Selling house - what fixes help sell?

[Gwenny]

We are putting our house on the market in the early spring, and I'm wondering what sorts of things I can do to help it sell faster?  This is a 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1400 sq. ft. house on your standard suburb lot built in 1960, and will probably go for around $165,000.  Definitely a starter home by most standards. 

 

We've been in the house 13 years and there are a lot of small things that need to be fixed first, but I'm not sure where to put most of our efforts.  For sure, I'll paint all the rooms and we need to get new carpet throughout as well. What paint color would you find appealing if looking for a house?  What carpet color? 

 

In our kitchen, we have vinyl peel and stick tiles that are worn and need replacing, but I don't know whether or not I should replace that too, or just let it go.  It's not horrible, but I would replace it soon if I were buying this house.

 

We've remodeled both the bathroom and the kitchen since moving in (about 5-7 years ago), so that's not a problem, but I worry when I see the houses similar to ours that have come out onto the market.  Many appear to have been gutted and "flipped" and have brand new everything in all the most popular finishes and colors.  Some are obviously vacant but beautifully staged.  I'm afraid our lived in old house won't compare to the newness of these remodeled ones.  I have solid wood cabinets and much better appliances, but I don't know if the average person looking would even pick up on that anyway.  They'll see the shiny newness and the granite in the others and ignore mine.  We live in a really huge neighborhood and the same 4 or 5 houses repeat throughout.  There are a lot of ones just like ours to compare to.  What are the things that make a house stand out in your mind?

 

Also, all our furniture looks old and worn and cheap.  It looks as though 2 kids have jumped, ate, stood on, and made forts with it all for 10 years.  Is it worth it to invest in new furniture just to help a house look good to sell?  I guess I will at least get to take it to our next house.  All we really need is new couches and coffee tables I suppose.  And I refuse to rent furniture.

 

I'm also willing to pack away everything not necessary, declutter, and stage the house to the best of my abilities.

 

See, now I'm in the thousands here with paint, carpet, and couches!  All for a house I don't want anymore!  Please tell me if these changes are worth it, or if I should just leave it and hope for the best.

 

[gingersmom]

Why not sell it "as is"?

[Laurie4b]

Yes, you need to paint and re-carpet. Choose neutral colors.

[sbgrace]

Actually, talk to a realtor (or three...better to have multiple opinions and options).

 

In some areas and price ranges, the updates don't actually raise price or make a house move "faster" enough to be worth the outlay. At least that's what we were told. We were advised against doing some things I really thought we should do.

 

 

[Berta]

A Realtor will walk through your house and point out what you can do to make it look more inviting. Sometimes just removing a few personal items is all it takes. A fresh coat of paint and new carpet helps. Make the first impression count and paint the front door and spruce up the entrance. 

[StephanieZ]

IMHO, if you are competing against lots of similar homes, you can either leave it as is and price it to sell, cheap . . . If you could price it for 15-20k cheaper than you were planning, but save all the hassle and expense of the cleanup/turnaround . . .  If you can price it lower than all the spiffier "flipping" houses, then you have an edge.

 

Or . . . you are probably going to have to do much of what the "flippers" in your neighborhood are doing. People who flip houses know just what you need to do in order to sell fast and get top dollar because they do it over and over for a living! Copy them. :(

 

So, yes, definitely neutral colors for any work you do. Paint all the walls a nice creamy white with bright white trim. *Perhaps* do one living area in a bit darker khaki neutral if you want some pizzazz. Absolutely do the floors in neutrals! Creamy beige or khaki colors. 

 

I think, especially in today's financing environment where many people have to come up with a good bit of cash to get into their first house (no more 95% financing for the most part), many buyers of a starter house would be intimidated to do much work, even cosmetic things. 

 

Back when I bought our first few houses, I *wanted* houses that had good bones but needed cosmetic work. We did the painting ourselves, and we saved and waited to do the flooring (usually right before selling, alas!) I think with double income families, and families having to wait/save longer to get into a home (and thus probably already having a baby or two . . .), people don't want to do the DIY stuff as much. So, you'll appeal to the most buyers if things look like, "I can move right in." So, whatever you have to do in order to get it to that point . . .

