As most of you know, we have been doing a small mini flip at Mom's house. I am sharing some of the things that have changed a little. I would appreciate constructive feedback, since we are just about ready to create the Zillow listing. The house is vacant except for 3 pieces of furniture and it is very difficult to stage an empty house without going to the expense of hiring someone who has all the staging furniture at their disposal. Instead we grabbed a few things from our houses to hopefully create some inviting pictures of an empty space.
This was the deck outside her kitchen door. It is a large deck and the only thing we did was have it painted
After the paint job
A sweet spot to wind down, possibly with some wine
Stairs, obviously!
This was the original Master Bath at Mom and Dad's house. White and grey ceramic tile, white painted sheetrock and white ceiling. We had changed the drawer pull and cabinet knobs by the time this picture was taken and were deciding on what we would do next. Everything else was from 1968 when they built the house.
We added a quartz countertop with a new under mount sink and a new faucet. Then we added a charcoal gray decorative edge beneath the quartz. You can't see it but we took the vanity light fixture down, sprayed it gunmetal gray and put it back up.
Though comfort height toilets would be nice we decided there was not a big enough financial gain to be made by changing them. Instead we just scrubbed and scrubbed to get it sparkling, then bought a new toilet seat.
Tomorrow possibly the den and kitchen
The deck looks nice! I could see myself hanging out there. And sprucing up bathrooms is always a good idea. I'm not sure if you really need to stress much about staging the house. I know the conventional wisdom is that buyers have no imagination, and if they can't see a furnished house, they can't possible imagine the house could ever contain furniture. And I'm sure that's true, sometimes. But this is such a hot real estate market at the moment (at least where we live -- very little inventory), that if you price the house appropriately, it will sell. I'd put it on the market, and if it doesn't attract interest, then think about staging. Just my two cents.
ReplyDeleteWe are not going to stage it. The house is in one of the best school systems in the state, and it is a well built and well maintained home. Inventory is low here too, and the house has been mortgage free for years so we can always lower the price if necessary.
DeleteI am finding that the 25-35 year old crowd for the most part has no ability to see possibilities. They would have gagged at our first house, but we knew a lot of elbow grease and some paint would make it livable until we could afford to make the renovations we wanted.
Are you planning to list it without a realtor? Most realtors in our area provide free staging. We also negotiated on the realtor fee, given how hot the market is. Just an option to consider.
ReplyDeleteIt looks really good. I may also consider a stager (calling around & getting quotes). If it's not a ton of money, I may consider it, as I think you'll potentially be able to secure a higher offer, if people are able to visualize it. Just my $.02, of course. I'm one of those people who really struggles to visualize something without furniture, so take my opinion for what you will. ;-)
We are selling it by owner. There are no negotiations with the agents right now, though we are willing to do a one off deal ( cash) if an agent brings someone to the house and they buy it.
DeleteI know it might do better staged but we have put all the money into it that we want to spend.
Mom's house is in a very desirable school system and suburb, so that helps a lot.
It is too bad people do not use a little imagination and elbow grease to save the money you spent. It all looks very nice!
ReplyDeleteI guess it is just how people are.
DeleteI think the changes you are aing are right and practical. I hear you aobu tthe no imagination. My daughter wants move in ready-not even to paint even if it oculd save her thousands in a mortgage.
ReplyDeleteI remember looking at an open house once that had an orange bedroom. I am talking walls, ceilings, woodwork__every thing in it was orange. There was another woman who was talking to her husband saying they loved the house, loved the lot, loved the area but could not live with an orange room. All I was doing was trying to calculate how many coats of paint it would require to kill the orange
DeleteI love your changes. The deck looks soooo inviting.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I fear that staging has become a necessity. Which I would struggle to do.
It might be. Hopefully we can use a few "props" without having to do a true staging
DeleteThe deck looks very good with the new paint job. I love the new faucet in the bathroom. It definitely needed that. I agree with the new comfort height toilet. Let the new owners do that if they want to install those. It looks neat and clean and tidy.
ReplyDeleteThanks Belinda. Doing this makes me know for sure I do not want to make a living flipping houses.
DeleteWhen I sold my house 3 years ago, it was empty except for an end table with a table lamp on it in one corner of the bedroom and another in the living room. I figured that people could visualize a bed or a couch next to the end table to guess how much space there was in each room. It also provided lower light, not just light from higher ceiling fixtures. I also left soap and a towel in the bathroom. Don't forget that people may actually use the bathrooms while they are viewing.
ReplyDeleteAll the bathrooms are functional, with everything needed, including disposable (matching the bathrooms) guest towels.
DeleteThe living room has to have some lamps because there is no overhead fixture there.
Everything really looks great! People's lack of imagination seriously amazes me.
ReplyDeleteI baffles me too, Martha. I usually walk into a place and look at the ceilings because I can see the space unoccupied that way.
DeleteForgot to mention that I left paper towels on the kitchen counter (in a towel holder) and soap near the sink, plus cleaning spray under the sink in the kitchen. You never know if someone will spill a drink or need to wash their hands while in your house.
ReplyDeleteWe still have all the necessary cleaning supplies at Mom's even after getting rid of a ton of stuff.
DeleteLoved the fact that you sprayed the fixture, that is exactly what I did and I also had a really narrow row of tiles around the entire master bath that were gold. I took the spray paint and sprayed it into the cap and took a small artist brush and brushed every one of those little suckers... but the house sold!
ReplyDeleteSelling is the aim! We actually sprayed the lighting in both of the main floor baths.
DeleteLove the deck! The paint job really brightened it up, and it looks so inviting.
ReplyDeleteI like the bathroom too. Great job!
It is really lovely, and I'm sure you will have no trouble selling it. My only suggestion is maybe put in an air freshener as sometimes houses that aren't lived in, have a stale smell.
Good luck!
I get the stale smell thing. We are at the house every day, so it gets fresh air all the time! Might use an orange scent when we show it though!
DeleteWhat a lovely deck! I like what I've seen so far and think you'd be able to sell that house without any problems!
ReplyDeleteThe house is a very nice house. It was just a little dated and needed a little updating!
DeleteI think, given the school district, as you say, that staging/setting up furniture wouldn't really matter. Personally, I prefer to tour empty homes.
ReplyDeleteWhat WOULD matter to me in that home, is the stairs from the deck--that would be a deal breaker for me, but that would be a function of the house as it relates to my life stage/needs. That said, I could EASILY picture myself sitting on that deck with a glass of wine, looking out at the lush yard. From the little you've shown, it looks like a lovely house, full of character.
It is a very nice home. If the yard was a bit easier to maintain I would have bought out my sister and moved into it. It is the size of a house that we need now, but we just don't want that much yard work.
DeleteThe deck is lovely and the bathroom is fine. I suspect it will sell quickly.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I hope so, but who knows?
DeleteHouses are selling here sight unseen with offers above the listing price. It's crazy. Staged or not, if the market is half as good as here, you should have no problems. I staged our last house before we sold it and learned in the process, that houses that are staged sell for more money.
ReplyDeleteI would stage it if I were the only one making the decision, but my sister does not want to. There are battles I would choose, but this is not one of them.
DeleteWow, so terrific!
ReplyDeleteWow that's just lovely. I love the way you have decks in the US. I couldn't have one here so I do envy you!
ReplyDelete