What did you do to spruce up your home before selling?

[linda_loo]

If you have sold a house before, what things did you do, to spiff it up before listing it?

~~~~~~~~~

Our home is 16 years old, and very little has been replaced in that time. New water heater, dishwasher, radon system, garage door opener and that is about it. We added a railing on the front steps and just re-stained the deck. We are planning to paint the exterior and nearly all of the interior, over the next 7 months.

I'm considering putting tile in the entryways and maybe the bathrooms. If that goes well, I might do some flooring in the kitchen. Truthfully, I'm tempted to just use peel-n-stick tiles, but everyone in my family is frowning on that. Our house is just a basic 3-bdr, 2 bath split level suburbian home. No big ammenities, so it's not a fancy place.

[maxandmolly]

Truthfully, I'm tempted to just use peel-n-stick tiles, but everyone in my family is frowning on that.
Noooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!
Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!
No peel-n-stick tiles! They are the devil, the devil, the devil I tell you, to try to get off.
Put down REAL ceramic tile, or skip it altogether.

[ee_chick]

Before we listed our house we did a few cosmetic things, but that was it. We painted and sealed our porch. We had a landscaper do a major spring cleaning in the yards. We had our carpets steam cleaned. We boxed up some "stuff" to make the place look more spacious.

If you know which realtor you'll be using to sell the house, have them come over. They'll tell you exactly what they think should be done to show your house to its advantage.

[EmilyBronte]

I would try to do as little as you can get by with. Are the current floors in obvious bad condition, or are they just looking old to you? If they are just outdated, I probably wouldn't change them. If they are very worn, then I would - but I agree to not use the peel and stick.

The best thing you can do to get the house ready is to paint (which you are planning) neutral colors (but not necessarily white) and declutter. If you have any magnets on the fridge, for example, remove them all. Put meaningful accessories on end stands. Maybe even get some topiaries or flowers (fresh or silk) to place around the house. If you have a formal dining room, set the table like you would for a nice gathering, if you can spare the dishes.

Lowe's has a brand of paint that is only $8 a gallon and $50 for 5 gallons and they have a nice selection of off-white shades. I would do a cream wall with white or antique white trim if it were me because it looks the most inviting to most people.

Right before you place your house on the market, clean all your light fixtures and replace all lightbulbs throughout the house with brand new ones. Also, clean the windows inside and out. If you are painting, you might want to go ahead and remove paintings and pictures and such and patch holes on walls. Then, return only those that truly enhance the space.

You want the rooms to look warm and inviting. You want the people who look at the space to feel like they are home. Also, if you are the type to have disorganized closets and cabinets, organize them! Disorder makes a person feel cramped and they may get a false sense that the space isn't large enough.

Also, if you have anything that has an odor (like cat litter, for example), try to eliminate the odor instead of hiding it.

I think that's about it. I'll let you know if anything else comes to mind.

[lml41981]

I wouldn't spend any money on flooring at all. You may like it, but the next person might not and it could cost you a deal. Instead, I'd offer a re-dec allowance or price your house according to updates that will need doing.

As far as spiffing it up...I think doing some light landscaping is helpful for drive-up appeal. Then touch up any paint you need to on the inside (or fully repaint with neutral colors...that looks good in a listing). Declutter. When you think you've gotten rid of enough clutter, get rid of some more. Remove any photos of your family and put up mirrors so people can see themselves in your house instead of seeing your family in your house.

We're going through this right now, too. We had already replaced flooring because what was here when we bought was not livable. Had it been new and neutral, we would not replace it. We're painting trim and doors and getting rid of push-button light dimmers in favor of toggle switches with dimmers. We have no grass because we had a huge tree that we cut down...the tree shaded the yard and choked out the grass, so we have to put down sod. I will plant some seasonal flowers and then that will pretty much be it. We'll hang blinds in the windows that need blinds, but that's all. We're not even offering a re-dec allowance for our red countertops that need to be replaced (here when we bought) because nobody buys a pre-owned home expecting everything to be done. The only major thing to do in the house is the countertops...which I think most people would be happy to find is the only thing major needing replaced.