 

If I were in your shoes, I'd lean towards cleaning thoroughly, decluttering aggressively, fixing anything that is broken, painting in neutral colors, and possibly the flooring if I could do it cheaply or DIY. Then I'd try to price it cheaper than the "flipping" houses. 

[Tiffnkids]

Definitely paint, my DH refers to painting as " instant clean" - use a neutral color (your realtor may be able to help you choose a popular shade).

 

Carpet - ugh, such a hard decision. I would try a good cleaning first . . . No use putting in new carpet if the new owner will hate the color or type of carpet or want tile or hardwood or whatever. If the carpet is really yucky, then replace it with inexpensive carpet.

 

Declutter, clean, stage your house as much as you can.

 

And don't forget curb appeal! So many people will just drive on by if they don't like the way a house looks from the outside. So fix up the landscaping, paint the mailbox, clean your front door,etc.

 

Good luck!

[Crimson Wife]

When we were househunting, we wanted houses that were move-in ready and wouldn't need any remodeling. It's easier to get approved for a mortgage with a higher purchase price than a smaller mortgage + a loan for remodeling, even if the total sum borrowed is the same.

[Gwenny]

So, not too early to get a Realtor?  How do I pick one?  I'm afraid I'm super-picky when it comes to what I want in a Realtor.  In addition to being a wonderful Realtor, I need them to be a woman, a photographer, and a home stager.  How do I do that when there are so many to choose from?  I've seen plenty I don't want, though. 

[Tiffnkids]

As far as choosing a realtor . . .

 

Have a bunch of them come out and have a look. Ask about their education and experience. Ask about what they will do to market and sell your house.

 

They should be competing for your business.

 

Eliminate the ones that don't show up when they are supposed to, the ones that immediately insist that you sign something, the ones that are constantly on their cells, and the ones that are condescending, pretentious, or generally annoying.

[Alenee]

So, not too early to get a Realtor?  How do I pick one?  I'm afraid I'm super-picky when it comes to what I want in a Realtor.  In addition to being a wonderful Realtor, I need them to be a woman, a photographer, and a home stager.  How do I do that when there are so many to choose from?  I've seen plenty I don't want, though. 

 

No, not too early.  Interview from recommendations.  Are you on facebook?  Ask your friends. 

 

One of the biggest things that made a difference for us was what realtors brought us as "comps" = comparable houses on the market.  We had one who we thought we could trust but when he brought us the comps, he was insisting we could only get $220,000 and the comps were NOT comparable.  We knew we could get $100,000 more.  We found a realtor through an acquaintance with a great personality and track record.  He brought us comps that were far more comparable... and we DID sell for what we thought we could. 

 

Since you have time, use it to interview.  We ended up spending about $10,000 in upgrades and most of it was paint, carpet, and other flooring.  Had we left it 'as is', we couldn't have afforded to sell; the investment would've been lost because as you pointed out, everyone else had done upgrades.

[Jackie]

Definitely not too early to be talking to a Realtor. Ask around, find about three that you are interested in meeting, and call them up. If open houses are common in your area, you can go to some of those and talk to the realtors there to check them out. Tell them up front that you aren't interested in listing until the spring but would like to meet them, have them do a quick walk through of your house, and get advice on preparing it for sale. That will give you time to decide who you like.

 

When I sold, I went ahead and did the painting and most of the floors before having a realtor look at it, but I realized afterwards I should have done it in the other order. Regardless, she was able to give good advice about what other things I needed to do, and which things were easily ignored.

[Incognito]

Some things that are cheap/easy that make a positive difference:

Cinnamon scenting (or other non-perfumey scent)

cleaning window frames well

keep windows open a smidgen, shades open, lights on

declutter like crazy (get rid of or store somewhere else all out of season clothes, half your in season stuff, toys, etc.)

mirrors in small rooms (make spaces look bigger)

 

Good luck!  We recently sold ours and I don't know if it really matters, but we only touched up the walls with the colors we had there, cleaned very thoroughly, and did the above.  If you take a picture of each room and then look at it, it is often easier to see the clutter. 

