Do "empty" houses sell faster?

[C.Ann]

Here's the deal.. Had to go back to the doctor again today after he called me at home to request that I come in and I got some rather unsettling news.. It appears that I have a serious health problem (of a long term nature) that is not going to get better, but only progressively worse.. Eventually I will need help with my own care, let alone my DH's.. I spoke to my DD when I got home and evidently she immediately called her DH at work, because he just called here a short while ago.. The two of them are more insistent than ever that we move in with them now and her DH is willing to do whatever it takes to make that possible.. For several months now they have been looking for a larger house - either one with an in-law apt. or enough room for my son-in-law to construct one - so it's not a snap decision on their part by any means..

For months I have been waffling back and forth about whether or not we should do this, but after talking to the doctor today I think it's one of the few realistic options that we have available now..

Getting to the "empty house" question though - our house (because of it's age and condition) is going to take MUCH longer to sell than theirs so I'm trying to figure out the best approach here.. I could try to get as much "junk" out of here as possible and list it maybe within the next month or so, but of course that would mean having people traipsing in and out, around my DH's medical equipment, etc.. Another option would be to wait until spring, put the majority of the items we're going to keep in storage somewhere and move up to the lake so that the house could be shown empty.. Unfortunately my DD's current house isn't big enough for us to move in with them now, so that's not an option..

If anyone here has experience with selling real estate, I would be interested to hear what your experiences have been with the sales of unoccupied homes vs. occupied homes.. I need to make a decision soon because I'm so physically wiped out it's going to take me awhile to do what I need to do..

Thanks!

 

[JC2]

I have no idea how to answer your question, but I wanted to give you a

 

[tar heel]

No, you can see all the flaws in an empty house and rooms tend to look tiny. Uncluttered but furnished houses sell best.

I'm sorry to hear your news. I enjoy posts and hope that you will remain mostly well for a long time.

 

[CEDmom]

I so sorry you're having such a rough time. I'd would think that a minimally furnished home would be the best way to go. It's often difficult for a buyer to envision their things going into an empty home because the room look small. I'd suggest picking the nicest things you have that you can do w/o until your house sells and putting the rest in storage.

 

[mcnuss]

You want a house to look like a home when you're selling it. I like the way the PP put it "uncluttered but furnished". The best thing to do is have a realtor come through and give you a pre-sales analysis. They will tell you what you should do to make the house more sale-able. I interviewed 3 agents before I sold my house, and picked the one that I felt most comfortable with. She gave good, sensible advice and I liked her approach to marketing, advertising, etc...

Good luck to you. I am sorry for your troubles....

 

[olena]

We bought an empty house. My parents' house has sat empty for months now....still for sale. It all depends, I guess.

 

[DD2Disney]

Sorry about your health issues. Will continut to keep you and DH in my prayers.

Now...I have never sold a house, or worked in real estate. But when I was house shopping, I preferred the empty houses. I liked envisioning my own stuff....and the possibilties of the home.

Take that for what it is worth as I said im no expert.

 

[battricia]

I think it depends also. When i moved into the first apartment I lived in, I thought the space was huge, it was a livingroom/diningroom space off the kitchen. When we moved in w/ our furnature, just a small table and an L shaped couch which was kindof big, we had little space left. Same with the house we live in now, so I tend to think that you look at a space with out furnature in it and think you have a lot more room than when you get your furnature in. But I am by no means a real estate agent.

tricia.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis.

I agree with the other posters that a house with minimal furniture and no clutter works best.

An empty house also hurts your bargaining position. Buyers will think that you are desperate to sell.

Lori

 

[castlegazer]

I am from a family of real estate agents and my family owned a real estate office (I am in commercial RE but given my family history I will try and give you the best advice I can which is by no means meant to be taken as expert) - so here goes: you need to do what you need to do and her is my hug for you

However, if you remove all furnishing in the house you will need to touch up or paint the walls - fix any wallpaper that is hanging loose and you will need to paint all trim. This is only to maximize the value. Your house will sell at the same rate of speed as a house that is furnished if it is in a desireable location and is in a non fixer-upper state, i.e. move-in condition. Houses tend to smell funny and old and dank once the furniture is removed. You also as another said, will see any defect more clearly so these will need to be addressed or the value you will receive will reflect the defects that can be noticed. If you can leave some of the furnishing in the house this would be better than no furnishings at all. What a lot of people do is to leave something in every room. Furnishing also give some perspective to the potential homebuyer of room size and what they can fit into the room of their own furnishing. An unoccupied home is sometimes easier to sell in that your agent can show it at any time - and there are funny times people want to see houses. Where we had our office there were a lot of corporate relocations. It is not the end of the world to remove your furnishings - it is just up to you to make your house as presentable as possible and make sure you view it objectively.

My own story of buying our house is that the house was owned by a woman who needed to go into the nursing home - she had lived there since 1947. The house was very cluttered and the furniture was too big for the room sizes. We saw the home in this condition, but given that we live in the NE and it was the first very nice home we had seen in our price range and we had looked at hundeds, we bought it. However, once she had removed her furnishing I suddenly fell completely in love with the place and noticed all its charms and nooks and how big the rooms actually were. There was this beautiful room upstairs that I hadnt even spent two minutes in because it was such a cluttered mess - that room is now my sanctuary. It has deep real oak wood panelling and this gorgeous bay picture window that I hadn't even noticed before because it was covered by old curtains. Needless to say when you buy a house in MA you sometimes don't get a lot of walk-through time before you have to make an offer. had she removed some of the stuff I am sure we would have had a much bigger fight on our hands with other potential buyers for the house.

