Things that worked well for you? Things you saw while looking for a house that really sold it, or were total turn offs? All the walls have been painted, rooms will be clean and uncluttered, carpets/floors cleaned. Counters cleared, towels and such neatly hung. Most of the house has new flooring, everything is in good shape. All but one of the tanks cleared out, all the pet stuff tidied and in one room. Going to have fresh flowers in some rooms, fresh fruit in the kitchen.
Putting my house on the market--any tips?
- Thread starter OrionGirl
- Start date
one of my aquaria friends told me potential buyers are turned off by fish tanks (large), because the general population hearing horror stories about broken tanks... bascially if there are any water damage in the house, it'd be blamed on the fish tank regardless warranted to not...
I have heard that there are ways of arranging furniture to make the rooms look bigger and more apealing. Sorry my experience doesn't go beyong the hearsay.
How does that small tank look? If it doesn't make you think aquascape I would consider moveing it as well. Any item that lessens the ability of the potential buyers to envision themselves in the house should be moved or put in storage. Items that are specific to your "unusual" hobbies or lots of personal photos fall under that catagory.
How does that small tank look? If it doesn't make you think aquascape I would consider moveing it as well. Any item that lessens the ability of the potential buyers to envision themselves in the house should be moved or put in storage. Items that are specific to your "unusual" hobbies or lots of personal photos fall under that catagory.
TheMightyQueenPixie
Best Invention EVER!
Tanks never turned me off, cant really see why anyone would be concerned...Anywho a couple of tips...
clean off the fridge...Temporarily remove any art, magnets and clutter...Sounds weird, but it makes the kitchen look neater...
Remove any counter top appliances...Toaster, coffee maker whatever...Also makes the kitchen look bigger...
Same goes for the bathroom...Minimal towels and deco stuff...
Garage is another area that is overlooked, particularily if it is a small garage...Keep it organised to maximise the apperance of space...
OPEN THE DRAPES, bright homes sell better and look more hospitable...
My secret weapon is stuffing pouches of pot pouri down the heating ducks...Get some sort of cinnamon, apple thing going on...Or a fresh citrus scent...Just not too much.
I guess in the end, clean, uncluttered spaces sell well...Minimize the personal effects and maximise your homes best assets...Now is a really good time to list...Beat the spring rush and get out on the market first!
Good luck! Hopefully you will get some good offers quick!
clean off the fridge...Temporarily remove any art, magnets and clutter...Sounds weird, but it makes the kitchen look neater...
Remove any counter top appliances...Toaster, coffee maker whatever...Also makes the kitchen look bigger...
Same goes for the bathroom...Minimal towels and deco stuff...
Garage is another area that is overlooked, particularily if it is a small garage...Keep it organised to maximise the apperance of space...
OPEN THE DRAPES, bright homes sell better and look more hospitable...
My secret weapon is stuffing pouches of pot pouri down the heating ducks...Get some sort of cinnamon, apple thing going on...Or a fresh citrus scent...Just not too much.
I guess in the end, clean, uncluttered spaces sell well...Minimize the personal effects and maximise your homes best assets...Now is a really good time to list...Beat the spring rush and get out on the market first!
Good luck! Hopefully you will get some good offers quick!
Yeah--I'm waffling on leaving the tank there, or getting it out. Most likely will take it out for selling. All our personal stuff--pictures, most of the books, my clutter of succulents, awards, etc are already packed and in storage. Got little boxes to put all our daily use stuff in and under the sinks in the bathrooms.
Bright isn't a problem--there are skylights in all but the lower level and one bedroom! I'll have to pick up some potpourri for the heating ducts--I wouldn't have thought of that!
Bright isn't a problem--there are skylights in all but the lower level and one bedroom! I'll have to pick up some potpourri for the heating ducts--I wouldn't have thought of that!
When we sold our house these are the things we were told to do by our real estate agent.
-remove any and all personal photos or pictures- a blank wall sells better than one you decorated
-remove all stuff from the front of the fridge and on top as well.
-remove as much as possible from kitchen counters..no toaster, toaster oven, can openers, canisters etc. In other words completely clear kitchen counters and replace with a pretty bowl or basket of fruit.
-we were told to remove ALL pets from the home during showing and remove litterboxes, cages..etc. Have no trace of pets existing in the home.
-no dvd's, videos or cd's to be seen
-no burning candles during showing. Decorative bowls of potpourri instead. Some people have allergies to strong scent and potpourri is a softer scent (I like the idea of little bags in the vents)
- We were also told that to at least make it "look" like we were in the process of moving. A few packed moving boxes here or there. If potential buyers see this, they know you are serious about getting out of the home and they know they can move in quickly. (We weren't even planning on shopping for a new home until it sold...what a pain for me! LOL)
- a spotless garage with very little in it. We rented a storage building to stash the stuff in.
-Update your faucets and bathroom sinks. Brand new sinks and higher end faucets. I guess people really look at that..don't know why???
-Biggest thing she stressed was ALL horizontal surfaces in the home should pretty much be a blank slate....oh and a nice handsoap and guest towel in the bathrooms. She said almost every potential buyer finds a reason to use the bathroom and wash their hands and always will comment on the handsoap as in "wow that smells nice"??? People are strange aren't they??? lol
It must have worked...sign went up in the yard on a Monday...open house on Saturday and we had 4 offers by the following Monday...during a supposedly "bad sellers market"...we got almost $15,000 over our initial asking price which we set pretty low because of the market.
