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So I'm preparing my house for pictures and eventually showings.
What is the general consensus on having a handful of family pictures on the wall? I don't have a ton, maybe 7-10 between 2 walls. It's just annoying to me to have to take down my pictures. I mean, I still live here.
Also having Glade Plugins to freshen up the smell. Obviously they wouldn't be visible and I'm not trying to mask a bad smell. Just trying to make the house smell nice and inviting.
I don't see a problem with some pictures, the Glade would be a big issue for some people. One group just doesn't like scents and another would be the people that think you are covering up something. I personally hate stuff like Glade, air fresheners and candles, not likely to stay in a house long enough to get a good look if the smell is overpowering which it tends to be.
Those chemicals (Glade plugins, sprays, crappy azz candles - yeah, even Yankee, I said it! etc) consistently wafting through the air give legit headaches and nausea and they stink as well. On the cool, if you want your home to smell good, bake some REAL cookies!
Quote:
Originally Posted by phxone
I personally hate stuff like Glade, air fresheners and candles, not likely to stay in a house long enough to get a good look if the smell is overpowering which it tends to be.
Anyone who thinks that stuff smells light or fresh does not have a fully-functioning sense of smell.
None of it necessarily stops me from making an offer, but this is what I think and do.
Air fresheners, I assume the house stinks and I will have to replace carpet and paint and maybe treat for mold and mildew. I drop my purchase offer substantially.
Photos or art hung on walls. I will have to patch holes and paint. I drop my purchase offer enough to cover cost and inconvenience.
Lots of family photos, momentos, collections of whatever. The seller is not ready to detach from the house. They are going to insist that it is much more wonderful than it really is and they are going to be difficult and unreasonable to deal with. People who are ready to move on are sorting and packing up already. I'll give it a try, but if the sellers are difficult, I will often just walk away. They want to be paid for all their good memories, I just want to pay what every other comparable house is selling for.
It's not necessarily about not being able to see past the photos or the chemical smell. It's about how much extra work it will make for me. I'll buy trash filled and fixer-uppers but the majority of buyers want to just move in without doing anything except to unpack. You want to sell for top dollar the house has to be turnkey.
But you don't know that because you get used to that smell, perhaps it does.
We don't have cats or children, our dog doesn't pee or poop in the house, we don't have mold, and neither one of us stinks. So no, the house most likely doesn't stink.
I'm still amazed at how sensitive people are to these things when they walk into a complete stranger's house. But, maybe I'm just SUPER DUPER laid back.
It's not "sensitivity" -- it's MARKETING. A home seller isn't showing off their good taste and discernment in objects d'art. They are selling ONE thing -- their house. As part of that selling process, there's an art to presenting the home in a flattering, neutral setting, in order to allow a buyer to more easily imagine what it would be like if they lived in the house.
Some people can do this easily - but not many. You'd be surprised at how many buyers get distracted by things that just don't matter -- an orange wall in a bathroom, a wall full of personal photos, religious memorabilia, etc. They see the entire picture, they can't see past the decor. It's not a fault, it just is what it is. Response to color, art, etc. is a very visceral thing. That's why when you buy a newly built house, most of the walls are white or beige -- a clean canvas, so to speak.
I want buyers to take mental possession of the home when viewing, and picture themselves living there. Pictures of the homeowners, their names on plaques, etc scream "This isn't your house" and reinforce the idea that it isn't their house. Why do something that may not help you sell? From a safety standpoint I have sellers remove kids names from decor in rooms, and no family pics. I don't want a pedophile seeing what the kid looks like, and their name, so they could follow them walking home from school and say"Hey Stevie...your mom said for me to pick you up to go meet her and your sister susie at the park."
By the way, if you really want the house to smell good, clean it up spotless, don't cook smelly foods, and use some furniture polish on a couple of pieces of wooden furniture. It's subtle and just smells like diligent cleaning. People don't usually find it offensive and it is nearly subliminal.
(Not recomended from personal experience since the only wood furniture I own is all antique and you don't put that pledge type furniture polish on antiques. )
I personally prefer vacant, clean homes, without a nail hole in the wall, but I am not representative of the whole market.
I've been in a bunch of homes -- some that were even staged that I thought would look better vacant. Some people have put inflatable beds with a comforter in a bedroom, I guess to show it is a bedroom. But it looked awful.
A house down the street from our house went on the market a few months ago. They listed for just slightly less than we did (several months later). They dropped the price by 20K. We listed 4 months after they did, and sold two weeks later. Their house is still on the market, and it will be 6 months very soon. The house is in decent shape and the outside is fine. But the inside has white walls throughout the first floor, big spaces (with picture hooks) where pictures should be, and some of the worst furniture I've ever seen. I think it would look better vacant.
We don't have cats or children, our dog doesn't pee or poop in the house, we don't have mold, and neither one of us stinks. So no, the house most likely doesn't stink.
But you don't know Blanche, you just don't know if it does. Maybe people are to nice to tell you that your home is stinky.
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