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Furniture is a double edged sword. A nicely furnished house that's decorated in a neutral fashion without a doubt helps to sell that house faster and for more money. Furniture can also hamper the sale of a home. Many people have furniture that is too big for a room making it look small. Some people have crazy furniture that most people don't like. Here's my preference in order:
1. Nicely furnished home
2. Poorly furnished home
3. Empty house
I put poorly furnished before empty because often a poorly furnished home can be tranformed into a nicely furnished home with some staging help from a good real estate agent. Empty homes are just difficult to sell. People in general lack imagination and have a hard time picturing furniture in an empty room. Rooms in empty homes often look smaller as well without furniture to provide scale.
I had an empty house sit for six months. Then, I partially staged it. All I really did was put a few knick knacks around, a few artificial plants, did the trick with the inflatable mattresses, etc. go to Goodwill, you will be surprised at the quality of stuff people donate you can buy for next to nothing. I spent $65 and got lots of nice things to place around the house. Especially dress up the bathrooms---nice towels, some pretty soaps, also, I opened the shower door an put a large, pretty artificial plant inside. Otherwise, it looked too institutional.
Another few tricks---put a few designer paper shopping bags inside closets---stores like neiman Marcus, etc. Fill the bags with nice potpourri, etc, perhaps hang a few padded hangers, etc. Make it look like someone lived here with expensive taste. Also, put in some of those room freshners, but NOT visible. Put those inside the AC vent, it really works. Do NOT leave those ant/roach baits around, it gives the opposite impression. Leave a pretty bowl with wrapped candies near the entrance, a pretty, hand lettered note---please help yourself. Also, leave plenty of flyers inside as well.
Well, all that cost me about $200. We got 3 offers within a week of fixing it up. I don't know if what I did helped, but it certainly didn't hurt. Also, everything I had could be moved in an hour----I donated most back to Goodwill, took a tax write off.
As a buyer, I don't want to see a house with so much stuff. I would prefer to see it vacant. I would wonder what flaws they were covering up, and how fast they could move the stuff out. But that's just me.....
Oh, and I love, love, love the trick of using inflatable mattresses covered with designer bedding. Do not even attempt to completely furnish any room, or you go backwards. For the bedrooms, simply use the inflatable mattresses, place on boxes, perhaps one more piece of furniture, like a nice dresser, and some sort of windowcovering, like a valance, or chair. an empty bedroom always looks too small.
If you need the house empty then go for it and it does not really matter if the house is empty or staged it depends on how your listing agent explains to you and expresses the facts about pricing your property some agents lpay for staging or have stagers that work within the team. That isnpartnof marketing costs associates with listing a property. Let me know if you have any questions.
Good luck in selling
During my last sale (two years ago), we had already purchased our new home some 120 miles away so we were slowly transitioning (moving) from the old to the new over a 3 month period.
Once out of the old house (actually only 8 years old) we had it professionally cleaned top to bottom. Carpets cleaned. Paint touched up, etc. Also every 7-10 days I would visit to be sure all was well (vaccum, clean) and the agent kept an eye on it also. Also had the landscaping done.
We got down to two buyers. Both remarked that they were truly impressed how clean the house was. They could see every nook and cranny and that was one of the main reasons they were bidding on the house.
Personally I prefer an empty house as I can look in every nook and cranny. I can get a better look at what I am buying and at close, all is lined up and ready to go for moving in.
I also believe empty homes look much bigger then when packed with stuff. In my new home it looked bigger to me then the identical size furnished model looked.
We saw an idea in a house that really appealed to us and copied it. You can stage by highlighting. You can probably get enough kitcheny things from items you can spare or items from Goodwill or something to make the counters look good...attractive oil and vinegar bottles, one gorgeous casserole dish. Some contemporary spice containers. Matching oven mits and towel. An attractive dish/metal tray...we have an oblong one in silver like a large 2+ foot leaf and we place in it 3 or 4 green apples appropriately spaced for a contemporary look. Not all at once...just some ideas.
Sort of loving and cozy or very attractive accents.
A beautiful rug.
If you have a fireplace, you could leave your fireplace equipment for show; a nice big painting over the mantle, good accents on the mantle.
Beautiful bathroom accents...towels, great soap, one of those tub racks that goes across the tub for a luxury touch with a fine magazine opened to a great story, good loofah, beautiful large fragrant soap as if all set for a bath.
We've even left a few clothing items on attractive hangers in closets. Not just everyday but fun or pretty or striking. A couple of pretty little girls dresses.
Very nice accents.
Buyers have liked our so much they asked to buy the items when they bought the home. I also had requests from realtors to set things up like that in their listings. Some of those buyers asked to purchase the items too. Got to be really a fun thing.
Strip it, empty it and clean it and touch up everything you can possbly see as making it look used. Today, the mentality is brand new model home, or the closest thing to it. Period. The only exception is a house that has been put together by a designer and looks it. That situation is rare and your situation sounds far from it.
The most important thing to do is find a realtor that is the best you can find, for your particular area. The comission will be the same no matter who. See what they have sold lately and over the past 10 years IN YOUR AREA! Successful seller agent realtors today operate to a large degree on a "coterie" of potential buyers and will bring those people that they deem interested to the house to see it. Be wary of "open house" realtors which generally means they have little or no prospects in mind.
Meantime, empty it out, and go over that place with a fine tooth comb. No boxes. Store that stuff off premises.
I have sold two houses in the past 2 years for at and above asking price (which was neighborhood tops) both in less then a week.
Last edited by TwinbrookNine; 10-05-2013 at 12:48 PM..
An empty house always made me think desperate sellers and maybe a lower offer.
I could not sell my house. The estate agent told me to empty it and not change anything. People looked but no offers. I decided to put new carpet all over and filled it with nice furniture. I Put plants and a settee in the conservatory. Basically made it like a new show house. It sold!!! House builders make show homes for a reason.Leave it smart, clean and lived in
I could not sell my house. The estate agent told me to empty it and not change anything. People looked but no offers. I decided to put new carpet all over and filled it with nice furniture. I Put plants and a settee in the conservatory. Basically made it like a new show house. It sold!!! House builders make show homes for a reason.Leave it smart, clean and lived in
It is amazing that buyers now a days, (since the invention of HGTV) are so freaking dumb to have any imagination or visual concept when buying a home, that they need it to be "staged".
Oh goodie, a potted plant, oh, I love this house....
Gee hunny we have a TV and a couch, just where will we put it?
Seriously, people can't really figure this out, it has to be spelled out for them.
I think empty and clean is the best. I don't need to be distracted by "staged" furnishings if possible.
It is amazing that buyers now a days, (since the invention of HGTV) are so freaking dumb to have any imagination or visual concept when buying a home, that they need it to be "staged".
Oh goodie, a potted plant, oh, I love this house....
Gee hunny we have a TV and a couch, just where will we put it?
Seriously, people can't really figure this out, it has to be spelled out for them.
I think empty and clean is the best. I don't need to be distracted by "staged" furnishings if possible.
So people are dumb if they need to see some furniture and can't visualize it, but you get distracted by having furniture in the house?
Pot, meet kettle.
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