-remove any and all personal photos or pictures- a blank wall sells better than one you decorated
-remove all stuff from the front of the fridge and on top as well.
-remove as much as possible from kitchen counters..no toaster, toaster oven, can openers, canisters etc. In other words completely clear kitchen counters and replace with a pretty bowl or basket of fruit.
-we were told to remove ALL pets from the home during showing and remove litterboxes, cages..etc. Have no trace of pets existing in the home.
-no dvd's, videos or cd's to be seen
-no burning candles during showing. Decorative bowls of potpourri instead. Some people have allergies to strong scent and potpourri is a softer scent (I like the idea of little bags in the vents)
- We were also told that to at least make it "look" like we were in the process of moving. A few packed moving boxes here or there. If potential buyers see this, they know you are serious about getting out of the home and they know they can move in quickly. (We weren't even planning on shopping for a new home until it sold...what a pain for me! LOL)
- a spotless garage with very little in it. We rented a storage building to stash the stuff in.
-Update your faucets and bathroom sinks. Brand new sinks and higher end faucets. I guess people really look at that..don't know why???
-Biggest thing she stressed was ALL horizontal surfaces in the home should pretty much be a blank slate....oh and a nice handsoap and guest towel in the bathrooms. She said almost every potential buyer finds a reason to use the bathroom and wash their hands and always will comment on the handsoap as in "wow that smells nice"??? People are strange aren't they??? lol
It must have worked...sign went up in the yard on a Monday...open house on Saturday and we had 4 offers by the following Monday...during a supposedly "bad sellers market"...we got almost $15,000 over our initial asking price which we set pretty low because of the market.
Do the neighbors have any large mirrors you can borrow? Properly placed, mirrors can really make a house appear larger. Try this even though you may never want the mirror(s) - it's just for effect.
Outside, the yard must be ...Ooops, if you have snow... Well, nevermind.
Too much fragrance or room deodorizer will seem like a "cover-up" of a possible mold, etc. problem.
HTH
Outside, the yard must be ...Ooops, if you have snow... Well, nevermind.
Too much fragrance or room deodorizer will seem like a "cover-up" of a possible mold, etc. problem.
HTH
The house is actually pretty open, with lots of big clean white walls. 
All the bathrooms faucets and sinks have been updated anyway--I hate the knobs, much prefer handles.
Unfortunately, I can't do anything about the cats and dogs. No place for them to go, since we won't be moving until March. So, we're minimizing all that we can--toys will all be boxed up, boxes and food bowls out sight, daily cleaning, etc. Only one cat will be visible when anyone comes to see it--the other will hide. The dogs are outside, in a dog run, so that's the best we can do.
Guess we should empty the garage a bit more--it's not stuffed, but lots of stuff in some boxes and on shelves.
"Look" like we're packing? Ha! Another week, and my husband is afraid I'll make him start packing up his clothes!
I'm one of those who doesn't like strong scents--but a touch of vanilla should be okay.
I wish I could do more with the yard--we got about 1/2 done with the back yard, and had the front yard cleaned out, but not done. It's in better shape than most of the other homes in the area, though, so I don't think it will be a deal breaker.
This is great info! Especially confirming the stuff we've already done.
All the bathrooms faucets and sinks have been updated anyway--I hate the knobs, much prefer handles.Unfortunately, I can't do anything about the cats and dogs. No place for them to go, since we won't be moving until March. So, we're minimizing all that we can--toys will all be boxed up, boxes and food bowls out sight, daily cleaning, etc. Only one cat will be visible when anyone comes to see it--the other will hide. The dogs are outside, in a dog run, so that's the best we can do.
Guess we should empty the garage a bit more--it's not stuffed, but lots of stuff in some boxes and on shelves.
"Look" like we're packing? Ha! Another week, and my husband is afraid I'll make him start packing up his clothes!
I'm one of those who doesn't like strong scents--but a touch of vanilla should be okay.
I wish I could do more with the yard--we got about 1/2 done with the back yard, and had the front yard cleaned out, but not done. It's in better shape than most of the other homes in the area, though, so I don't think it will be a deal breaker.
This is great info! Especially confirming the stuff we've already done.
We were told by our last realtor that the smell of something baking was better than the smell of potpourri or things like that. I made it a point to have a crock pot meal going or cookies baking or bread in the bread machine every night when we were showing our old house. (not an easy feat with a 3 year old and a 3 month old to clean up after too!)
She said that when people come in and smell too much of that sickeningly sweet overdone potpourrie or "airwick" smell, they wonder what it's covering up... but if they walk in and smell cookies or a roast going.... it's like "Hey! Can we stay to dinner?"
...also, and this was easier for me because I was home with the kids, but i'd take the Dingo with us in the car when we left the house for a showing. He's a barker and I was always turned off by barking dogs when I went to see a house. So we visited a LOT of parks those few weeks our house was on the market!
She said that when people come in and smell too much of that sickeningly sweet overdone potpourrie or "airwick" smell, they wonder what it's covering up... but if they walk in and smell cookies or a roast going.... it's like "Hey! Can we stay to dinner?"
...also, and this was easier for me because I was home with the kids, but i'd take the Dingo with us in the car when we left the house for a showing. He's a barker and I was always turned off by barking dogs when I went to see a house. So we visited a LOT of parks those few weeks our house was on the market!
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