A lot of what you do will depend on whether you're in a buyer's market, seller's market or neutral market. We're neutral but in a great location, so we've got the upper hand.

[EmilyBronte]

Instead, I'd offer a re-dec allowance or price your house according to updates that will need doing.

I agree with this but I would not offer it up front. If the buyers have a good realtor, she'll mention to them as soon as they make comment at the floors that a floor allowance can be requested in the offer. I would use it as a bargaining tool rather than a given. Also, as lml said, a large part of this depends on the market.

[linda_loo]

I think we'll be ok. The clutter is controlled, I'm pretty organized and slapping on a coat of pain will do a lot for our house. This exterior painting is really a necessity at this point. It's cedar siding, and the old finish is really worn.

We're not even offering a re-dec allowance for our red countertops that need to be replaced (here when we bought) because nobody buys a pre-owned home expecting everything to be done.

OMG. Ours are pink. They are hideous. What's with people making these horrible counter-top decisions?

[linda_loo]

Truthfully, I have never heard of a re-dec allowance in this area. Is that something that is usually in the listing?

[lml41981]

Truthfully, I have never heard of a re-dec allowance in this area. Is that something that is usually in the listing?
In my area, if the house is in pretty bad shape and it is clear to everyone involved that there will be a re-dec allowance given, it is listed. Otherwise, as Emily said, it is a bargaining tool. In our case, the owner had cat pee and poop stained red carpet, a red fabric covered wall (attached with staples...I had a lovely time puttying and sanding that before painting), the red countertops which were presumably put in to match the red carpet and the pinkish wood-like-laminate-like-snap-together tiles in the kitchen. So, it was pretty obvious that nobody would be buying that house without a re-dec allowance...in fact, their realtor said we were the only ones who were willing to give the house a second look. Most people walked in and walked right back out.

I don't know what prompts people to make those kinds of choices...

[linda_loo]

OK - I gotcha. I never looked at houses like that, they were all in pretty decent shape. I don't mean to sound like a snob with that; when we bought this (2001), we wanted something that didn't need a lot of work, because dh isn't handy. At all.

Red tile AND red carpet. Wow, that is fancy! ;)

[lml41981]

Oh that doesn't sound snobby at all...it sounds smart! We didn't realize how much work there would be to do to our house when we bought it (e.g. we didn't realize how bad the carpet was because they had strategically placed their furniture over the worst spots...we thought we could live with red carpet for a couple months until we saved up to pay for floors...instead, we lived with concrete and plywood subfloors because the carpet was just disgusting (and they had used chemicals on it that gave me a migraine). It helped that DH and FIL are both very handy and very much into DIY stuff (they're cheap and won't pay someone to do something they can do themselves).

The flip side to that is that all the work we did on our house actually made us resent the place and the neighborhood - which is partially why we're looking to sell and move to a new build where everything will be done for us and will be right. I guess for some people, doing the work themselves would make the place feel like home...but when the work was neverending, it just seemed like drudgery. We never expected to find such a fixer-upper in a home built in 1995.

[julietchicago]

I would do as little as possible. I would skip the cosmetic changes and worry about things that you know will come up in an inspection (if any). When doing cosmetic work, chances are you will spend more money than you will make....so what's the point?

Good Luck!

[linda_loo]

When doing cosmetic work, chances are you will spend more money than you will make....so what's the point?

Well, I think one needs to do their research on what they are doing. From everything I read, there are some little things that one can do that certainly make a home more inviting, and contribute to the idea that they home is attractive and well-cared for. That is what I am hoping to do. I have no reason to believe that anything will not pass inspection, so I am willing to put in a couple hundred into something like paint.

With this thread, I was thinking that people who have done this would comment on what they did and how it went for them. *shrug*

[Ohana]

I've only ever sold a condo, so I didn't have to worry about landscaping or the exterior of the buildings, but I did make sure that everything that showed up on my inspection was fixed (oops, it took me 3 years to get everything done!). I also put away all knicknacks, pictures, most artwork, anything on the fridge, and everything on the counters.