 

[Mommyof4ks]

I would talk to the realtor and find out if you will make make what you plan to spend on carpet and paint. When we were house hunting I felt really bad that the previous owners repainted and re carpeted, because I repaint everything anyway, and I prefer wood floors, so we repainted and redid the floor. We worked the price down, and they lost money on those fixes.

 

I would redo the kitchen floor if you remodeled the kitchen and the floor in there is an issue. The carpet and paint might come out cheaper if you just offer an allowance at closing for that.

[kroe1]

1. Interview realtors first. Try 3 or 4. Write down everything said to make your home more appealing.

 

2. Based on what the realtor says, find a contractor next. Remember that you have only two types of buyers, those who want move in ready and those who flip. The flippers need to make a profit so they are not willing to pay much on the front end. If you do the upgrades, then you are the one making the profit.

 

3. Get a landscaper to help with curb appeal.

 

4. It sounds like you are already doing this, but go into every home in your area which comes up for sale, know your competition.

 

5. Do your own comps search so you can know your renovation budget.

 

6. As of this second in time, think open concept, granite, anything but white or off-white appliances, updated fixtures, large shower heads, tile or wood flooring, outdoor spaces, and walk in closets. Steer your home in that direction.

[Laura Corin]

For paint and carpet colours, have a look at local show homes to see what the fashion is.  Grey is popular for carpets here at present, rather than the chocolates and mushrooms of ten years ago.

 

L

[gardenmom5]

my dd just bought a house that had three offers in 36 hours. (and more who wanted to submit offers before it was finally listed as pending on the MLS.)  the kitchen and baths were updated around 1990, so no granite or stainless steel. (she hates ss anyway.  she wants white.)  they did paint all the walls throughout the house white.   they replaced all the carpet with pale gray throughout so everything is the same.  peel n stick tile in the kitchen and dining room. (different patterns)  it's comfortable now, even if the décor isn't current.

 

not all whites are the same.  some absorb light, other's reflect it.  pick up a "whites" paint chip and play with it and you'll see what a mean.  you want to choose something that reflects light to make the most of what light there is in the room.  if you have nice mill-work, pick a contrasting color so the mill-work will pop.

 

it's not so much that you don't have updates, but how it presents.  buyer's know they are looking at an older home, they know they will have to do things to update it how they like.  (which can also be an advantage because they aren't paying for your updates that' they're just going to rip out. one beautifully flipped house is still sitting because there are problems with 'floorplan/function. all dd saw was what she'd have to rip out and redo to make it work for her. and she'd be paying for it twice.)  

 

clean, thoroughly clean. (as well as declutter and make it "impersonal".  if you're not going to use it, pack it away. you'll have to do that anyway when you move.) don't have any furniture in blocking doors or windows.  do not keep pet supplies in the open in the kitchen. 

 

If you have multiple conversation areas, emphasize that.  we saw gorgeous flipped houses, but it came down to they still only had a living room and no separate family/bonus room.

 

make sure light fixtures are all working, and have all bulbs working.  you don't want a buyer speculating on a potential electrical problem (re:thinking $$$) when the six-light chandelier only has one bulb that works.

 

if your house has a special feature that isn't obvious- make a sign and place it next to the area.

 

have a friend walk through with a buyer's eye and give you the truth, what does she see that needs to be done ... buyer's are going to ask themselves that as they walk through.  buyer's expect to do a certain amount of updating to their style and needs, but if it is really clean and functional now, they don't feel pressed to have it done before they can move in. general household repairs are a big turn-off. (and big ones can potentially slow down a sale because an inspector will find them, and the bank will insist certain things be done before funding a loan.)

 

check for outside repairs too.  prune shrubs leading to the front door.  no shrub should try to eat the buyer coming up the walk. even if it is a 50yo Japanese maple that's worth several thousand dollars (it would have benefited from judicious pruning/thinning so you could see the inside).   curb appeal is important, weed, thrown down bark, clean up the yard too.

 

and clean some more.  if a house "feels clean", buyers will stay longer and look more.

[gardenmom5]

as for the furniture, can things be professionally cleaned?  carpet cleaners will clean upholstered furniture.  slip covers are good too.  get rid of extra pieces that clog rooms.  if something is obviously broken, take it out.

