Is this corny? (how much, hotel, house)

[lovemyguys]

We have a second showing tonight . The husband has already seen the house and likes it so now the wife is coming back tonight to take a look. Would it be corny to play some soft music and/or maybe set out a tray on the bed with magazine, flowers, etc?

We've already had the house "staged" (even though I personally think half the stuff she brought is ugly). I guess I am just trying to leave no stone unturned and pull out all the stops to appeal to the wives feminine side.

I plan on getting some fresh flowers for the foyer and bake some cookies.

Any suggestions on how you would "wow" this couple on the second showing is appreciated. I have a few hours to get it all together

[cary_nc]

I think soft music would be nice. Also make sure the house is lit appropriately for the time of day. Flowers are always nice. Make sure there is no clutter. Empty the trash baskets. Put out fresh towels and the nice guest soap.

Just a couple of thoughts.

[MrsSteel]

As a wife who is currently house-hunting, I suggest you spend more time making sure the contents of your closets, cabinets and drawers look nice and neat. During the house hunt I have been far more aware of storage than my husband. I actually take notes on the number of cabinets & drawers in the kitchen & their sizes. If your cabinets are messy, it looks like the house doesn't have enough storage space and obviously that's bad! Cookies and flowers are nice, but any obvious staging can look cheesy & desperate. Not exactly the message you want to send!

[Angel_0037]

When I sold our house. We left everything we needed to stay and kept out personal items. The house was perfect to see. It sold the first looker and we only had it on market for 2 days. We got most of what we asked for and we were not letting it slip away.Good luck

[MrsBTA]

I agree with MrsSteel. As a wife who was just recently house hunting, I was more aware of other details around the house (cabinets, organization, etc - clutter was a huge turnoff) than any obvious staging. Whenever we walked into a house where the owners had put soft music on, honestly - I did think it was a little cheesy. But on the other hand, it didn't deter me at all - I much preferred that to the homes where it looked like the owners had made no effort to make the place look nice.

I also saw lots of homes with cookies/flowers/candles - all very nice on their own. But when you've got EVERYTHING going, then yeah - it started to look a little desparate to me. But that's just me

[autumngal]

I would lose the music unless you have speakers thru out your house and would like to bring notice to them. As several of us always found it somewhat irritating as we like yo know if we can hear anything from outside, or any mechanics inside making weird noises, etc. in the house. Flowers are always nice, but with allergies being so popular these days who knows. I still opt for fresh flowers.

I echo with others. Make sure things are beyond clean, all those little nitches etc. And smile, smile, smile all the time ya cleaning,

Good luck!

[leighbhe]

Based on my experience, husbands and wives look for different things in the home. Having it clean, clutter free but feeling like home does wonders. The flowers are great, music is fine, cookies, etc are all icing on the cake. The big issues are, the way the landscaping looks, the cleanliness of the home, does it need lots of updating? Cleaning out the closets is a wonderful way to showcase the space, how much there is, etc.

Anyhow, it is all personal preference. I have had one spouse love a house and the other think it is so so. It all depends!

Leigh

[Erin1264]

I don't think it will matter if you do these things or not. Don't bend over backwards.

Granted, we looked at a home in the Triangle that had the music on and lights on and looked fabulous. We were impressed, but we weren't shopping for ambiance, we were looking for a home and had very specific requirements.

As one of the previous posters said, the wife may be looking for storage, number of drawers, updates needed, etc. All stuff you can't change.

As for me, I noticed the floor plan, steepness of the driveway, the noise from the road, the size of the yard, etc.

good luck, I hope this couple is "the one!"

[lovemyguys]

We just got a call, the wife's plane is delayed so they are coming in the morning. Guess that gives me more time to put these tips to work

[Todd M.]

The music is not going to make a difference, IMO.

The wife is now coming and she will be looking at the house in an entirely different way the husband did. The kitchen, master bedroom, and master bath would be the three areas of the home I would focus on since time is limited. Not trying to sexist, these are typically areas of a home women focus on when home buying.

The kitchen needs to be spotless. The less stuff on the counters the better to show off all the work space. The cabinets need to be clean and organized. Same with the pantry. Show off all the space you have! The dishwasher needs to be clean and empty. They don't need to see, or smell, last night's taco dinner. Stove and oven clean. Same with the microwave if it's built in. Trash emptied. Run some lemon or orange peels in the disposal to freshen the smell of the sink.

The master bath needs to be spotless as well. Think 5 star hotel clean. Clean counters, clean sink, clean tub, clean shower, clean mirror, clean toilet, fresh towels. If your shower looks like mine, there are 15 different hair care products in there (1 mine, 14 my wife's). Get rid of all but a couple.

The master bedroom needs to be clean and free from clutter. And the closest need to be neat and organized. She'll definitely be going in there to asses the storage space.