We listed our home Friday - we're being relocated for my husband's job later this summer. I've been lurking here for tips but thought I'd come out of lurkdom to share pictures and get suggestions for anything more we could do.
I think we're priced well for the area. I just know there are a lot of houses for sale so I'm a bit nervous but we bought low (even in 05) so we have some wiggle room.
It's a nice house -- a lot of house for the money. Personally, to me it lacks life because of all the white walls throughout. Wouldn't stop me from buying the home if it were priced right, but if there are a lot of homes in your price range that are priced right and photograph warm, your home doesn't "call to me" or draw me in like theirs might. Kinda like plain vanilla ice cream instead of a banana split. The pro to that is that it is a total blank slate and the con to it is that it's not warm and homey and inviting. So you might want to warm it up a bit and make it more inviting.
Great listing! I like the open floor plan-- I agree with getting rid of small wall accessories-- And I think the hanging light fixrure and the quilt/wall hanging behind the bed in master BR are distracting-- Can you replace with a real headboard?
Great house & great curb appeal! And soooo clean & neat...looks like you have small kids (from the rooms), so I am doubly impressed!
I agree w/ most of the previous comments...fluff it up a little. I'd like to see more of a "statement" w/ the master bedroom bedding...places like TJ Maxx have great buys on comforters/shams/bedskirts/pillows etc. Something to make that room stand out.
Very beautiful kitchen w/ great appliances...I would substitute something else for the valance at the window...something "sleeker", maybe?
As to getting rid of the gold stuff...I have painted several of our fixtures, including the brass ceiling fan...came out great. Takes a little time & patience but you save a lot of ** if you have a good fixture & all that's wrong with it is the finish...
Thank you all for some wonderful input. We were thinking of tackling a few suggestions this weekend depending on showing times but we're actually meeting today to go over a contract that was submitted on the house. If it's a decent one, I'm thrilled to say to heck with all suggestions, LOL!
Again, I do appreciate everything and could very well be working on some this weekend. I'll keep you posted.
I agree about taking the small things off the walls. I don't mind the white walls, the whole house is so clean and neat bravo for that!! I'd consider removing the tv and stand from the living room, the stand looks like it sticks out into the doorway, which would make me believe there's a space issue in the room. It appears you have a family room with a large tv already. Set the living room up as more of a formal room. If you need to keep the tv in there then reposition so the cabinet beside the tv isn't sticking out into the doorway. If you are handy I'd buy some crown molding and put it on top of your kitchen cabinets will probably cost you about 100.00 to do it, your kitchen is larger then mine it cost me 60.00 to do it. Wal-Mart has really cheap headboards I got mine for 25.00 then painted it dark brown then a coat of Brazilian cherry stain on top of it. Because it was so cheap it wasn't very tall, so I decided not to use the legs that came with it (I have a really high mattress) and instead I hung it on the wall with two heavy duty picture hangers, with the pillows in front of it you'd never know it's a cheap headboard.
Beautiful home. Great curb appeal and landscaping. Backyard lacks privacy. That could be an issue as a previous poster mentioned. It does not appear from the photo that neighbors are into fences either. A buyer could always add a fence if desired.
As indicated, remove clutter on walls. The two large pictures above the loveseat should be lowered and pulled together, no greater than about 4" apart or higer than 6" above. Update ceiling fan!
Cabinet containing entertainment equipment looks like it does not belong there and collects clutter. You might consider removing while house is on market. Good view of dining area and kitchen. Table could use a bowl of fruit or pot of flowers.
Beautiful kitchen table. The view into livingroom features a cluttered bookcase. Kitchen bar could also use some flowers or fruit.
Dining room pictures are flying high. The general rule of thumb for hanging pictures is to hang them at eye level from where they will be viewed the most. In a diningroom, this means while seated. Eliminate the small items. The pictures are really too small for the spaces on either side of the hutch. Perhaps moving them side by side and lowering them would provide greater impact.
Very nice kitchen. The pantry is certainly a plus.
Paint the pink walls in little girl's room a neutral color. Potential buyers tend to want move-in ready without having to think about having to paint over a pink room. I am sure you moved the bed to the wall to prevent your darling from falling out of bed. That leaves the wall hanging which is supposed to go above bed out in the wind and flying high. Perhaps there is room on the wall opposite bed where it could be better viewed by Sleeping Beauty. Or, at least lower and center in space between bed and chest. Remove valance for neutral window treatment.