 

if you are in a techie area - do not list cable tv or satellite as high tech cable.  . . . . she got irked quite a few times by those listings . . . . .if you are in a techie area, it might make your house more attractive if you do install techie data ports.  (it does here - but the flippers are clueless.  oh - everyone has wireless.  uh, no.  not techies.  wireless is too slow and undependable for a real techie.)

 

if you have pet smells, do everything you can to get rid of them.

[bettyandbob]

I don't think decluttering can be emphasized enough. Get rid of/put in storage most of your stuff. Do not have filled closets. Clean and clean some more.

[Amethyst]

Paint wall white.

 

Trim shrubbery. I want to be able to see the house from the street.

 

Here's one of the things I did when getting ready to sell: I would clean, paint, and declutter one room completely. Stage it just so. Then I would take pictures of that *one room*. I did this one room at a time over a couple of weeks. Then those were the pics that went on the website. It was a lot easier to just have to clean one room at a time perfectly rather than have a realtor come one day and expect the house to be perfect so he/she could take pictures. When I was looking for a house, I used websites a lot so I know how important pics are. It's really really hard when you're homeschooling to ever have the entire house looking perfect so that's why this method worked so well for me.

[Lolly]

Just btdt myself. Definitely talk to several realtors to see what is going in your area. We put a little money in on small repairs before I did the realtor consult. Wish we hadn't put anything into it. You will probably be dropping the price to way below what you think it should be. Seems to be the only way to get a house to sell. Particularly an older one. When we finally dropped to the price the realtor suggested, it sold quickly. It was WAY under what it should have gotten. The buyers are basically ripping everything out and redoing. Honestly, it didn't need to be done, but it gives them a brand new house cheap. They say the housing market is recovering. From what I am seeing here, houses are starting to sell because people are starting to give them away and take the loss.

[blondeviolin]

Listening in because we are hoping to list a house after the start of the new year. We are currently putting a TON in storage. Our house isn't 100% modern, but it has a good floor plan and a large kitchen. We have a lot of foreclosures in our area which make me nervous.

 

Oh, and did I mention we had five young kids? Yeah. I think I'm going crazy.

[Gwenny]

Lolly, I agree.  The houses in my area seem to start out a bit overpriced and then they keep cutting the price repeatedly over the next several months.  I'd much rather price it right to start with and have it sell quickly.  At least I don't have to worry about taking a loss as we bought so long ago and we are only a couple of years from paying it off. 

 

The house 2 doors down is identical to mine and went on the market a month ago and now they are offering it for sale or rent.  This really worries me.  It's very similar to mine but with an extra half bath added.  I was hoping that if it would sell quickly, then it would be a good sign mine would sell quickly too.  Evidently not.  At least by spring when ours is on the market, the daffodils and irises will be blooming and the garden and landscaping will look good.  The garden has a cottage garden feel that's at its best in spring.  But then on the other hand, some will be turned off by the upkeep of the flower beds. 

 

I know I can't please every buyer, but I'd like to appeal to the majority.

[Happy]

So, not too early to get a Realtor?  How do I pick one?  I'm afraid I'm super-picky when it comes to what I want in a Realtor.  In addition to being a wonderful Realtor, I need them to be a woman, a photographer, and a home stager.  How do I do that when there are so many to choose from?  I've seen plenty I don't want, though. 

 

I wish you lived in my area--I fit all that description. :)

I recently helped a buyer buy a house that was freshly fixed up--the house had been built in the 60s--but the sellers had painted everything (every wall, every cabinet, even the old brick fireplace) a fresh creamy white. They replaced the sink and faucet in the kitchen with a charming farmhouse sink and old fashioned looking faucet. My client joked that she was buying the house because she loved the faucet so much.

 

They did oatmeal colored carpet throughout...the appliances were newish and the countertops were a well done granite tile. Normally I don't like granite tile, but these were pretty.