When I sold the condo, the buyer hated the paint, so she made me give her a couple hundred bucks for new paint. I made the previous owner do that for me, too, so I guess it's pretty standard.

As for my experience shopping for our current house, we could pretty much tell if it was going to work or not the first 2 minutes. We looked at the street the house was on, the general condition of the house and the neighbors' houses, and then once inside, we could tell if it was worth going past the entrance immediately. Some houses were open and inviting, and some houses were just so full of junk, smoking tenants, or what have you, that we didn't even want to bother going past the front door.

[Lil_Mrs_0702]

Have you ever seen that show on A&E called Sell This House? They have a lot of great ideas on how to stage your home for sellers. I agree w/ what a lot of the other ladies have said.
Try a nice fresh coat of neutral paint where needed, basic patch work, and landscaping. I don't know the condition of your floors, but I wouldn't mess w/ it unless they are looking pretty shabby. Make sure that you do a fresh run through of carpet deodorizer and vacuum before any open houses. Make the house feel as clean as possible!! I like the idea of changing out the lightbulbs. i have never thought of that before!

[Tanya]

When doing cosmetic work, chances are you will spend more money than you will make....so what's the point?
The point is not to make all your money back, but to sell your house:D. So, if I put $500 into new flooring, and it actually makes someone take a second look and put an offer in, that was money well spent! Much like lml's experience on buying their home with the awful carpet and wall--that they were the only ones to give it a second glance.

We are tiling our front porch because we think it will make a big difference in first impressions and it will look like we've gone "above and beyond" what we had to. We are solely tiling it to sell it. Yes, that will cost money, but we don't live in an area where houses are flying off the shelves, so to speak, so every little bit helps. First impressions are key.

We are making sure most of the inspection items are taken care of, as well. In our kitchen, the law changed after the house was built from outlets w/in 6ft of the sink to be GFCI to all outlets in a kitchen to be GFCI. So I just bought a whole bunch off ebay to redo in the kitchen. $5 a pop vs. $10 a pop in HD.

We are planning to "stage" the house much like you would see in a model home--nice accessories, nothing too personal. We'll probably leave up our wedding pics in the bedroom, because it's the bedroom, you know?

You never want a buyer to see something broken because then they'll think, what else haven't they taken care of? We are fixing some cracked/hollow tiles and cabinetry. Basically, all the stuff we noticed when we bought the place, we're fixing. And we're pretty picky, so hopefully that will work:D.

We painted all the walls from a yucky off-white to some nice decorator colors. I really think it makes a huge difference.

You will get different opinions on a re-dec allowance. I think if it's bad, you should change it to sell your home for the most money and the quickest. Ever seen the stuff they do on Designed to Sell? But some buyers would rather take the allowance. That's a special buyer, though, IMO, that can see past the yuck or outdatedness.

[Dotsie]

Linda,

Keep your house spotless and uncluttered. Clean out all your closets and keep them bare or with just a few items. It gives the appearance of more storage. Keep counter tops and what not completely free of items. And try to take some of your family photos off the walls etc. You want people to be able to see themselves in your house not your family in your house KWIM? Do not make any high cost upgrades in terms of carpet, flooring, etc. Once your house is listed with an agent and showings begin, your agent will get feedback. That will let you know if there is somethings that really need to be taken care of. For example it 5 people come to see your house and 4 of them say your carpets are shot, you can offer a carpet allowance. That's how I usually work things. Good Luck!!

[Rosebud]

Have you ever seen that show on A&E called Sell This House? They have a lot of great ideas on how to stage your home for sellers.

This is a great show. Definitely helpful in giving you an idea of how to stage your house. Another show that's really good is "Designed to Sell" on HGTV. They have a higher budget on "Designed to Sell," but it gives you great ideas on how to best present your home.

[~Kelly~]

When we sold our house (still in escrow) we had someone come in and professionally stage our house. It is popular in our area and it really makes the most amazing difference. I can PM you some before and after pics if your interested.

