Putting the house on the market.

[Luvchefmic]

Ok I know I will get a brutally honest answer here...should I repaint the dining room? If I repaint top and bottom I have to find matching top paint as it goes throughout a lot of the house. I could just make the bottom solid, or paint it a different color? Or should I match the top and take off the chair rail? Or leave it the way it is? LOL

I would say leave it as is....my heart goes out to you, we had different circumstances when we moved from NY to FL 09/2008 I was left behind to pack up the old house...I can't tell you how many times I thought I was going to lose my mind...know matter how much you are doing, take a "me" break everyday, even if its just 15 minutes in the backyard with a cup of coffee with your feet up, (maybe even a glass of wine ) try not to get overwhelmed

 

[lovin diz]

We are about to put our house up for sale...We are currently painting the den..When our house was built, it was done with flat paint, so i cant wipe off finger prints...we are painting the entire house...(I HATE PAINTING!!). We have white doors throughout the house and my project this week is to scrub / clean all doors. We are also decluttering. We put new floors in last year before we decided to sell, which is great, and after Hurricane gustav, we had a new roof put on...

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I like your stripe in your dinning room. They are pretty neutral colors. I have been looking at houses on line. Not really serious this year but in the next couple we will probably move. Anyway the one real turnoff for me (and everyone has their own taste) is the red wall. It seems that every house has one! Usually with a green kitchen. I am not into bold colors at all and every time I see one of these red walls I think "well there's a job that would need done before I move in". Again I know - because there are so many on line - that the red wall and green kitchen is "in" I just don't like it. But even if I don't like the color I know it is just paint and is easily changed.

 

[lucigo]

We are about to put our house up for sale...We are currently painting the den..When our house was built, it was done with flat paint, so i cant wipe off finger prints...we are painting the entire house...(I HATE PAINTING!!). We have white doors throughout the house and my project this week is to scrub / clean all doors. We are also decluttering. We put new floors in last year before we decided to sell, which is great, and after Hurricane gustav, we had a new roof put on...

We live parallel lives, I spent the day painting trim and doors. I told the kids, watch what you touch, if its white its probably wet!

 

[lucigo]

I like your stripe in your dinning room. They are pretty neutral colors. I have been looking at houses on line. Not really serious this year but in the next couple we will probably move. Anyway the one real turnoff for me (and everyone has their own taste) is the red wall. It seems that every house has one! Usually with a green kitchen. I am not into bold colors at all and every time I see one of these red walls I think "well there's a job that would need done before I move in". Again I know - because there are so many on line - that the red wall and green kitchen is "in" I just don't like it. But even if I don't like the color I know it is just paint and is easily changed.

Ummm something like this? LOL

My kitchen isn't green though

 

[minnie1928]

We live parallel lives, I spent the day painting trim and doors. I told the kids, watch what you touch, if its white its probably wet!

Can we have 3 parallel lives? I painted trim last week...I just finished painting the entire house (the inside walls, except basement) about 3 weeks ago. This week is landscaping.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Ummm something like this? LOL

My kitchen isn't green though

Of Course all Dis red rooms are perfect! I didn't mean to offend! I am sure if others saw my soft yellow walls they would say it is bland and boring! I was just trying to say that a buyer will have their own ideas and not to worry too much about paint color as most people will know it is pretty easy to change the color. Please accept my apology!

 

[lucigo]

Of Course all Dis red rooms are perfect! I didn't mean to offend! I am sure if others saw my soft yellow walls they would say it is bland and boring! I was just trying to say that a buyer will have their own ideas and not to worry too much about paint color as most people will know it is pretty easy to change the color. Please accept my apology!

No offense taken really! Signed the papers with the realtor today, whoo hoo! Tomorrow I have to get the backyard put back together...everything I took out of the house now has to actually fit in the shed so our backyard can look like a Florida oasis and be the reason people want to buy this house!

 

[micheleq]

Ah, green and red. We had a red living room in our first house, that was open to the green dining room...Xmas all year long lol!

My DH was painting closet doors this morning. I'm still waiting on the painters to come and start sanding the exterior of my house, then we can list on MLS. Gotten everything done with our realtor in terms of paperwork, and I'm purging and cleaning a little every day.

Sending good house selling karma to all!

 

[DawnM]

Actually, many buyers see the color and think, "oh, goodness, I will have to redo ALL of this?"

The house we are living in was "creatively painted" by the previous buyer. The master bedroom is very large and she painted it seafoam green with the chair-rail down being sponge painted in purples and blues.

The house didn't sell for a year and every feedback comment from realtors was on that bedroom!!!!!!

We were the first people to say we could repaint and not find it overwhelming. People just can't get past some of that sometimes, esp. if it seems like a huge job.

We have our house painted in neutrals because we do like it and because we are staging for buyers. We hope to sell next Spring.

Dawn

Of Course all Dis red rooms are perfect! I didn't mean to offend! I am sure if others saw my soft yellow walls they would say it is bland and boring! I was just trying to say that a buyer will have their own ideas and not to worry too much about paint color as most people will know it is pretty easy to change the color. Please accept my apology!

 

[minnie1928]

We have our house painted in neutrals because we do like it and because we are staging for buyers. We hope to sell next Spring.