 

There are all kinds of buyers--some don't want carpet, some do want to paint and update. Some buyers say they want to paint and fix up, most are really drawn to a fixed up house. My general advice is to update appliances, paint, light fixtures (in a few areas), and some carpet if you want to update. Otherwise, clean, clean, clean and declutter, then price the house well for it's condition. If your kitchen and baths are pretty updated, then clean, paint, and freshen the décor.

 

Furniture--yes, newer looking furniture can really help. I urge my clients to make the house look appealing to 30somethings.....a bit on the modern side, which is mostly clean and uncluttered, a few pops of a trendy color like turquoise.

 

Feel free to PM if you have questions or want to see if I know a realtor in your area. I have buddies in various places around the states.

[Gwenny]

Blondeviolin, we too have a lot of foreclosures in our area.  My neighborhood isn't a slum, but it's definitely on the lower end of the spectrum. But on the other hand, so many of the houses are being renovated or flipped that it really seems to be improving.  Looking online through the other houses in my area, I'm surprised by how many of them have granite counters and tiled showers.  I'd never expect such small, modest starter homes to have that.  Does everyone expect granite now, regardless of income?

[gardenmom5]

you can check out redfin.com for your area, or another diy mls service in your area.  as for prices, it really depends upon your area.    it also depends how many homes are on the market in your price range, and if they are short sale (dd refused to look at them because they can take so long) or foreclosed, or full priced.  here the flippers are going for the foreclosed homes as they have a bigger profit margin when they're done.

 

eta: the market right now will generally be tighter than it will be in the spring because most people don't like moving over the holidays unless they have to.  

[blondeviolin]

Blondeviolin, we too have a lot of foreclosures in our area. My neighborhood isn't a slum, but it's definitely on the lower end of the spectrum. But on the other hand, so many of the houses are being renovated or flipped that it really seems to be improving. Looking online through the other houses in my area, I'm surprised by how many of them have granite counters and tiled showers. I'd never expect such small, modest starter homes to have that. Does everyone expect granite now, regardless of income?

There is one house on our street that is a little bigger than ours (+100 sq ft) with a bigger backyard. It's priced a bit more than what we'd ideally like to get for ours. This concerned me because our house smaller with a smaller back yard. BUT, when I looked at pictures online, the kitchen was not very recently done (mustard cabinets?). Ours isn't stainless steel and granite, but definitely newer than the mustard.

 

After extreme decluttering, I'm hoping a good cleaning and touch-up paint and it being priced competitively, it'll sell quickly.

[fraidycat]

I would talk to the realtor and find out if you will make make what you plan to spend on carpet and paint. When we were house hunting I felt really bad that the previous owners repainted and re carpeted, because I repaint everything anyway, and I prefer wood floors, so we repainted and redid the floor. We worked the price down, and they lost money on those fixes.

 

I would redo the kitchen floor if you remodeled the kitchen and the floor in there is an issue. The carpet and paint might come out cheaper if you just offer an allowance at closing for that.

 

 

I agree with this.  Advertising "New Carpet!" won't sell the house to me.  Hey, I'll buy your house, but I'm keeping a few thousand off the price so that I can rip out that carpet and put in wood or laminate.  :)

[Tutor]

We are currently looking to buy a house and we are most concerned with big fixes: roofs, foundations, updated electrical and plumbing, etc. (There was a bad hail storm here last year, thus the concern about roofs, and parts of our area are known for bad foundations.) Things like paint and carpets don't concern me since I consider them aesthetic and will probably change-out to something we prefer after we purchase. Everything does need to be clean, however. If a house we tour is not clean when we come for a scheduled showing, we take that as a warning sign that other (often hidden) maintenance has not been done. (And we by no means mean unreasonably clean; we actually prefer clean and tidy but lived in versus showcase clean because we can get a better feel of how it will actually feel to live in a space.) Fireplace and chimney maintenance is a big indicator for us as well.

 

Also, because of severe allergies in our family, we take a close look at air ducts and filters. We expect to have to have them professionally cleaned before we move in (especially if cats have been in the home), but if they are filthy and will be difficult to clean we may pass on the house or ask for concessions to have them cleaned before we close.