Good Luck

[julietchicago]

When I said "When doing cosmetic work, chances are you will spend more money than you will make....so what's the point?" I understand the point of making improvements are to get the home sold (I am a Realtor). But often times people go overboard, and they spend $20,000 on improvements only to put a for sale sign in the yard and the $20,000 really wasn't necessary to get it sold (sorry, but 20k is a lot to me!!). There are definetly some changes worth making, others just aren't worth the time and money. I have seen people put in new carpet, then drive by the home 1 week after closing only to find the brand new carpeting they spent $5k on in the garbage. Some people will put hardwood flooring in, well not everyone likes hardwood flooring. Anything on the outside, painting or landscaping I would suggest....curb appeal is VERY important.

Another great tip to get your home sold is staging. So many houses are cluttered, and when a buyer walks through they can't even concentrate on the house because their eyes are on your crap. They can't help it, it's everywhere! I say, if you aren't going to use it before you move....pack it. Out of sight, out of mind. A cluttered house is the worst.

[Asha]

i agree with juliet about making major, expensive cosmetic changes. things that are usually expensive like granite counters, stainless steel appliances are a personal taste. not everyone likes those things so it may or may not necessarily help you sell your house.

i think that you should fix things that are relatively cheap to fix like paint and putting things into storage to decrease clutter. also, if some things aren't quite working right like a leaky faucet that should be fixed as well. also, make sure your house smells good. that may sound silly but we were immediately turned off to houses that smelled bad.

[LeighW]

Last time I sold a house, I didn't do anything except what Dotsie said. :)

I also wouldn't worry about carpeting or tiling, unless the existing floor is so hideous that you think it will scare off prospective buyers.

I would call a realtor familiar with your neighborhood and ask him or her to come by and tell you what he/she thinks. They will know how to maximize profit in your market.

[jennylou]

Well, we haven't sold a house, but we do rent them. Some that we are renting, we'll eventually sell, so we try to do things that will appeal to a broad market.

You mentioned pink counters? Honestly, laminate is not that much money and it would be a great investment to relaminate into something neutral. Many homeowners buy just like you did thinking they don't want to do anything because they aren't handy and a pink counter could turn people off.

The paint on the exterior and interior will be a great investment.

As for the floors, I agree with the others...if they are truly fugly...they must go. I would recommend either a linoleum (which would be cheaper) or ceramic tile. Peel and Stick are just awful. And truly, if you put them in now, within a few weeks, they could start to lift. Blah, I hate peel and stick.

I wouldn't do anything with the stove/fridge (if they are staying), unless they are truly hideous and then I'd say that they don't stay with the house and put them to the street. ;) As for the dishwasher, if it's in decent shape...leave it as is. If it's horrible, you may want to put in a new one. Also, you may want to put in a microwave/stove vent....I've noticed people really love these. They are only a few hundred dollars, so they don't break the bank.

[kimthebride]

We're selling our condo next summer.

The original buyer had almost-white carpeting put through the whole place 13 years ago. Needless to say, it is disgusting after 9 years of previous tenants and 4 years of sloppy DH, me, 2 black cats, and now a baby boy.

Before we sell we are replacing the carpeting upstairs, the kitchen & hall flooring, and repainting. We're doing this now because we want to enjoy it and it really does need to be done (we'd be doing it even if we weren't selling).

Once it's time for people to tour our place, I'm clearing out the closets, storage unit and taking out any bric-a-brac, framed picture or other useless bit in this place and putting it in a rented storage closet until we move.

Then we will get the new carpets professionally steam cleaned, as well as the whole apartment professionally cleaned.

We'll have the realtor do a walk-through and follow any other advice she has. She's been selling units in our building for years, so she knows what buyers are looking for.

[screetch]

One thing to think about is your competition.... will it be up against any newer homes? We just sold out 10 yr old house and had installed wood laminates earlier in the year (part of the house was necessary from hurricane damage but we decided to do everything in the living area). Even though our house wasn't new, a lot of the homes in the area were and the floors really did help make it look fresher. Obviously it wasn't priced the same as a new house, but I think I really think it helped b/c the house itself looked a lot nicer when it was done. Also, we just bought a new house (different part of the country) and we looked at homes from 25 years old to brand new. Honestly, the houses I considered in need of new carpet didn't make our final list b/c DH didn't want to deal with big changes, even though in the end it would have been quite a bit cheaper for us. He just didn't want to deal with the hassle of changing major stuff on a "new" (new to us) house.