I too just painted neutral and I like it. If/when we have to relocate it will just be that much easier to get it ready. My mom refers to it as "model home tan".

 

[polineedyan]

I havent read all the replies, but i have one additional tip. Get it inspected. Know, before the buyers inspector comes, what really needs to be done to get the house sold.

 

[Syrreal]

Ah, green and red. We had a red living room in our first house, that was open to the green dining room...Xmas all year long lol!

That reminds me of what our old bedroom used to look like when we bought out old house. It had dark green walls, dark green carpeting, fire engine red trim and gold sponging ALL over everything. It was like Christmas threw up in that room!

 

[lovin diz]

I have one more question.....

We hopefully will be ready to put our house up 4sale in 2 weeks...Do you clean out closets / cabinets / fridge / pantry????

This is so much work...It is crazy

But we have only 1 room left to paint, and we have pressure washed the driveway, and cleaned all doors and baseboards...I cant wait until this house sells

 

[lucigo]

I have one more question.....

We hopefully will be ready to put our house up 4sale in 2 weeks...Do you clean out closets / cabinets / fridge / pantry????

This is so much work...It is crazy

But we have only 1 room left to paint, and we have pressure washed the driveway, and cleaned all doors and baseboards...I cant wait until this house sells

Eventually, but I haven't gotten there yet!? LOL It is so much work, I'm right there with you! We took a week off and went to Orlando and did a little house hunting. Of course I found one that I like but I can't do anything until this house sells.

One tip - I have found that when I think I am done with a room I take pictures of it. When I look at the pictures I find something that looks out of place or needs fixing, don't know why I miss it when just looking at it!

I've been watching too much HGTV...I want the house to be perfect and it just won't ever be

 

[lucigo]

Ok I'm not done - I know...but please tell me in your "I don't know you so I can be brutally honest" way....hows it look so far?

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=54668&id=1079169750&l=6459e3de3b

I still have to get pix of my 2 college aged kids rooms and the main bathroom

And our family room has a brick exposed wall I would like to get, but right now my DH's ginormous desk is there, and I can't move it until he gets home from Orlando in June.

 

[JamesMom]

Family room: Move out of the room:
- Rock band drums
- loveseat
- rug
- end table by the loveseat
- misc electronics under the TV and wires.
That should free up paths in the room.

Dinning room looks good - maybe set out a centerpiece or placemats to add some color.

Kitchen
- take down hanging pots & pans - the whole contraption.
Otherwise - very nice. Love the clean countertops and the touch of color that the Fiestaware lends to the room. People might not be too thrilled with the color of the countertops - but they are pristine!

Bedroom -
- Get rid of the dark bedspread & curtain. Go to WalMart and buy some bright and light colored stuff. Makes the room appear smaller.

Half Bath
- Looks good. Are the wall hangings permanment? If not, take them down to open the small space a bit.

Kids room
- Nice decluttering. Make up the bed a little better.

Nice backyard! Couldn't see, but maybe store some of the furniture on the porch and maybe the umbrella.

Living Room
- get rid of the fishtank
- wall quilt
- get light colored curtains
- and if the desk must stay - get rid of the table next to it.

Overall, home looks very clean but still has too much furniture. Go with lighter colors to open the rooms and brighten them up. I would also plant some color in the front yard. The hanging plants are a nice touch, but needs more, especially in the right side flowerbed.

 

[dawson5]

in the family room, what is going on with the light fixture (ceiling)? It appears that the globe is off center or something. If I were looking at a home, saw that, I would start wondering how I am going to "right" it. (I once had to remove a toddler shoe from our chandelier in the two-story foyer. That was fun. I did get it out before we listed that home.)

Also, the ceiling in the kitchen, left of the sink. It looks like something happened there. I don't know if it's me or what, looks like a repair job. If so, I would repaint that ceiling to make it all look uniform. If it was a repair, was it primed? If not, that might be the reason it doesn't look the same.

I agree with what the pp said. Good luck.

 

[akcire]

Okay...the biggest thing I noticed was looking at the front of the house, all I could see was green. Green grass, doors, trim, etc. My suggestion is for something on the porch that is a pop of color--even if it is just cushions for the chair.

Ideally, you'd have a couple of flowering bushes in front of the house, but as someone with their house on the market I know the landscaping fairies never cooperate. The bricks also look like they may need to be power washed--perhaps you can borrow one from a neighbor and put the 19 year old to work? You could also get a nice pot with some annuals for the front porch.

The interior of the house is a bit crowded with furniture, but remember you have to live there--it gets old fast living on the market. The problem in my area is getting showings. Our house is priced for the area per our realtor and in 2 months we have had 2 showings (now one of the families has visited 3 times so we are hopeful) we even dropped the price hoping for interest and nothing, in other words I can't even get them in the door to see all of the high ceilings and neutral decor. Good luck with your house sale.

 

[rbork]

My first words looking at the front was, "all that green". Green doors and shutters?
Put a carpet sample out if your putting in a carpet allowance.
The kitchen looked nice.
Does it smell like animals? Get an unbias opinion from someone who you don't know.
Yes ...we did nickname houses as we looked for a new one...for example the "smoky house" or the "boar head house". (don't ask)

My heart goes out to you for doing this with 4 kid's, I remember well how hard it was showing a house w/ young children. Good Luck with your home sale.