Aesthetics vs Practicality in Selling a Home

[kerry1379]

We are about to put our house on the market. It is a great home, in a fantastic location that we have maintained well. We have recently put a substantial amount of money into replacing the roof, air conditioners, water heaters, etc. so that they are new and most have warranties. We assumed that that was the better place to put our money to maximize our home's value. But I was told that most of today's buyers are much more concerned with updates (specifically paint color, flooring, and fixtures-thanks a bunch HGTV!)) and just can't see past it if the aesthtics of the home are dated. And by dated I don't mean 70's or 80's style decor. I mean not white/grey/beige. Basically, I was told that we should have put our money into that. The very frugal and practical part of me is screaming at this and is having a very hard time wrapping my head around it (I mean, does EVERYONE like white/grey/beige???). For those of you that have recently sold a home, did you or have you had that experience? I mean, I get it that a newly renovated home is awesome. But does paint color really drastically effect asking price where as updates to the big ticket items mean little? Especially since paint color is such a personal preference!

 

[firefly_ris]

We are about to put our house on the market. It is a great home, in a fantastic location that we have maintained well. We have recently put a substantial amount of money into replacing the roof, air conditioners, water heaters, etc. so that they are new and most have warranties. We assumed that that was the better place to put our money to maximize our home's value. But I was told that most of today's buyers are much more concerned with updates (specifically paint color, flooring, and fixtures-thanks a bunch HGTV!)) and just can't see past it if the aesthtics of the home are dated. And by dated I don't mean 70's or 80's style decor. I mean not white/grey/beige. Basically, I was told that we should have put our money into that. The very frugal and practical part of me is screaming at this and is having a very hard time wrapping my head around it (I mean, does EVERYONE like white/grey/beige???). For those of you that have recently sold a home, did you or have you had that experience? I mean, I get it that a newly renovated home is awesome. But does paint color really drastically effect asking price where as updates to the big ticket items mean little? Especially since paint color is such a personal preference!

This is a very small anecdotal pool of reference but I've sold 3 houses and paint color was not something that came up in the notes people left behind after scheduled visits or open houses.

I'll never personally get it either because paint is the easiest thing in the world to change. I've re-painted every single room of every single home we've bought ourselves. No biggie, especially if there were 2 houses and 1 had the exact layout and big ticket repairs that I wanted but all the walls were orange and purple, while the other had a 50 year old furnace but was painstakingly painted neutral, sell me that purple thing. I am not sure if people in the real world really can't see past that or if it's a construct created by HGTV shows.

 

[lorimay]

We are about to put our house on the market. It is a great home, in a fantastic location that we have maintained well. We have recently put a substantial amount of money into replacing the roof, air conditioners, water heaters, etc. so that they are new and most have warranties. We assumed that that was the better place to put our money to maximize our home's value. But I was told that most of today's buyers are much more concerned with updates (specifically paint color, flooring, and fixtures-thanks a bunch HGTV!)) and just can't see past it if the aesthtics of the home are dated. And by dated I don't mean 70's or 80's style decor. I mean not white/grey/beige. Basically, I was told that we should have put our money into that. The very frugal and practical part of me is screaming at this and is having a very hard time wrapping my head around it (I mean, does EVERYONE like white/grey/beige???). For those of you that have recently sold a home, did you or have you had that experience? I mean, I get it that a newly renovated home is awesome. But does paint color really drastically effect asking price where as updates to the big ticket items mean little? Especially since paint color is such a personal preference!

We sold our home after 20 years in 2016, the reason for selling was that it was a 90's (Purchase new construction) house that needed an updated kitchen and new floors (we re-did both bathrooms). We didn't want to go through a large reno. so we decided to build a new home.
Our house sold in 3 days in spite of the 90's kitchen and floors.
They were thrilled about the new A/C, washer/dryer, stove, fridge, dishwasher, microwave & water heater.
They said they were happy to get a home that had been kept up as ours was.
The kitchen and floors were not their focus.
So it just depends on the buyer and what they're looking for.

Good Luck!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I mean, I know how to paint a room. I'm not going to NOT buy a house if I don't like the wall color. I could probably handle fixtures, too. But I might not buy a house if I don't like the flooring. That's not something I would want to deal with myself. Wall to wall carpet? No, thank you. And if I'm buying a place, I want to buy a place I can move into as-is. So, I guess it depends on who you are marketing to. Roof, air conditioner, water heater are certainly all much more important.

 

[_19disnA]

I wouldn't listen to whatever 'they' are telling you and most likely 'they' aren't going to be the ones to buy your house. REAL buyers look at exactly the high dollar & big ticket items you mentioned......roof, heat & A/C, etc. Those TV design homes are more about glitz and tend to not worry too much about practicality or how easy something is to maintain. What makes a place show well isn't necessarily what buyers are going to be looking for.

We recently sold our house and made sure the realtor we chose was on the same page and did just fine in selling our home.

 

[easyas123]

REAL buyers look at exactly the high dollar & big ticket items you mentioned......roof, heat & A/C, etc.

