Hey y'all ... I'm getting ready to list my condo and I've got it ready to show now. I've created a website to assist with the advertising. I was hoping a few of you would take a look and give me your opinions.
Yes, I know that yellow is not a good color when selling your house but, trust me ... yellow IS the best color for this place. With windows only on two sides and those being largely blocked by grown trees, sunlight is rare in this place. Other than that, I'd really like to know anything you see that needs work.
I love your unexpected splashes of color throughout the house. The picture above the fireplace, the clock in the kitchen, very cool. Oh, and the Varga print in the bathroom gives it a bit of decadent quality. You've done really good at staging the outdoor areas. The one thing I would maybe suggest is to move out the dinning chairs and put the black ones with the table (or vice versa, whichever you think looks best). And I like the yellow.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: fillemoderne,
Posts: 59 | Location: Iowa | Registered: Mar 31, 2008
I think your place looks fabulous! As far as photos go, accentuate the positive. Keep the wide shots. Don't feel the need to show a photo of every little thing. I would eliminate the kitchen pantry, the laundry, master balcony (looks really small from the photo) & master bath 2 vanity, & stairway photo. I would pick the best 15 and use those. Good luck!
Posts: 294 | Location: cincinnati oh usa | Registered: Feb 07, 2003
Personally, I really, really LIKE it!!! I also like the yellow - of course, that is one of my very favorite colors.
The only suggestion I would have - and I'm not a realtor - is to keep the toilet lid down (the pic of the half bath shows it up). I just feel that makes the whole room look neater. Matter of fact, I insist we do that at my house and we aren't even selling!!!
Thank you all so much for your opinions. I really appreciate it. And to the one who noticed the toilet lid was up??? Thank you, thank you, thank you! That is exactly the type of detail one overlooks all too easily. I was making a sweep through the place and suddenly noticed that I was missing an outlet cover over the washing machine! It had been missing since we moved in and I got so used to it that I just didn't see it anymore! It's precisely why I wanted to get as many eyes on it before listing as I could!
Thanks! And if anyone else wants to weigh in? Thank you too!
I think your house is beautiful. It looks so well-cared for and pristine.
The only thing I would suggest is changing the dark brown walls in MBR to a more neutral lighter color and if you want to pay the expense (might not be worth it) change the ceiling fan to a white one (or maybe your original fan came with blades that have a dark color on one side and a light color on the other, and they could simply be turned upside down).
If some houses in your development do not have laundry rooms, I think it's a good idea to leave in the photo of yours as a reminder to buyers of this good feature.
"And to the one who noticed the toilet lid was up??? Thank you, thank you, thank you! That is exactly the type of detail one overlooks all too easily."
LOL - that was me and you are welcome.
Maybe I'm strange, but it is a pet peeve of mine. Like I said, I insist on that in my own home and we aren't even selling!!!
I liked the photos of your home and the opportunity to post comments on the individual photos. Very nice home!
On the Welcome Home Page, I'd post a picture of the front of the home on the exterior. The curb appeal--the first thing a potential buyer sees when driving by or parking in front. That's where the first welcome takes place.
View from entry is very immpressive, and that's a good place to begin the tour. It's possible to skip the entry photo and to list foyer in amenities as being spacious with the great storage. Livingroom and fireplace photos were very good. Kitchen was tidy and attractive. 1/2 bath photo could be skipped and listed as an amenity. DR may benefit from turning direction of table to make it look more spacious. I, too, worried about the oversized dining chairs stuck in corners. The mates to the smaller chairs would likely look better and not take up so much visual space.
Back view is lovely. The back view photo was not close enough to see the patio furniture which showed up in a closeup of the patio. It is always good to jazz up outdoor areas to make them inviting and usable. The garden corner in the private area could use a splash of color from annuals planted around the shrub. This would pull eyes into the garden area and allow for viewers to see greater gardening potential there.
Eliminate stairway photo. Stairs can be a turn off to buyers. This photo accentuates the steepness and narrowness of stairs, especially the kitewinder steps.
MBR seemed dark. Another poster identified paint color as dark brown. I'd go neutral to allow for more light and provide the illusion of greater space. I'd likely eliminate the view of patio doors to MBR balcony and advertise as amenity, but post the wonderful view from the balcony. That leaves something to potential buyer's imagination and the desire to come look at a home that has such a great view from the MBR. Skip the closet photo. Advertise walk-in closets and lots of storage as amenities. Buyers love to be surprised by discovering all the storage potential. A photo feature of the great tub in the Master Bath is good. I'd skip the picture of the vanity. Same for MBR #2. Skip the closet picture and bathroom pictures. Advertise as amenities. I'd go neutral on the walls.
I never really paid any attention to the yellow paint. It must have been a soft, neutral hue. The blue paint did give me a jolt. Many buyers are turned off by colors that will not work with their furnishings.
