Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I agree about, at a minimum, decluttering and removing some furniture, and then getting new photos. There is just too much in each room, and esp. given the lack of windows, that makes it feel very closed in.
Look at especially photo 6 in the other unit compared with yours. To me, that one looks far more spacious and airy, even though they are the same plan
Personally, I wouldn't paint, I'd use that money towards renting a storage unit to move out the chair, the ottoman, and that glass front bookcase in the living room, the papasan chair in the office, and a whole lot of the decorative items from the walls and the surfaces. Is the exercise equipment in the garage? I'd put all that in storage too. And then re-do the photos.
Yes, exercise room is in the garage. I had a couple people tell me it made it seem like there was so much space that I could make a "gym" and it'd be a positive. But I did question whether I should take all of it out.
Too much clutter. Too many colors on walls. Builder grade kitchen with nothing done to make it look less builder grade. Big, dark heavy furniture in small rooms.
You need to restage and have new photos done. Consider painting the walls a light neutral. Consider hiring a stager with sleeker, smaller furniture. Consider trading out dated pendant lights for something more current. Consider a nice exterior shot as the first pic. Love your little balcony.
This is exactly what I thought.
Small rooms with big furniture. Too many photos of the kitchen. Wall paint looks outdated.
You don't have to pay thousands to a stager. Hire one to consult with you for two or three hours. Should be around $150 or so, depending on the area. Some agents offer a couple hours of free consultation. Our last one did.
Stager will give you suggestions, such as take this down, move this over there, get rid of that. Also they will suggest paint colors if you decide to paint.
I suspect a stager would suggest you get rid of all the shelving in the living room, hang the TV on the wall or set on low table, get rid of the huge chair, and trade out the not-quite matching leather coffee table for a rectangular glass one that takes up less visual and actual space. I just checked Craigslist in Minneapolis and there is a Ralph Lauren glass top coffee table and side table for $110. Even with the large, leather sofa, it would make the room seem more spacious, less crowded.
One photo of the kitchen and another one of the dining room are plenty. Love the mixer and the matching apron hanging on the wall. Perhaps one more item that color on the counter to the right of the stove or in the corner where the fruit deal is? Get rid of the signs, the coffee maker, the paper towel holder and the bottles sitting on the counter.
In the office clear out the bulletin boards, get rid of the large chair, clear off the desk. Computer, maybe mug of pencils, plant would be plenty.
Set up the gym to look like a gym. I'm looking at a chair and three different colored storage deals. Looks cluttered. Make it look like a room you could go down and work out in.
Look at pictures of master bedrooms and bathrooms in upscale or model homes. Get some thick towels, maybe a small vase of greenery for your bathroom. Buy a spread with a contrasting folded coverlet that goes over the bottom and pillows that pop for the bed.
One photo of the outside would be plenty. Another one of the porch. Since you have a two car tandem garage, show the inside of that from the garage door with a car in it.
Insist your real estate agent hire a professional real estate photographer to take decent photos.
I agree about, at a minimum, decluttering and removing some furniture, and then getting new photos. There is just too much in each room, and esp. given the lack of windows, that makes it feel very closed in.
Look at especially photo 6 in the other unit compared with yours. To me, that one looks far more spacious and airy, even though they are the same plan
Personally, I wouldn't paint, I'd use that money towards renting a storage unit to move out the chair, the ottoman, and that glass front bookcase in the living room, the papasan chair in the office, and a whole lot of the decorative items from the walls and the surfaces. Is the exercise equipment in the garage? I'd put all that in storage too. And then re-do the photos.
Good luck!
TV is on the wall. Blanket across the foot of the bed. Far better exterior shots.
Shows walk-in closet.
Better description:
"Move-in ready! multi-level townhouse in great Plymouth neighborhood. Large Master upstairs, full bath, open main level, kitchen with center island. 2-car tandem garage. Close to park, transit & shops!"
This is not staged, but still looks much more spacious. Can really see the difference with photo 6. Hard to believe this is the same floor plan.
Yes, exercise room is in the garage. I had a couple people tell me it made it seem like there was so much space that I could make a "gym" and it'd be a positive. But I did question whether I should take all of it out.
Thanks again everyone! Lots of good suggestions!
Except it doesn't look like a gym in the photos. Looks like some storage on the right and a bike on the wall. Then there's the chair. I can't tell from the photo if it's a work out space.
The two car garage would likely attract more buyers. I agree that clearing it out and photographing it with two cars and the bike hanging on the wall might be more enticing.
We have friends who paid $100K more for a place in Boston because it had a tandem garage. Not sure what Plymouth, MN buyers think, but I've scraped ice off cars. That two car garage is plenty enticing.
Before we put our last home on the market, our real estate agent offered us a free consultation with a stager who gave us some great suggestions, including taking our own photos before and when we finished to see what things looked like.
Her suggestions made a world of difference. Also we could see in the after photos where what looked fine in person, looked cluttered/crowded in the small photos.
This was after two months of hauling things to the Salvation Army, a storage unit, and the dump and feeling pretty smug about all our decluttering.
She also had a professional real estate photographer take the pictures. Even our children were amazed.
When we sell this house, I'm looking for an agent who will help us as much as she did.
And I will never sell again without the advice of an interior designer/stager.
I agree about, at a minimum, decluttering and removing some furniture, and then getting new photos. There is just too much in each room, and esp. given the lack of windows, that makes it feel very closed in.
Look at especially photo 6 in the other unit compared with yours. To me, that one looks far more spacious and airy, even though they are the same plan
Personally, I wouldn't paint, I'd use that money towards renting a storage unit to move out the chair, the ottoman, and that glass front bookcase in the living room, the papasan chair in the office, and a whole lot of the decorative items from the walls and the surfaces. Is the exercise equipment in the garage? I'd put all that in storage too. And then re-do the photos.
Good luck!
I agree completely on the photos and the amount of stuff. The second bedroom in the other unit looks MUCH more spacious. In the OP’s photo, it doesn’t even look like one could fit in a bed there because the photo is of the tiny nook area where there is a huge desk. However, from the other unit, appears that room is more of an L shape and has a lot more room that isn’t shown/featured. No one would be interested in a tiny second bedroom, particularly when the unit is supposedly over 1500sqft. The living room furniture is also huge when compared to the size of the room and the other unit’s living room looks much bigger even though it is not. The photos of the neighborhood in the other listing also make the neighborhood look like it has much more curb appeal. There is also no picture at all that I could tell of the 2nd bathroom, which makes me wonder if it has some serious issue.
I agree about, at a minimum, decluttering and removing some furniture, and then getting new photos. There is just too much in each room, and esp. given the lack of windows, that makes it feel very closed in.
Look at especially photo 6 in the other unit compared with yours. To me, that one looks far more spacious and airy, even though they are the same plan
Personally, I wouldn't paint, I'd use that money towards renting a storage unit to move out the chair, the ottoman, and that glass front bookcase in the living room, the papasan chair in the office, and a whole lot of the decorative items from the walls and the surfaces. Is the exercise equipment in the garage? I'd put all that in storage too. And then re-do the photos.
Good luck!
The OP's decorating and furniture is much more attractive than this one, but yes, this one shows how much "less is more". The OP should just remove some of the extra pieces - into storage, even the garage if we're not going to pull off the 'garage as exercise room'. Let it be storage.
And OP - even thought this example above doesn't have one.... don't remove your dining room table.... it's the perfect size for the room and works there.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