I think this is a excellent statement.
For what it's worth, I think the majority of folks who might be interested in your house would be more turned off by the idea of having to replace the roof or HVAC systems vs. having to slap on some paint.

Good luck!

 

[longboard55]

Price is what matter the most. We went thru a lot of upgrades on a deceased in laws house and pretty much figured an as is sale would have been a better deal

 

[Moliphino]

I just bought a house and the part we liked most about it was that it was solid and we wouldn't have to do much work. It had newer siding and recently replaced windows, the kitchen isn't fancy (mismatched appliances, laminate counters) but it is functional and doesn't need any immediate work. I don't care about easy to change things like light fixtures and hated all the houses you could tell had just been flipped for a quick buck.

The house interior had been completely painted (light grey walls, white trim) before they put it on the market, but that didn't factor in to us choosing this house.

 

[Darcy03231]

We sold our house 6 years ago. Prior to selling we put in a new heating system, roof, windows, siding, deck, two new bathrooms, and a new kitchen. We also repainted all of the rooms neutral colors and moved out most of our furniture. Since we had hardwood flooring throughout with ceramic tile in the kitchen (which was neutral) we didn't have to do flooring. I'd watched sales in our neighborhood for two years so I had a good feel for the market. We listed our home at $40,000 more than the realtor wanted us to and sold in less than 48 hours for 98% of list price. Part of the reason it sold so fast was because nothing needed to be done, they buyer wanted something move in ready with no projects, and was willing to pay for it.

There was a home with the same layout in our neighborhood that was well-maintained, but really dated. Nothing had been upgraded since it was built (approximately 40 years old). It finally sold 2 years after ours and for almost $140,000 less.

 

[Minniesgal]

For me what sells a room is kitchen and bathroom. If they are fresh and modern I'm in,

 

[cvjw]

We recently redid our whole main floor in white/beige/grey. I know what it takes to live thru the transformation. We are somewhat looking at another house. If I see one with honey oak floors and cabinets, it is immediately crossed off the list. No way I am living thru another major remodel. Doesn’t matter if it has a new roof

Just to add - we live in a 250 home neighborhood in metro Atlanta. Great schools, not a terrible commute to 75, our neighborhood is very desirable. If a house is updated, it could sell the same day. Ones that have not been updated can sit for months. I think you have to have a happy medium of desirable upgrades and needed upgrades.

 

[Hikergirl]

I'd go for substance over fluff any day. Cosmetic updates aren't going to appeal to me if I'm looking at a roof that is going to need replacing in a year, or a new furnace, central AC, windows, doors etc.
I can paint, and I don't need my kitchen to look like it's in a magazine so I'm ok with honey oak cabinets because I can paint those and throw rugs can cover the floor until there comes a time I choose to replace them, if I ever do.

 

[easyas123]

I dunno, CVJW has a good point about honey oak floor/ cabinets -
I personally can't stand stained wood trim, that would turn me off of a house no matter what the kitchen & bathrooms looked like!
And I can't abide carpet.
BUT - if it was in my budget to buy the house and change the stained trim (or whatever-) then it wouldn't stop me from making a offer!

 

[_19disnA]

Price is what matter the most. We went thru a lot of upgrades on a deceased in laws house and pretty much figured an as is sale would have been a better deal

I agree. You can put a LOT of money into doing cosmetic updates, but not sure what you gain if you aren't able to recoup those costs with a higher selling price. Excessive updates will cost you a lot of $$, but most likely the selling price won't reflect that. TV design shows want you to believe that everyone wants/needs hardwood floors, marble countertops and granite even in the bathrooms.

You will now find ceramic tile being made to LOOK like hardwood, since the reality is that hardwood floors scratch/stain VERY easily, are difficult to maintain and not practical for everyday use from the typical family. Come back in 5 yrs and tell me how those new hardwood floors look if you are a real family with children and perhaps pets running around the house.

 

[tvguy]

I'd hook up with a Realtor who is an expert in your area before spending a penny. They will know what is likely to help, or hurt your sale.
When I sold my parents house in 2013, that is what I did. My parents bought the house new in 1960, and other than carpet in the living room, and new flooring in the kitchen and 2 bathrooms, it was exactly as built in 1960 right down to the pink tile in the bathrooms. It had been kept up, so it was move in ready, just the styles were outdated. I interviewed 3 Realtors and all three said the same thing, don't do a thing it will be a waste of money*. They felt it was a prime house for someone looking for do a top to bottom remodel, or bulldoze it for the 1/2 acre lot and build a McMansion. They were right. I had three offers the first day, none of those wanted any modifications.

*The only thing I did was required by code. In California, water heaters have to be strapped to the wall for earthquake safety. That cost me $75.

