven't been here that long and it needed "something". I can say I don't personally like the stuff she brought. Just not my style but it did make a difference in the "feel" of the house.

Quote:
Originally Posted by autumngal View Post
If new construction is your competition I would agree to have the house empty and up to "new" standards. And the edge also to having an empty house is people need somewhere within a certain amount of time, so they may think that is an option with an empty house.

I believe now a days tape measures are a must when searching for houses to measure room sizes and door ways and walls etc. for better notions of fitting your furniture. And the sellers furniture is not really necessary unless it is part of the sale. But that is just my thinking,
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