Most buyers want move-in ready. If there are other units for sale in the community, yours must stand out. Move-in ready is a selling point. Attend open houses and compare apples to apples. Also compare price. You want your unit to sell before the competitors' properties.
Nice job! I also have my home for sale (receiving a contract tomorrow, fingers crossed!) and I made a flyer up with photos, amenities, etc. So, I enjoyed looking at your photos. If I'm being totally honest, I'd have to agree with the others who feel that the dark bedroom walls could / should be a more neutral color. Paint color shouldn't be an issue to buyers, but it often is. My only other suggestions would be to use uplighting, the canister type lights, in dark corners of the rooms. A trick I learned from an Interior Decorator friend - use uplights ONLY where interesting shadows will show on walls, i.e. behind a corner floor plant, etc. Also, candles help to create a warm and inviting feeling to virtually every room. If you aren't going to be home when someone comes to view your home, you can purchase wax candles which are battery operated. Trust me, they are so realistic looking that I had a Realtor try to blow one out. HaHa! I purchased mine on QVC.com, but I'm sure they are available at many places online. One placed on the back of the commode is a nice touch. Best of luck to you. Great condo!
I have considered painting that one dk brown wall in the same pale green that the rest of the room is painted. But if I do that, then the dk brown on the shelves and in the attached bath won't make any sense. Besides that, this room gets SO much light. There's two skylights, the french doors and a large window. The dark color actually makes it more liveable and makes the wall appear to recede. The room is absolutely huge too ... 22x12 so appearing smaller isn't an issue. If the place isn't sold or leased in a couple of months, I may get my paint roller out and go to work on it.
But in the meantime, *laugh* I just bought a place that's more than twice the size of this condo and the entire thing needs to be painted. That paint roller won't get a rest for awhile!
I'm going to re-visit the chairs in the dining room and please, keep those comments coming!
Personally, I think your condo is GORGEOUS! We have ALOT of the same taste in color and style. My bedroom is the same light green color and one of my bathrooms is the same light blue color and we have yellow in two of our rooms . I agree about the toilet and I'm not sure I agree about not showing the patio. Lots of condos don't even have that but I might throw a bbq grill if you have one or can borrow one to show people that there is room to bbq. That is being very nit picky so it's really probably not necessary. Just thought I'd throw that in there. I love how you have staged the place. I personally LOVE your kitchen. Very funky and very my taste but may not appeal to others. That clock in the kitchen was the only thing that was a bit overwhelming to me. It was the only thing I could focus on when I looked at the pic. I would put some sort of art work there instead or a much smaller clock. I think as long as you have it priced right, your place should sell quite quickly. Best of luck and let us know what happens!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: melmel326,
I loved your place! Really creative...very warm & welcoming!
Very difficult to find anything at all to nitpick...I do think something "green" in the outdoor seating area would add a lot to that space, even a small tree or shrub in a planter. And I agree with the poster who suggested planting some colored annuals by the shrub...
The clock in the kitchen? I LOVE it, perfect touch for that room. Yes, the eye is drawn to it in the photo but I'm not sure that would happen irl. And...even if it did...I think it would just make people want to keep looking, at least I know I would! Your photo show was one of those I didn't want to end...wanted to see more and I bet the buyers will feel the same way!
Best of luck to you & look forward to hearing from you about how it all turns out!
What a wonderful condo. I love how the light reflects on the floors Looks like the others have covered most of the points. The one thing I would add for a showing are fresh flowers...brings in just that little touch.
The other is that I may need your advise in about a month. currently putting some "WOW" factor into our house to put on market. I want to create a web site to support newspaper marketing, and not quite sure how to do it!!
Good, no, SUPER GOOD LUCK, to you and hopefully you will be able to share your success secrets in the near future!!
I will be happy to help you in any way that I can. As far as the websites, I tried several free services and found this one www.freewebs.com to be the easiest to work with. As a note, I chose the "small business" option and then "vacation rental" format. Let me know when you need some help!
As I commented in my previous post...I LOVE your place, but I do have a couple of questions. I see the fireplace, which is a beautiful focal point, but I don't see any furniture near it. Is it just out of view in that photo? Also, where is your home? I see the street address, and when I click on the location link I get a very local map, but I have no idea what city or state you're in. I think that's important!
Posts: 294 | Location: cincinnati oh usa | Registered: Feb 07, 2003
Alright, y'all! I moved the over-sized dining chairs (didn't realize they were oversized until you pointed it out), but more importantly, I put the toilet seat down! *laugh* And you were right, it does look much better.
Thank you all again. Most of the comments were very positive and constructive. You've provided a great and helpful service so pat yourselves on the back!
I also like the yellow - of course, that is one of my very favorite colors. 