Another thing that made a *huge* difference and was very cheap was painting the baseboards and doors. Made it look much, much newer.

I would try to scope out the type of houses your house will be up against and try to make it better than those.

[christy1010]

DH and I had house on the market from 11/04-4/05 had several people say they liked it but it was second choice. We are considering putting house on the market again at the first of 2006. DH would like to repaint living room, dining room, hall, and kitchen, get new carpet in living room, dining room, hall, and three bedrooms, and replace the wallpaper in the bathrooms. I am questioning the sense in do all this work before we move. Any suggestions?

[linda_loo]

christy1010 - there are a couple realtors here that will probably comment. I know that, from everything I have read and heard from a realtor friend here IRL, a new coat of neutral paint is a great idea. When you had it listed before, did your realtor say that there were negative comments about your carpets and wallpaper?

[mimieliza]

I'm always disappointed with homes that have new carpet or linoleum. My goal is to rip out all carpet and put down hard wood or laminate, so I don't like the idea that the seller has already shelled out $$$ for flooring according to their taste, not mine. Maybe I'm weird to want a house with ratty old carpeting, but at least that way, I feel like I can maybe negotiate with the seller to have the type of floors I want put in.

Do you have any rooms with wallpaper? Strip it! I HATE wallpaper and it's such a PITA to remove. We looked at a very nice house, but every room on the main floor was wallpapered. It looked fine with the owner's stuff, but it would look terrible with our stuff. The idea of having to strip all that wallpaper was not appealing.

[smilewithme]

We have some time, almost a year, before we want to sell our current home. What did you do to your home to spruce it up before selling? New floors? New paint? New what? And was it worth it?

I want to put cabinets in our laundry room. We currently have just the bare shelf in there now and it looks more finished to me with cabinets.

[kristin]

We just put on house on the market and did alot of cosmetic work that was cheap, no real major overhauls here. We concentrated mostly on our curb-appeal. We had not put much into landscaping since we purchased the home 3 years ago, and from everything we watch on HGTV, it seemed like improving our curb-appeal was the way to go. Planted flowers, trimmed overgrown bushes and hedges, put mulch down, etc. We also put shutters on our windows and pressure washed the house. It's amazing how much different it looks.

As far as the inside goes, we replaced light fixtures in both bathrooms, put chair rails up in the dining room, and put crown molding in 2 bedrooms (the rest of our house already had CM). We repainted the kitchen cabinets ourselves, and painted every single piece of trim (this really seemed to brighten up the room).

Obviously we decluttered - removed all personal photos and mementos and put up very neutral pictures in their place. Also put some fake greenery around the house.

We really feel like our house is in mint condition. Our kitchen is the only thing that needs updating. We put a new sink and laminate countertops in 3 years ago, but will not go any further since we feel someone is going to want to do it over in their own style anyway. We are willing to cut our losses on the kitchen.

I will say it absolutely sucks that it took us putting our house on the market to get the house in great shape. All that work for someone else to enjoy!

[nancy drew]

as others have suggested earlier, have a realtor or two walk through your house and give some suggestions. choose realtors who sell frequently in your area, as they will have a better idea of what sells and what doesnt. for example in some markets, stainless steel appliances and granite counters are a necessity. in other markets, they are a bonus. an agent who is familiar with your market will know whether an "upgrade" like that will help or hurt.

my realtor pays for a pre-sale inspection, which i highly recommend doing even if you have to pay for it yourself. basically, you have an inspector go through and inspect your home as though he were representing a buyer. he will pick out all of the things that violate code (codes change frequently, so even if you bought in the last few years the code may have changed) or send up red flags. spend the money to fix those things first!!! otherwise you could end up with buyers who walk away because there are "too many problems" or you could end up giving ridiculous amounts of money in repair credits, or you could have buyers whose inspector "finds" something totally false. that happened to me, and i was so glad i had another inspection report to back up my claim that the "problem" their inspector found did not exist. this is a buyers market and people are well aware of that. they will try to milk you for every penny you have.