[Ali in OR]

You might consider paying to get your house inspected by a professional inspector. When we sold our home ourselves, this helped us show that the condition of the house was overall pretty good. We were able to take care of smaller stuff ourselves (moss on roof, mildew on inside of garage door) and we could say that the asking price factored in the fact that we had LP siding (a big problem here in Oregon 10-15 years ago--needs extra care or replacement). I know having the report already done helped convince the buyer to buy the house. I think the inspection was around $300 ten years ago. In our area, we also have a lot of people sell their house "by owner". There is a real estate company that helps you do that--you just pay them a fee for all of the paperwork and stuff, not a percentage of the sale. You can pass on some of that savings to your buyer and ask a lower price than those who use a realtor. It works well here.

[sbgrace]

I read your updates OP. What you wrote makes me think even more than you would benefit from realtor consults before you do anything at all.

[gardenmom5]

You might consider paying to get your house inspected by a professional inspector. When we sold our home ourselves, this helped us show that the condition of the house was overall pretty good. We were able to take care of smaller stuff ourselves (moss on roof, mildew on inside of garage door) and we could say that the asking price factored in the fact that we had LP siding (a big problem here in Oregon 10-15 years ago--needs extra care or replacement). I know having the report already done helped convince the buyer to buy the house. I think the inspection was around $300 ten years ago. In our area, we also have a lot of people sell their house "by owner". There is a real estate company that helps you do that--you just pay them a fee for all of the paperwork and stuff, not a percentage of the sale. You can pass on some of that savings to your buyer and ask a lower price than those who use a realtor. It works well here.

ditto. a really good one. 

 

dd's seller did that, AND he got a list of bids from a reputable contractor (by sheer coincidence, we know two of the sons.)  a lot of the things that were listed reflected changes in building codes.  e.g. smoke detectors in every bedroom, handrails for every set of stairs with more than three steps.  a zensco panel they have to replace because it's a fire hazard. (the company is out of business).  we asked them to upgrade to a 200 amp panel because they are replacing the panel already.

 

here a fsbo can list on redfin - which also get's mls listings so it's still getting good traffic.  there are other companies that will allow you to list on the mls.  in WA the contracts are pretty standard and everyone uses basically the same contract.

[G5052]

Yes, talk to several realtors who sell a good number of houses in your neighborhood.

 

Some years ago we were in a panic over selling MIL's house.  It was horrible shape, but in a desirable neighborhood.  Our goal was frankly just to get it sold for a decent price, no more.

 

We ended up with a realtor who grew up in that neighborhood and still lived close by.  Her advice was to take down all of the 1960's wallpaper and paint it a neutral color and clean it up really well inside and out.  Her target customer was someone cash-poor with a large family who would gradually completely redo it.

 

And that's exactly who bought it, and we got the listed price.  The only expense was for painters.  Family members did all of the cleaning. 

[Gwenny]

Thanks for all of your replies!  From what many of you advise, I think I'll find realtors to interview after Thanksgiving.  I kinda hate for them to see the house in its cluttered state, but I hate to waste time and money on updates that don't need to be done. 

 

I've seen it mentioned a couple of times to offer allowances for carpet.  I know it's not the "in" flooring right now and that some will just rip it out.  But ours is in a pretty sad state and the bedrooms/den carpet are over 15 years old.  Will the average home owner be able to see past that and be able to envision the house with new carpet?  When we had the living room and hallway replaced years ago (from a 30ish year old carpet), I was amazed at how much better it made the whole house look.  It seemed to make everything look cleaner.

[Happy]

Thanks for all of your replies!  From what many of you advise, I think I'll find realtors to interview after Thanksgiving.  I kinda hate for them to see the house in its cluttered state, but I hate to waste time and money on updates that don't need to be done. 

 

I've seen it mentioned a couple of times to offer allowances for carpet.  I know it's not the "in" flooring right now and that some will just rip it out.  But ours is in a pretty sad state and the bedrooms/den carpet are over 15 years old.  Will the average home owner be able to see past that and be able to envision the house with new carpet?  When we had the living room and hallway replaced years ago (from a 30ish year old carpet), I was amazed at how much better it made the whole house look.  It seemed to make everything look cleaner.

