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Selling a home, little details make difference, showcasing home, cleaning house, change light bulbs, painting trim, coat of paint, spruce up home before showing
At the moment I'm looking for houses in a certain area of the country because I'm getting ready to have to move for work. It seems that wallpaper is a popular thing there. Personally I hate wallpaper but that's just my opinion. But I do not count out a house just because it has wallpaper (tremendously ugly floral wallpaper). Because if I don't like it or if it doesn't match my taste it's not too hard or expensive to replace. I'm not affraid to do a little bit of work to make a house my own.
I'd say that it is pure lunacy to throw out appliances that are less than 10 years old because they aren't stainless steel. Stainless steel is a beeeaaaach to keep clean btw. Sometimes brushed stainless is ok but the smooth buffed stainless is bad. I'd much rather have a plain colored appliance than have to scrub my kids' fingerprints off all the time.
This is so true...I would say if a homeowner can hold on right now, just hold on to your house until the market starts to tip back up. We have a few homes around us right now that I think buyers paid too much for early last year or in 06 and a few are trying to sell right now right around the price they paid for them! no way! Also agree with the throwaway buyer comment and again I blame those shows where every house has granite this and granite baths and oh there are white appliances and i want stainless so lets get rid of those newer white applianecs that work fine becasue I want stainless. Todays buyer would run from the 1966 vintage I bought 5 years ago. What was I concerned with back then? Location, space, quality of the house and the layout. I didn't care about the original cabinets, shag carpet and that every surface was either wallpapered or paneled. Todays buyer would probably run screaming in the other direction.
We're relocating which is why we're selling. I agree if you can stay you should stay. Your concerns when you bought your home should still be the most important concerns for a buyer today not all the other "stuff" but you're right those shows have done more damage than good. The only reason why I say that is because I truly believe some buyers out there think oh just plop in some granite no problem. they don't really/truly understand.
Maybe I'm the minority here but I'm glad I purchased my 1950s ranch 10 years ago in the condition it was in (not fall down condition but it did need work). It gave hubby and I the opportunity to really personalize our home to our likely. Yes it took time (lots of years) but it's not like we spent every single waking moment (or weekend) working on our home, we did it at our own pace.
This is so true...I would say if a homeowner can hold on right now, just hold on to your house until the market starts to tip back up. We have a few homes around us right now that I think buyers paid too much for early last year or in 06 and a few are trying to sell right now right around the price they paid for them! no way! Also agree with the throwaway buyer comment and again I blame those shows where every house has granite this and granite baths and oh there are white appliances and i want stainless so lets get rid of those newer white applianecs that work fine becasue I want stainless. Todays buyer would run from the 1966 vintage I bought 5 years ago. What was I concerned with back then? Location, space, quality of the house and the layout. I didn't care about the original cabinets, shag carpet and that every surface was either wallpapered or paneled. Todays buyer would probably run screaming in the other direction.
Not every buyer..just the "I want it all and I want it now" buyer
This is so true...I would say if a homeowner can hold on right now, just hold on to your house until the market starts to tip back up. We have a few homes around us right now that I think buyers paid too much for early last year or in 06 and a few are trying to sell right now right around the price they paid for them! no way! Also agree with the throwaway buyer comment and again I blame those shows where every house has granite this and granite baths and oh there are white appliances and i want stainless so lets get rid of those newer white applianecs that work fine becasue I want stainless. Todays buyer would run from the 1966 vintage I bought 5 years ago. What was I concerned with back then? Location, space, quality of the house and the layout. I didn't care about the original cabinets, shag carpet and that every surface was either wallpapered or paneled. Todays buyer would probably run screaming in the other direction.