 

[Melissa55]

I think it's partially dependent on how saturated the market is in your area. In Metro-Denver, things are finally starting to slow down but it has really been a seller's market for several years. My husband and I have moved 3 times in the last 9 years and we have seen some houses that were in TERRIBLE cosmetic (and even, in some cases, structural) shape get snatched off the market so quickly. Personally, as someone who's owned 3 different homes in the last 9 years, the appliances and roof would be infinitely more important than cosmetic. My husband is handy and I'm crafty, we have modified the interior of every home we've been in, and as our realtor loves to say "Paint is cheap!" But the last time we were looking, we fell in love with a home. It had a lot of what we wanted. Then we found out the basement was finished without the proper permitting and that wasn't worth the risk to us, because if they were willing to cut corners on permitting to save money, we assumed they were probably willing to cut corners on safety too. On top of that we found out that a majority of the appliances were over 15 years old which was a ticking time bomb to us.

 

[spiders]

First time buyers will probably overlook the age of the roof, HVAC, etc... I know I did. I didn't when we bought our second house.

However, updated houses will get you the best return and I will say I think staging is a lot more important than people give credit to.

When we sold our house just about 2 years ago, I didn't like all the things we had to do but we listed on a Friday and were under contract that following Monday. The house we bought and live in now, was listed the same morning that we had made our offer.

Our next door neighbor died. His house has been flipped but by the worst flipper in the entire world. He did a great job on the interior but then when he went to list it he did it for sale by owner and clearly doesn't have a real estate background. He didn't get a MLS listing and it looked like he took photos on a flip phone. He did eventually list with an agent but went much higher per square foot than the average price in the zip code. He still hasn't sold it and is back to for sale by owner. I'm sure he is thinking he is going to lose money if he sells but he's already had the expense of holding the house for almost a full year. When he went to list last year, he waited until the end of July. School starts in August here. He completely missed the golden months.

Bottom line, what you think your house is worth is irrelevant and in my opinion, the very worst thing you can do is list too high and then have to price reduce because at that point your listing is stale and people are going to offer you even less because now you look desperate.

Take good photos, make a good first impression, get the house sold.

Also, we used Redfin. Redfin charges 1.5% vs. 3% or $2,500 whichever is greater. You'll still obviously have to pay the 3% for the buyer's agent but the savings are substantial.

 

[cvjw]

You will now find ceramic tile being made to LOOK like hardwood, since the reality is that hardwood floors scratch/stain VERY easily, are difficult to maintain and not practical for everyday use from the typical family. Come back in 5 yrs and tell me how those new hardwood floors look if you are a real family with children and perhaps pets running around the house.

I can answer your question about real hardwood floors with real kids and real dogs. Our hardwoods were just refinished for the first time in the history of the house - built in 1989. We raised 2 boys (now 23 and 20) and had 2 large dogs - a black lab and golden retriever in the house their whole lives.

After 20+ years of constant use, they were needing a refinishing. They had cosmetic scratches from the dogs and some wear spots. We had them restained from honey oak to provencial and resealed with poly. They look like brand new floors. We are very pleased and still love our real hardwood floors.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

We sold our home of 21 years in May. While we owned it, we worked more on the infrastructure than the cosmetics, adding A/C, copper pipes, double-pane windows, new garage door and rain gutters. We also had the front and backyards totally relandscaped and put in new carpet and drapes. We didn't do much (besides paint) to the bathrooms and kitchen (although we replaced most appliances as they wore out). When our realtors walked through, they recommended that we paint the whole interior a grayish beige color, put recessed lighting in every room, pull up carpet downstairs and refinish hardwood floors. They also planned to move out all of our furniture, do a deep cleaning, and put in staged furniture. All of this work was going to happen while we were living there and would cost around $35,000. The real estate agency was going to pay for the work and reimburse themselves after the sale. They estimated they could add at least $50,000 to the sale price if the work was done and sell the house faster, so we would all come out ahead.

We thought their recommendations were reasonable, based on the many open houses we had visited. We were looking to downsize to a townhouse rather than keeping a large house that needed updating. I found myself liking the nice, bright homes with shiny new fixtures. Since we were downsizing, we were looking for a place that was move-in ready.

The day before the work was schedule to begin, our realtors said they had a potential buyer. It was a family with a child who was starting kindergarten in the fall. They really wanted to enroll him in the neighborhood school, which has guaranteed enrollment if you live within the boundaries, and a waiting-list if you don't. They looked at the house and made an offer the next day. It was a very decent offer, considering we didn't have to do any of the work we were planning. The buyers were planning to gut the entire house and even add on to the living room in the front. We were able to grab a townhouse that we really liked, but thought would sell before we were ready to make an offer.

So, in our case, it came down to what the buyer wanted. I would suggest looking at open houses similar to yours to see your competition. If you haven't decided on a realtor yet, interview a few and see what they would recommend for the best chance at getting a good price.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

The bottom line is that if you see a house with colours you like and make you feel good you fall in love with it you start immagining yourself living there and you make an emotional decision on price which often time it's not the smartest. If the house doesn't have appealing colours it's much harder to see past that. Colours are an essential part of marketing and sales McDonald's is red and yellow because those are the colours that stimulate hunger. Smells are essential as well, baking before potential buyers come in has been proven to increase the sales rate. It all create the dream of an ideal "home". I have sold houses that sold or rented waaay more that their market value and compared to look alike houses on the street bacause of these simingly insignificant details.
When you are selling a house you are selling a dream so you need to present it as such.