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Any tips on selling a house with small attic type bedrooms with slanted ceilings? The house is a bungalow farmhouse built in 1920. Everything has been updated, but the bedrooms are small and have no closets.
We are priced right for what our house and our property has to offer, but we hear over and over again "bedrooms are too small". We've had about 35 showings in 3 months. Our house is one of the oldest in the area among newer homes, so we are competing against newer homes.
We've had 2 realtors say their clients are considering making an offer. One wants to lower the price of our house to compensate for their buyer adding dormers. The other realtor said his buyers wanted to get an estimate to completely remove the roof and build the roofline higher, and then lower the price depending on what that remodel would cost!
Yeah, I could do that myself, and then the house would NOT be priced as low as it is now....lol
Any tips? I'm thinking about moving all furniture out, but we are still living here. Right now we only have beds in there anyway--we moved out the dressers and the kids have ZERO toys in their rooms. We already painted the entire upstairs in a very light color to make it look bigger.
When you say "bungalow farmhouse" that is a mash-up that is not clear to me at all. In my experience most bungalows fall into either the "Craftsmen style" which often are very lovely especially when done in the style that was popular in Pasedena CA and executed by skills architects OR the "brick octagon front" popular around Chicago that often included nice touches like lead glass.
I assume you mean it is some kind of "story and half" configuration that has the upper level with characteristic ceilings matching the pitch of the roof and knee walls -- those knee walls often make a great space for BUILT-INS ...
Other obvious things to highlight: rip out any and all CARPET so hardware floors are showcased (if you don't have hardwood that would be a huge negative to buyers that otherwise might find such a home charming...), if you are one of the older homes in an area with newer homes is it fair to assume you have explored selling to a builder? If they want the lot bad enough for a fancier tear down that might be the best way to go...
Do not assume "empty is better"! I have seen hundreds of homes that WHEN STAGED PROPERLY totally alleviate any concern over the bedrooms being too small. It is ALL ABOUT SCALE -- look at the GORGOEUSLY PROPORTIONED ROOM-- When somebody tells me "staging is a gimmick" I simply stick to my guns -- you want to help the buyer envision using the space APPROPRIATELY!!
Do not fall into any kind of foolish thinking about "subsidizing" somebody else's remodel. Dormers are not really appropriate for a true craftsmen style bungalow, if folks don't realize this maybe the rest of house needs to be more "period appropriate" -- I have seen some awfully "remuddled" bungalows that are just worth doing over...
I was gonna say this ( below) but looks like you already covered some of it.
Get smaller beds with small dresser. Take as much out of the room as you can, ( place in storage) leave the drapes open and Clean the windows. Turn on the lights. If the rooms are not white to light in color get them painted a light color. You want to make it look bright and airy. Remove any computer desks, chat is etc. Single beds maybe a nightstand and small dresser. Rent them if you have to.
Same everywhere else in the house. Declutter remember bright wiry and the less the better. You want to make it look spacious.
I would just wait. Some buyers will have some wild demands. A simple no thank you is enough. Good luck. Small houses are great for a first time buyer with realistic expectations
Our new house was built in 1920 with the same type of rooms upstairs. It sure does make furniture arrangement hard! Also our rooms arent squares, they are weird shapes, again making it hard for furniture. They arent small, just awkward.
Can you maybe stage the rooms? Maybe if people see how much you can fit without being cramped/cluttered they may feel better.
When you say "bungalow farmhouse" that is a mash-up that is not clear to me at all. In my experience most bungalows fall into either the "Craftsmen style" which often are very lovely especially when done in the style that was popular in Pasedena CA and executed by skills architects OR the "brick octagon front" popular around Chicago that often included nice touches like lead glass.
I assume you mean it is some kind of "story and half" configuration that has the upper level with characteristic ceilings matching the pitch of the roof and knee walls -- those knee walls often make a great space for BUILT-INS ...
Other obvious things to highlight: rip out any and all CARPET so hardware floors are showcased (if you don't have hardwood that would be a huge negative to buyers that otherwise might find such a home charming...), if you are one of the older homes in an area with newer homes is it fair to assume you have explored selling to a builder? If they want the lot bad enough for a fancier tear down that might be the best way to go...