[Brady]

We sold our condo last year. Before putting in on the market, we painted the cabinets, replaced the hardware, and then replaced the countertop and sink in the kitchen. In the bathroom we put in a white toilet, and white vanity. The previos fixtures were all just old and dated. We also touched up some paint on the baseboards and around the windows and had the carpets steam cleaned.
It really helped to make the place look clean and fresh and overall did not cost that much (maybe less than $500). We thankfully got an offer in less than 2 weeks. I can't say if that's what did it, but at least it was "move in ready".

[Asha]

we sold our house fsbo earlier this year.

what we did...
-paint stairails and stairwells (the other rooms had been painted in the past two years so it wasn't necessary)
-pack away anything that we did not need or didn't add any decorative flavor to the house
-rearrange some of the rooms so each room showed off its purpose and looked as big as possible (for example we had one room as a gym, but we decided to take the gym equipment down and set that room up as a bedroom.
-cleared out the closets leaving only the necessities
-replaced a lot of the lighting and ceiling fans
-put higher wattage lightbulbs in the lights
-regrouted showers
-gave very thorough cleaning to the house

i don't know if it had to do with our prepping the house, but our house sold to the first people who saw the house for full asking price.

[Ali]

My home's first owner (we are the second owners) was a real estate agent who purchased this home as an investment property. This is what she did before selling:
new neutral carpeting in the carpeted rooms (taupe/beige)
new paint throughout (every room and closet is painted a warm beige)
new paint on doors and trim
new blinds on every window
had surfaces professionally cleaned (everything sparkled)
trimmed and mulched "builder bushes"
house was shown empty of furniture/stuff
garage was totally clean
all lights were on when house was being shown (and I do mean ALL) this probably helped the house look brighter, cleaner, more spacious

She chose the cheaper options of everything, but it looked fabulous when brand, spanking new...and it would probably still look great if I weren't the proud pet-parent of a herd o' destructo-cats.

She kept the original linoleum in the kitchen and master bath. The guest bath had new linoleum. I am guessing that that is because one of her former tenants damaged the original linoleum.

She purchased our home in the construction phase so the original floor plan was reconfigured to make more sense and be more livable than most homes in the neighborhood. All cabinetry, appliances, counter tops, etc. were chosen in a neutral palette that would appeal to a wide range of home buyers when the home was first built.

[Julss05]

We haven't sold our place yet but friends of ours have. Besides changes they made while living in the house (LA carpet, kitchen remodel, windows, new fence, painting) they did nothing except cleaning and decluttering selling in 3 weeks.

Here's a list of what we'd like to do before putting it on the market:
Replace front door
Fix anything that isn't working properly
Paint fence
Landscaping
Bathroom work
Allowances: Definitely a carpet allowance for living area, wouldn't if it was in good shape but even with cleaning looks dingy.

What we've done so far: complete kitchen remodel, interior paint, vinyl siding, 1 bathroom remodel (2 to go!), installed 2nd ceiling fan, changed some lighting, den/kitchen flooring, added onto shed, added deck, changed outlets and outlet covers, changed blinds, water heater, and toilet seat covers.

What about windows? All our windows/sliding glass doors work properly but are original with the house. We'd like to do that for ourselves but also to help sell in a few years.

[snoopy30]

Our house is currently on the market and we pretty much did what others have:

-had the house inspected and then made any necessary repairs
-rearranged furniture to maximize space and to stage rooms
-touch-up paint, esp. trim
-some landscaping

Our house was built in 1927 so the list of things we could do is endless really. We had to stop somewhere!

[ktsb]

I wasn't able to surf this whole thread but wanted some input.

We have moved into our new home while our old home is still on the market.

We moved to another house in the same neighborhood.