Yes, they sure do. I've seen MANY houses sit that are otherwise perfectly fine, in a great location, good schools, etc ONLY because of things like wallpaper, color of walls, cabinetry, etc. Even AFTER the seller drops the price a couple of times it still sits unsold. Meanwhile the houses around those that don't have the wallpaper, garish wall colors, etc sell for top dollar. Believe me, it blows my mind too. Our house when we bought it (first preowned home we have bought as we built the first two) I was able to overlook the BRIGHT BLUE walls in one bedroom (I have girls). The chinup bar across the boys bedroom doorway (they took it down and fixed the holes before they moved). The HIDEOUS wallpaper in all of the bathrooms (now all gone - WOOHOO). What I saw was a house in a GREAT location, a floorplan that flowed great w/ no weird quirks, HUGE bedrooms ( 1st dd's bedroom is 17x15, 2nd dd's is 16x14, master 22x18), HUGE backyard w/ a BEAUTIFUL pool that had top of the line VERY efficient pool equipment and HEATED along w/ it being the most wonderful landscaped yard you'd ever seen (landscape architect owned the house). Custom drapes that I LOVED and matched our decor, every window had plantation shutters, a complete media room and they were leaving ALL OF THE EQUIPMENT (WOO-HOO). TONS of closets and HUGE ones too !!! House was wired to the hilt (cable, sound system throughout, security camera ready, etc). The basics that CAN NOT be changed were ALL THERE. The other stuff is "fluff" and is EASILY changed out. I CAN SEE PAST ALL OF THE NEGATIVES! So many can not.
When we had our first house for sale I heard all of the typical complaints. It was a starter home and we had put in chair rail molding in the living room/dining room and painted below a dark hunter green. On the MLS listing we even had put WE would paint it buyers choice. Even put a note on the wall. We had about a dozen buyers look and LOVED the house but the color of the walls in there bothered them. Everything else was perfect for them. WTH then!?!?!?!?! One of them even ended up renting a house down the street. When I met her she said, "oh, we looked at your house. I HATED the color of the walls and could NOT do THAT!!!" I just looked at her and said, "whatever" and walked off. I'm glad she did not get it. I LOVED the young couple that did buy it and started their family there. I still see them to this day.
There are plenty of people out there w/ these hangups and it was well BEFORE HGTV was even doing all of this hype of "designing" your house to sell it. Like I said before buyers are strange creatures. Just drive thru a new housing development. See what floorplan the model home is and see how many of those are built in the subdivision. Whatever the model home is that will be THE MOST popular in THAT subdivision. It can be the crappiest floorplan/layout but because the buyer can visually SEE IT they will do it anyway over one that they only see on paper.
Maybe I'm the minority here but I'm glad I purchased my 1950s ranch 10 years ago in the condition it was in (not fall down condition but it did need work). It gave hubby and I the opportunity to really personalize our home to our likely. Yes it took time (lots of years) but it's not like we spent every single waking moment (or weekend) working on our home, we did it at our own pace.
No you are not in the minority. I will take my 1966 colonial any day even after all the work and money we have put into it. We bought from the original owners which meant no one else had had the opportunity to move in a crapify it with anything before we got our hands on it. We were able to see beyond the shag, wallpaper and paneling and know what it could look like. 5 years out we have done so much and still have 3 rooms left to go! But no regrets really unless you catch me on a day when I am removing wallpaper glue
Not every buyer..just the "I want it all and I want it now" buyer
Sorry - true! But I think there are more of the i want it all now buyers today than there were 5 or 10 years ago. I could be wrong, but thats just the feeling i get talking to people.
Sorry - true! But I think there are more of the i want it all now buyers today than there were 5 or 10 years ago. I could be wrong, but thats just the feeling i get talking to people.
Haha..I have to admit at one time wall paint would turn me off until i saw some pretty awesome houses on Realtor.com..now if I was buying I would not let it influence me...crappy wall paint = putting a painter to work
We have our home for 30 years and have not used the equity as our personal ATM, so no matter the market when we finally do sell we are making $$ maybe not as much as 4 years ago but still making $$ enough to buy our retirement home outright with enough left for a way way smaller house here if we so desire.
It will be freshly painted, decluttered and because it needs replacing new flooring..the major stuff
oh I agree w/ all of the above. We are thinking of selling, our 3 years old home. Builders are still scraping and building huge homes on tiny lots (we live in an infill 'hood). I'm trying to emotionally separate myself but i think many do not realize that when you DO buy brand new you spend thousands of dollars on window coverings, paint and things to personalize your home. We are looking in a new community where they are still building. The home we like the best is 3 years old- we like it b/c we don't have to do anything, the window coverings and other finishes are just great the way they are. So I hope there are others who appreciate what we put into ours. Since we sell every 3- 5 years usually, we are very cognizant of putting in things we think we'll see ROI (moldings, good lighting, etc>.. ) while still enhancing our taste. Hope it works- we'll see.
Or just getting off the duff and DIY. Painting is easy....and sometimes a fun family bonding experience.
Haha..it's not so much the actual painting..it's the prep & clean up drives me crazy..no patience for it
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