Do not fall into any kind of foolish thinking about "subsidizing" somebody else's remodel. Dormers are not really appropriate for a true craftsmen style bungalow, if folks don't realize this maybe the rest of house needs to be more "period appropriate" -- I have seen some awfully "remuddled" bungalows that are just worth doing over...
I soldo agree with this. But don't go installing wood flooring or going nuts if you don't have wood floors. You're better off with carpet than paying for flooring. I wouldn't go putting any money into it except for real repairs to give the buyer less to pick at.
I soldo agree with this. But don't go installing wood flooring or going nuts if you don't have wood floors. You're better off with carpet than paying for flooring. I wouldn't go putting any money into it except for real repairs to give the buyer less to pick at.
There are very few times that I have recommend sellers do any kind of true "upgrade" to help get a house sold. The pay off is rarely enough to offset the risk.
I really want to see the seller CLEAN LIKE THEY ARE EXPECTING A HOSPITAL INSPECTION, no traces of odor or stains or anything that would suggest the place is other than perfect. Make the landscape as bright and healthy as possible. Get things like fences all tidy, walk ways safe and free from cracks / heave. If you have obnoxious color please tone it down, but too much beige is not always best.
Although older homes often do not have GFCI I do recommend giving consideration to that, as well as upgrade electrical panel to circuit breakers and at least 100A service. Make similar upgrades to funky old fashioned gas pipe connectors which are unsafe, and be sure the waste lines (septic or municipal) are not going to scare off buyers...
Thank you all for the advice! The photo is similar to our rooms, I suppose you would probably call our house a 1.5 story.
We DO have hardwoods under the carpet, but the small landing has wood that does not match and was poorly done by a previous owner. I bet we could find someone to do a patch!
I think that might make a difference in bringing out some of the charm. In fact, one of the potential buyers asked if there was hardwood under the carpet.....
It might make sense to get estimates for the floors ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by OuttatheRain
Thank you all for the advice! The photo is similar to our rooms, I suppose you would probably call our house a 1.5 story.
We DO have hardwoods under the carpet, but the small landing has wood that does not match and was poorly done by a previous owner. I bet we could find someone to do a patch!
I think that might make a difference in bringing out some of the charm. In fact, one of the potential buyers asked if there was hardwood under the carpet.....
...if you have really nice carpet and really messed up floors underneath it might be too costly for you to rip out the carpet and fix the floors out of your own pocket. You could use the estimate as a basis for a "credit" to the buyer or maybe a price reduction. Your listing agent should be able to tell what is more likely to work in your local market if they have experience with selling "vintage" homes.
The thing too with a home built back when electricity was kind of new fangled thing is if your home does not have A/C and those upstairs bedrooms are HOT and there are other things that the "typical" buyer is gonna run from, you need your agent to "have your back". I mean if the pictures show some sad empty excuse for a "kid's room" they are not really do anything to help "market" your home in a way that right kind of buyer is going to see its positive features. I remember one time I had a listing for a really cute Cape Cod. Young sellers were excited to hear "feedback" from the first showing. I had a choice to make, be honest and say "well this couple that I swear had to weight a combined 600 lbs nearly passed out in climbing the stairs to the bedroom and then shook their heads saying their California king would not fit and did not even look at your cute den or remodeled kitchen..." or say something truthful but incomplete "they were excited by the price but I don't think they are the buyers for this house"... Eventually the right couple did fall in love with "cozy" aspects and paid the right price. That is what your agent has to do -- validate the steps taken to make the house competive!
The thing too with a home built back when electricity was kind of new fangled thing is if your home does not have A/C and those upstairs bedrooms are HOT.
That is true but not an easy solution to be found for buyer or seller.
When I was watching HGTV they put mirrors in the room to make it appear larger. I don't know if it makes a difference or not.
With the items in the room now does it feel cluttered? The picture that was posted is nice because it is clean and not cluttered.
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The house is a bungalow farmhouse built in 1920. Everything has been updated, but the bedrooms are small and have no closets.
Need more details...
When somebody tells me "staging is a gimmick" I simply stick to my guns -- you want to help the buyer envision using the space APPROPRIATELY!!