My isssue is our Realtors asked if we could leave some of the furniture. We left a cafe table in the kitchen that we don't need anyway, a couple pieces of living room furniture which is right where you enter the house, the dining room table also visible as you enter the house, a chair and a lamp in the office, and our bedroom set in the master bedroom.

The problem is it's now been two months since we moved and not having all of our furniture especially the master bedroom set is really really getting old.

I'm interested in some thoughts on showing a house empty vs. furnished? Will it really hurt us? Keep in mind I live in a buyer's market right now and my house has been on the market for almost 90 days.

[Standrea]

Honestly, my personal preference, I like looking at empty houses over filled ones.
1- I can picture my own furniture in there without thinking about how they have it arranged.
2- You really can see ANY imperfections that furniture may cover up.

[mamax2]

I'm interested in some thoughts on showing a house empty vs. furnished? Will it really hurt us? Keep in mind I live in a buyer's market right now and my house has been on the market for almost 90 days.

PROS

- You can get the house *really* clean
- No personal effects to detract from the home

CONS

- You can *really* see if the house isn't clean :p
- It doesn't feel 'homey' - most people aren't that visionary, they need to see furniture placement, neutral colors, etc. to imagine themselves in a space (this is why a lot of new construction homes are partially furnished/staged)
- An empty home can be interpreted as desperation. If a prospect knows you've already moved on and are handling 2 mortgages, they will know you NEED to sell. This could negatively effect your negotiating power

If you want your stuff, consider renting or borrowing some furniture to fill the space. Also, keep in mind the stuff needn't be functional. A bedframe w/some empty boxes in place of a mattress covered with a comforter & pillows still provides the mental picture for people. Nice towels and a pretty basket of soaps in the bathroom, etc. I wouldn't think about keeping it liveable so much as staged at this point.

[Standrea]

Ok, we are in the process of purchasing a new home. We weren't intending on putting our current house on the market until after the closing, but our RE just called and said that he has 4-6 couples that would like to see our home this weekend. IT"S NOT EVEN ON THE MARKET YET!
I'm starting to freak out. We were waiting to put it on the market so we could really come through and clean it, and make sure that everything was taken care of that needed to be. Now, we have 5 days to get it set!

[Hello Kitty]

If it makes you feel better I had 6 hours notice to get mine show ready. Just spend a few minutes in each room and do what you can to make it visually appealing. Cut out any sort of clutter and box it up. Open windows, clean, etc... It can be done! :D

[ktsb]

Standrea I had to do something similar because I didn't anticipate putting an offer on another house so I needed to get my house on the market fast.

I did these things first:


Took away any personal effects including toothbrushes and shower sponges
Packed up the book shelf so it didn't look so full
Cleared surfaces especially the kitchen counters (crossed my fingers that no one would look in cabinets, the garage and closets ;))
Bought some preplanted planters for the front porch
Cleaned carpets and floors

[villanelle75]

If you can, it might be worth it to hire a cleaning person/service to come in and give the place a very thorough cleaning. That way, you could spend your time boxing up extra knick knacks, taking out extra furniture to make the place look bigger, putting a few fresh flowers in your planting beds, etc. It would probably be worth the hundred bucks (or couple hundred, depending on who you hire, how much you have them do, size of home, and what area you live in) it costs because it would buy you the time to work on the staging.

[SiValleySteph]

We basically took 4 days to get our house on the market. I took a day off work and packed up the majority of our bookshelves, everything on the counter in the kitchen, half our closets, any large toys, etc, and then DH & ( moved that all to the garage. Our realtor had come through and told us what had to go, what could stay, etc.

DH took half a day and planted flowers in the front, packed up more stuff, etc.

We had professional window cleaners, houses cleaners and carpet cleaners.

Our realtor came back with plants, pictures and lines for staging.

We got this all done in < 1 week (starting on Monday), put our house on the market that Friday and then had our open house that weekend, took offers on the next Wednesday and accepted one that day.

Good luck!

[GroceryStoreWine]

While we had lots of time to do stuff to our house (it was on the market for 6 months) we didn't want to put a lot of effort into some of the major projects. The little things we did . . .