Same goes for the bunk bedroom. Neutralize windows. Consider more neutral paint. Lower pictures to left of window and hang side by side.
Master bedroom lacks drama. I'd opt for a more color bed ensemble. Update photo. Make sure bed is very tidy. Add some flowers to one of the nightstands. Maybe an attractive squat candle on the other.
The basement familyroom is a well kept secret. Even has a fireplace. It looks like the area is under utilized. This could be the space that closes the sale. Move exercise equipment to garage. Arrange furniture into a conversation area facing the fireplace focal point. Pick up an inexpensive area rug and some colorful throw pillows. If you use the picture over the fireplace as a hint. Go for red! Lower the picture so that it is no higher than 4-6" above mantle. Buy or borrow a coffee table, trunk, or something to anchor the area. After arranging furniture, the picture above couch will need to be relocated. A likely place would be centered on wall to left of fireplace. Hang at eye level from seated position on couch.
I can't make out what's on wall to right of bathroom door in basement. If it's a grouping, pull it together, center on wall, and hang at eye level height when standing. This means at eye level of person of average height, not at the eye level of an NBA basketball player.
What is the room with the brown couch supposed to be? Is it a room? An entryway? The dated brown sofa needs to be donated to Goodwill. The basement familyroom could use the bookcase and the picture. The children's table and chairs could be moved to bunk bedroom.
As indicated, the white walls make the home look sterile. But, it will give potential buyers an opportunity to paint with their colors.
The recommendation for neutrals does not mean plain white and no color in a home. There are many neutrals from which to choose. Beige, ivory, taupe, black, gray, and white are neutrals. These can have undertones of different colors, so choosing neutrals must be done with care because of the undertones. Soft colors tend to work best when selling a home. A bold red room might fit someone else's lifestyle but not that of most potential homebuyers.
There are many books on color. Lots of info in decorating books, magazines, and online. Start studying color schemes and find what you like and dislike. When you get to your new home, you will be able to pull off a color scheme with pride and confidence.
After making some changes, you will need to post new photos. Keep us up to date. Good luck with your sale. You have a beautiful home.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: twelvepole,
Whatever you do, accept the offer and move on. lol A lot of people on here decline an offer, they would have accepted now, being a year later. I can't believe you got an offer before having your house on the market for a week! that is insane.
I like your house. The exterior/yard is nice and inviting. Great curb appeal.
It's up to you if you really want to get into repainting and taking out fixtures etc. JMO, but for me when ever I look at the interior of a house I am looking for size, what will suit my family of 5, how are all the more expensive components ie, hot water tank, furnace, roof, structural etc. The more expensive things. Chances are, I am going to replace fixtures, appliances or paint etc because I'm not necessarily gonna have the same tastes as the home owner. Every house I have every looked at, I have never liked the colors, rugs etc. The only homes that I would move into with out doing anything would quite possibly be a showhome, lol.
I have come to the realization that the only way I am going to move into a house and not do anything as a home buyer is with a brand new home where I have picked everything out.
If the proposed contract is even close to being a reasonable one that you feel you can live with, go with it and be thankful that you won't have to do all of the things being suggested to appeal to potential buyers in this difficult market! Good luck and post back how it goes!
We signed a full-price offer which is wonderful and completely unexpected but the buyers are using VA and have to actually finance closing costs so the offer is technically above what we were asking. Now we're just hoping the appraisal goes well. If it was for our asking price, no problem as most houses (smaller than ours) in the neighborhood go for about that, but I'm worried about the 10k or so overage. We'll see - buyers have a few k extra they can pitch in and we can be flexible too.
Inspection looms as well but the house is about 10 years old so if there are a few things, no worries. Again, fingers crossed.
Congrats! I've bought and sold houses using VA. If the VA appraisal comes back higher than your contracted price, the buyers will surely feel they're getting a bargain. If the appraisal comes back lower than the contracted price and you feel the appraisal is inaccurate, I believe you can appeal the appraisal. Whether you'd want to take extra time to do that would be up to you of course. I would not count on the buyers having "a few k extra they can pitch in" if they have to finance the closing cost.
Nope, we're not relying on anything. We're willing to go down in price if needed. Meanwhile, until appraisal, we're continuing showings as backups. Had 2 yesterday, 2 today and a couple scheduled for next week.
We're just keeping our fingers crossed and hoping we truly did luck out right away, but we won't know for a bit.