 

In my opinion, no, buyers can't see past the old carpet. Offering an allowance really doesn't work in my area. If you recarpet, go for a cheap(er) carpet with a slightly more expensive pad. It makes a world of difference.

[MyThreeSons]

Watch a few episodes of "Sell This House!". They start with a hidden camera scene where you hear what potential buyers dislike. Then the pros come in and do their thing. It almost always involves the things you've already mentioned -- paint, floors, decluttering. They also do quite a bit with rearranging furniture that is incredibly helpful. And they have lots of quick fixes for making old furniture look better. Interestingly, while most realtors recommend neutral colors, the designer on this show tends to use bolder colors, and they seem to be well-received by most potential buyers. 

[Rachel]

We are putting our house on the market in the early spring, and I'm wondering what sorts of things I can do to help it sell faster?  This is a 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1400 sq. ft. house on your standard suburb lot built in 1960, and will probably go for around $165,000.  Definitely a starter home by most standards. 

 

We've been in the house 13 years and there are a lot of small things that need to be fixed first, but I'm not sure where to put most of our efforts.  For sure, I'll paint all the rooms and we need to get new carpet throughout as well. What paint color would you find appealing if looking for a house?  What carpet color? 

We sold a smaller, same age house last fall.  It was a slow market and supposed to be a bad time of year to sell.  We had two offers in a week, for more than we were expecting to get.

 

We interviewed 3 realtors.  1 was a friend who helped us buy the house we were selling, one was a realtor who had sold a house down the street in a month (most houses in our neighborhood were taking 8-9 months to sell), and 3rd was recommended by a friend and happened to be the top realtor in our region (she had been #1 or #2 for the last several years).  It was difficult not using the friend, but he had some family issues that he was focused on and with 3 small kids we wanted a quick sale.  We went with the last one and have recommended her to everyone we know who is even remotely interested in selling their house.

 

All 3 realtors brought comparables and made a recommendation on price.  They all walked through our home and made suggestions for what we could do to prepare our house to sell, their ideas were similar, none of them advocated spending a ton of money since our house was going to be selling at the lower end of the market.  We painted 2 bedrooms, kitchen, hall, and living room before we interviewed the realtors.  All three said painting was not necessary even though we had navy blue walls, I think this depends on individual markets and a realtor in your area will know best.  Definitely talk to a realtor before you spend any money on fixing up the house.  They will be able to help you make the changes that need to be made in your market.

 

We thought we were done decluttering before we hired our realtor, afterward she had us declutter even more. Her biggest thing was making the house spotless and having no signs of pets.  We had a storage shed so she had us store every piece of furniture that wasn't necessary, we had a small eat in kitchen so we replaced our table that you could barely walk around with a small 4 person table from IKEA.  She wanted all of our closets only half full, all personal photos packed away, book shelf half full, no toys in view, only one item on the kitchen counter.  The house was super clean, linoleum & baseboards were scrubbed, grout in the tile in the bathroom super clean.  We ended up paying someone to clean all our windows which with the double panes and storm windows was well worth the money.  Inside the house all the doors had different knobs, some were silver, some were brass, all were in bad shape.  We ended up replacing all of them with inexpensive knobs which made a big difference to me.  I'm not sure the new owners ever noticed all the knobs were new but they would have noticed the hodgepodge of old ones since all the doors were in the hall.  We had dark curtains in our bedroom, she had us take them down and replace them with sheers.  It let a lot more light in the room and made it look much better.  I had a laundry basket for showings that I threw paperwork and random things in when we left the house.  It made it easier to keep the appearance of our house being decluttered.  We too contemplated temporary more modern furniture for selling our house, but our realtor advised against it.

 

Outside we put a fresh coat of paint on our shutters and door (both were faded), put new mulch out front, trimmed the hedges, and put fresh potted mums on the front steps.  We spent less than $75 freshening up the front since we did all the work ourselves.

 

For the listing pictures, our realtor had a professional photographer take the pictures.  The pictures looked so good we almost didn't want to sell the house.  The first week the listing went live we had several people walk through and got two offers.  We closed 6 weeks from the date we listed it (we needed time to find a place to move).  We priced the house a little higher than the realtor recommended and got about $2K less than asking price.  We actually made money on our house, which given when we purchased the house and sold it, we shouldn't have.