Stored some large furniture to make rooms look larger.
Purchased fresh flowers before showings.
Left candles burning when people came to visit.
Make sure the curtains were open as wide as possible to let in as much light.
Planted a St. Joseph statue in the flower bed. (ok, this wasn't a great help, but we were getting desperate towards the end.)

[Standrea]

WOW Stephanie! How many people did you have at your open house? I hope we have an offer! That would be so awesome.

Thanks for the tips ladies. If anyone else has anything that noone hit on, please let me know! I'm going to be a mad woman the next few days. I'm doing one room at a time, and our bedroom is ALMOST done. DD's room will probably be the last one, just so I can keep out her toys long enough. I'm definately clearing all the big ones...

[SiValleySteph]

Andrea, Yes, we had a lot of people at our open house. This was in late June and our market was still pretty good back then. We had multiple offers and sold for almost $20k over listing price. It's slowed considerably since. We also had an entry level type house (sad at that price) and we priced a little low, so I think that made it attractive. Once we decided to move we just wanted out, so we were pretty agressive!

Good luck!

[mamax2]

Cleared surfaces especially the kitchen counters (crossed my fingers that no one would look in cabinets, the garage and closets )

FYI... people will absolutely look in garages & closets and having those spaces organized is important! Clutter in those places says one of two things: 1) this house is small and doesn't have enough storage options! or 2) these people are slobby... I wonder what else they slacked on?

I'm not saying this to be harsh, it's just reality of a buyer's thought process.

Standrea ~ If there are 4-6 families interested in seeing your property before it ever goes on the market, chances are there's very little you need to do to get it ready. That's a lucky break! Basic de-cluttering, cleaning and a nice fresh smelling home is all you need to focus on for the short term. Good luck!!!

[DallasLady]

FYI... people will absolutely look in garages & closets and having those spaces organized is important! Clutter in those places says one of two things: 1) this house is small and doesn't have enough storage options! or 2) these people are slobby... I wonder what else they slacked on?



I totally agree. I sure did this when I was house hunting.

[Standrea]

You know, the house that we are in the process of buying, the garage (which is attached, our current home, it is not), was packed with boxes. i really didn't care much about that, as long as the rest of the house was neat and clean. THe owner had 2 large dogs (both were there which i thought was super weird), and the white carpets and nice floors (hardwood, marble, and armstrong) all looked new, even though she had them installed years before, so i know that she kept things nice.

I kicked up my curb appeal yesterday by putting out some mums and pumpkins. We have almost boxed up everything except for the neccessitys, and the RE came through yesterday and said the only thing that we need to do is get our coffee table out of the house and move it into the garage. We still need to touch up paint on the walls, and vaccume, steam clean, and we should be done.

[bunnybeth]

We're looking at putting our home on the market in about 18-24 months, so no need to worry about the little things yet. However, I do want to get going on the big things so we have some time to enjoy a nicer house before we move. I know we're going to be replacing most of our flooring, as I just can't stand it anymore. But, what I'm not decided on yet is the kitchen sink. I know most people say kitchens and bathrooms sell houses. (I have been watching a lot of HGTV lately.) We have a white sink, but it's original (10+ years) and I guess we haven't been treating it well because it's all scratched and stained and I don't think we'll ever get it looking good again. Would it be worth it to replace it? As in, is the kitchen sink being scratched something that would really turn buyers off?

[jennylou]

Yeah, I'd replace it. You can even replace it with a stainless steel sink which are pretty reasonably priced and they don't get dirty like white sinks do. :)

[justHB]

we actually didn't do anything for our loft other than clean the heck out of it and put away all the clutter. the lady we sold the house from used a lot of strategically placed decorations to hide the house's major flaws and we didn't see them until we moved in. there's a lot you can do creatively with very little cash and effort to make your home look the best it can for potential buyers. i'd recommend watching "sell this house" on HGTV (at least i think that's the name of the show - there are so many now with the same premise. it's basically the one with the cute little designer girl who can work miracles.).