I just want you to know that you should do what is best for you. It will all work out - and it sounds like you have lived in your home for many years. If that is the case you will be in for a very big and wonderful surprise when you list the house. Home values throughout the country have dramatically increased.

Take care of yourself - let your DD take care of you and your DH - and live every day to its fullest.

 

[CarolA]

C. Ann,,
I am sorry to hear your news.

I think that you have gotten some good advice. What I did was call a realtor. We looked over the house (she rearranged some furniture) and she gave me suggestions. I took her suggestions and did that over the next few months. (Mainly it was making sure that there was NO clutter and the closets were clean etc...)

Good luck!

 

[Lisa F]

I'm sorry to hear about your health problems, how awful. Anyway, we are in the process of trying to find a home and I have found the following forum to be invaluable:

Buying and Selling Homes

There are lots of people there with lots of experience. You will get some differing opinions but you can learn a LOT there. There are other fun forums too.

I think some combo of your two ideas would work best. If your husband has lots of medical equipment, it might be a good idea to NOT be living in your house while you are trying to sell it. It will be easiest for agents to show a house that can be shown on a moment's notice. Keeping it looking "lived in" is different than actually living in it. I think having medical equipment around migth scare many buyers off as buying a house is a very emotional experience and medical equipment doesn't cause warm fuzzies for most people.

Good luck and I'm sorry you're going through this.

 

[SplshMtn99]

As a home shopper, I've always preferred empty houses. I'm more comfortable opening closests.... And I can envision decorating it my way...and not being turned off by someone else's style. When I see a occupied home, I tend to look at their stuff, rather than the house...and I get turned off.

Sorry to hear your news. Good luck.

 

[C.Ann]

These are all great suggestions - and thank you all for taking the time to answer my question..

The bottom line is that my house is over 60 years old and in need of major repairs, so it will be listed for an "As Is" sale.. I don't need or want the headaches of anyone coming back on us with non-disclosure suits so I would actually PREFER that they saw each and every flaw.. Considering the school district that we live in, the house would be a great first time investment for someone who wants to get out of the city and is able to work on the house themselves.. Obviously it's in totally liveable condition, or we wouldn't be here ourselves - but it does need a lot of work..

The "partially" lived in look sounds like it might be worth a try in the spring.. As someone else stated here, I too would be very uncomfortable looking at a home with medical equipment around and a man hooked up to an oxygen machine while sleeping in a recliner.. Definitely no "warm fuzzies" there and it's not like I can take him out of the house every time someone wants to see it..

Maybe I could just leave a bare minimum of furniture in each room and put the rest of the stuff in storage.. That way we could still live up to the lake while it was on the market and save a bit by having the cable, internet, and telephone disconnected down here..

Next question - how much do those storage places usually run - and what kind of questions should I ask before I decide on one?

DD & her DH are coming over later this evening to talk so we can work out some details and come up with a game plan..

Life sure has a way of blindsiding people, doesn't it? What's that old saying - "Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans.." ???

Well the good side is I won't miss ONE MINUTE of my granddaughter growing up.. There's my "silver lining"..

 

[CarolA]

I wound up storing all my furniture.

I would go with a climate controlled place.
Also, you need to buy insurance. The insurance they sold at the storage place was not near enough so I bought a rider from my insurance company.

Prices probably vary and to be honest, I can't recall what it cost.

 

[doxdogy]

I am so sorry to hear of your health problems. Hugs to you.

 

[Lisa F]

Aren't you in new york state? I think in NYS, you can pay a $500 fee at closing in exchange for not being held legally responsible for disclosing ANYTHING about your property.

 

[minniecarousel]

geez - C.Ann - life sure has thrown you some curve balls lately! Hang in there!

I like the idea of moving to the lake in the Spring, decluttering your house, then putting it on the market. When we sold our house 4 years ago, our Realtor (who is also a friend) had us put a lot of stuff in the garage. We got ready for the move by straightening closets that way too!

God Bless your daughter & son-in-law - it sounds like your plan with them will work. (from your previous posts, I can tell that you guys all get along well - truly a blessing!)

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by Lisa F
Aren't you in new york state? I think in NYS, you can pay a $500 fee at closing in exchange for not being held legally responsible for disclosing ANYTHING about your property.

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Yes - I'm in NY state - but I could never do that to someone.. Even selling the house "As Is", I'll be okay in terms of profit.. (Not tons of money by any means, but the house is paid for so I don't have to worry about paying off a mortgage or anything..)

My DD & her DH bought their house in a bank foreclosure sale for a mere pittance and before the owners moved out they TOTALLY trashed the inside (holes in walls, ripping down ceilings, smashing in all the cabinets, wrecking the in-ground pool, etc.) but my son-in-law was in the line of residential construction then, saw the potential, and now they'll make a HUGE profit when they sell.. He totally gutted the inside - right out to the exterior walls and turned it into a gorgeous home.. There's some special loan that banks give out for that kind of situation - a 301 or something like that so you can buy the house and have the money necessary to bring it up to full value.. While my house is in nowhere near that bad of shape, if someone comes along with vision - and the ability to do the work themselves - it too would be a great start for a young couple.. I want to be upfront with them though as I think that's only fair..

 

[faithinkarma]

May I suggest you check out two TV shows about selling homes currently airing.

House Doctor on BBC America
and
Sell This House on A&E

I sold my house 10 months ago, and really wish I had seen a couple of episodes before ever placing it on the market.

Basically they give good sound advice on how to get a house sold quickly with a minimum input of cash.

Best of luck with you health issues and your house sale.