 

When we were house hunting during that same time period I'm not sure how many houses we went through but it was a lot (40 maybe).  The biggest thing I noticed is how cluttered some houses were and the smells (please don't use a candle to make your house smell better, bake something instead, oh how the different scents gave me a headache).  We went to one house that had 4 coffee tables in the living room, making it difficult to get to the hallway.  Another had a huge sectional that took up almost all the space and blocked a closet, it felt so crowded it was hard to imagine how our furniture would fit.  People will be opening your closets so if toys come tumbling out they are just going to think the closet isn't going to be big enough instead of noticing the nice shelving inside.  One garage was so packed full my husband wasn't sure both our cars would fit until he measured it, it turned out it was bigger than the garage down the street he liked, it just felt way smaller.  The houses that were really clean and depersonalized were much easier to imagine living in.  If you are in a neighborhood with a lot of similar houses for sale that can make a big difference between someone buying your house and the one down the street.  Good luck!

[Cinder]

No advice for the OP. But thanks to all for the great ideas.

[WinsomeCreek]

We spent two years looking at a lot of houses. I am in the clean, declutter, new paint and carpet camp. Just a good tsp washing of walls can look like new paint. Furnish sparsely so it seems bigger. Have large mirrors. We rolled our eyes at a number of places where an obvious remodel had been done in preparation for listing. I don't think it's a good strategy, especially if the upgrades stand out from the rest of the house. We wanted clean and move in ready, but the option to remodel to our own tastes.

[MariannNOVA]

We are on the market right now. We are not newbies at this by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Everyone here has given excellent suggestions.....,my first suggestion would be to get large black plastic garbage bags and declutter........not 'start decluttering' but declutter.

 

No painting or new carpet......yet........declutter, put the best face on your house with decluttering and call in a reputable realtor, or two, not more than three.

 

Ask friends, and search for a realtor. Look at listings.....look at the photos of their listings. Research the agents who have the BEST photos if their listings. CRUCIAL: you want an agent who uses a professional photographer. I have had agents tell me it makes a difference, and I learned the hard way that it does indeed make a difference. Any agent worth their salt will tell you that if a prospective buyer doesn't like the photos online, they are not going to go and see your house.

 

You will want the prospective realtors to provide you with options for a few scenarios: you will need to determine those scenarios.......do you want to merely clean up superficially, price it low and have a flipper come in and snap it up? You are talking about walking away with rock bottom low price in that scenario. Do you want to walk out with "x" amount of cash? Ask the realtor to work up a spreadsheet of what you have to spend and how it affects your bottom line AND days on market to get a specific price.

 

Staging, yes. But that way down the road.

 

When you have the agents come through, you want every.single.flat.surface to be bare.......nothing on the surface. Bathroom vanities, kitchen counters, bath surrounds, table tops, mantels. Trust me on this one.

 

Good luck. Hope this helps.

[AimeeM]

We're in the process of fixing up our home to sell in the next year or so. We do not plan on "upgrading" anything. We are (like, right now, at this very moment, lol) having all windows replaced and wrapped. We plan to repaint all the doors in the house, have someone come in and professionally steam clean the kitchen floor (previous owner, tile, white grout, yikes!) and replace a cracked tile in there. We are in the middle of replacing all of the ceiling fans. Otherwise, we just need to declutter. We have the added attraction of being in a desirable "downtown district", but I agree with others to speak to a realtor or two. Our home is approx the same size as yours, same number of bedrooms, but with an additional half bath and an office (and an unfinished basement used for storage).

[DoppeltGemoppelt]

I did not read through all the posts, so I apologize if this has already been mentioned. Besides all the other great advice that you've already gotten, a little known secret to impressing buyers before they even walk in, is the front door. Invest in a really expensive looking front door, and your house will definitely compare to the other houses around you. Why? Drive around different neighborhoods and ask yourself: Which houses look good? You will very often find, that the houses with the best curb appeal always have a grand looking font door. It could even be a small ranch with a roof that needs replacement, but the door all of a sudden makes a difference.