Putting the house on the market.

[lovin diz]

I'm gonna need it Ruthie, thanks

My son did finally take down the fish tank today, and he says by tomorrow his room will be ready for a picture! I resent her pix of the orange bedroom today and a panoramic of the backyard. I know the bedrooms all need paint, this is what happens when you let them pick!

I can understand that she was trying to say, look you are 1/4 mile from stores and yet its the "country" but not with horse butts LOL

Whats killing me is that I have found a house in Orlando that I really like, but I know it will be long gone before we are ready to put in an offer!

I vote lets all forget about all of the work that needs to be done and go to dw... The house will be there when we get back

We are going to try for sale by owner...i hope with all of the work, the house goes quickly...Goodluck to you, luci...

 

[lucigo]

Breathe ...you will find the house that is meant to be yours! Re-the horses I would have the realtor just mention them no need to see the butts, I meant it when I said I would buy you a drink I remember moving here (Sept 2008) and you can never have enough friends; esp fellow Dissers

The hardest part about moving is leaving our friends...so I will be looking fwd to it Thanks!

 

[lucigo]

I vote lets all forget about all of the work that needs to be done and go to dw... The house will be there when we get back

We are going to try for sale by owner...i hope with all of the work, the house goes quickly...Goodluck to you, luci...

Thanks, good luck to you too!!!

 

[Akmayeli]

We also have our house up for sale. Actually, it's been on the market for about a week now. We are in Friendswood, a suburb of Houston. We have not had any showings yet but I will be the first to say, it is a pain in the rear to keep your home show ready at all times, and this is a MUST DO. Your house needs to look like it is not lived in. As inconvenient and uncomfortable it may be, it must be done if you want to get any offers. We filled a 10'x10' storage with things we don't need to use daily. We also planted some landscaping and bought a new wreath for the door and new front door rug (first impression is EVERYTHING). Anyways, I want to send you a link to my listing and show you what a "not lived in home" looks like. Best of luck to you. Oh, also if anyone sees any suggestions in any of my pictures, please share.

http://search.har.com/engine/2311-Tall-Ships-Friendswood-TX-77546_HAR84615023.htm

 

[tommya60]

I'd ask the Realtor to move the pictures from page 3 and 4 to page 1 and 2....why do they start with the worst pictures they took? The country kitchen, backyard, and 2nd great room pics are sooo much better. And I don't get the pics of the neighbors horses at all!

Good Luck! I hope your home sells quickly!

 

[Luvchefmic]

We also have our house up for sale. Actually, it's been on the market for about a week now. We are in Friendswood, a suburb of Houston. We have not had any showings yet but I will be the first to say, it is a pain in the rear to keep your home show ready at all times, and this is a MUST DO. Your house needs to look like it is not lived in. As inconvenient and uncomfortable it may be, it must be done if you want to get any offers. We filled a 10'x10' storage with things we don't need to use daily. We also planted some landscaping and bought a new wreath for the door and new front door rug (first impression is EVERYTHING). Anyways, I want to send you a link to my listing and show you what a "not lived in home" looks like. Best of luck to you. Oh, also if anyone sees any suggestions in any of my pictures, please share.

http://search.har.com/engine/2311-Tall-Ships-Friendswood-TX-77546_HAR84615023.htm

A picture is worth a 1,000 words, just from the initial bringing up the listings, one is on a light background (Welcoming and want to see more) the other is on a dark background, (a bit off putting which I didn't even realize until I looked at a comparison) one realtor sounds "enthusiastic" the other...not so much, just from the wording and the aspect of "selling" the amenities of the home. One is memorable..quite honestly if I was in the market (and it doesn't matter that one is in FL & one is in TX) one to me (Tx) would be a must see, (FL) would be...if we get a chance or have time..we'll go see.....now I'm not comparing floor plans, price, location, number of rooms, sq footage, even age of homes. Even the decorated kids rooms was NOT off-putting to me as they were neat, clutter free, and the listing addresses it w/seller will repaint.

Luci I think it was a smart idea to put the listing on here and get feedback (boy you are either going to end up my best friend or run from my brutally honest NY born/Italian hold no prisoners personality) and I wish you all the best of luck selling.

Ruthie

 

[rbork]

OP, I'm really rooting for you on the sale of the house.
You must meet w/ the realtor right away about those pix.
Demand that she take off some of those pix. For example the green wall pix, the pix of the desk, pictures and fish tank, and the dimmly lit table with keyboard and storage bins. I loved the photos of the kitchen and dining room - really nice. The horse/fence picture hurting more than helping. I sure there is a better view of the horse farm that can be taken. The wording on the MLS blurb is a bit odd too.
I think you have a house with good bones and space which is a real asset. I commend you for tackling the sale of this house by yourself essentially.
A listing gets the most action when it's fresh (meaning new listing and the first days on the market) Don't let that opportunity pass. DOM will hurt you in the long run w/ an essentially stale listing.

And yes you will chuck your clutter, laundry, filing etc anywhere prior to a showing that caught you off guard. I too have flipped that stuff into the trunk or washer or dryer or closet or even the dishwasher. (ashamed but yes I did throw stuff in the dishwasher and it wasn't dishes)

Been though 8 real estate transactions. The last sale 3 years ago was on the market 8 long months and looked like a model (REALLY). The house was only a year old. It's one on the harder things in life you'll go through so hang in there.

 

[Akmayeli]

Luci, I have a suggestion for you. I'm not sure if you looked at my pictures or not but my agent had a photographer come in and take pics. It makes a world of difference. Check with your agent to see if they know of any good real estate photographers in the area. Even if it has to be out of your pocket, it shouldn't cost you anymore than a few hundred bucks. And if that gets your house sold, then it is completely worth it IMO. These days EVERYONE shops online for a house instead of wasting gas driving around. So if you have some great, high quality pictures to get them out there, then maybe, just maybe you could get an offer.

 

[t1gger1968]

We also have our house up for sale. Actually, it's been on the market for about a week now. We are in Friendswood, a suburb of Houston. We have not had any showings yet but I will be the first to say, it is a pain in the rear to keep your home show ready at all times, and this is a MUST DO. Your house needs to look like it is not lived in. As inconvenient and uncomfortable it may be, it must be done if you want to get any offers. We filled a 10'x10' storage with things we don't need to use daily. We also planted some landscaping and bought a new wreath for the door and new front door rug (first impression is EVERYTHING). Anyways, I want to send you a link to my listing and show you what a "not lived in home" looks like. Best of luck to you. Oh, also if anyone sees any suggestions in any of my pictures, please share.

http://search.har.com/engine/2311-Tall-Ships-Friendswood-TX-77546_HAR84615023.htm

Hey there neighbor - I am also in Friendswood. I am curious..if you don't mind me asking..why are you selling? Where are you moving to? My dh and I have been going back and forth about putting ours up for sale. My daughter will be starting at Landolt in the Fall..how do you like the school? I heard that it is a really good elementary school but I have heard not so good things about Clear Brook High School. Your home looks great, by the way. Hope it sell quickly for you.

Michelle

 

[Akmayeli]

Wow! It's a small world. Another Diser in Friendswood. Who would've thought?

We have LOVED Landolt. It is truly a great school. My daughter has loved it and has made some great friends. My son also would've been starting there in the fall if and he still might if the house doesn't sell before then. I also don't care for Clear Brook High. I would much rather have my kids go to Clear Lake or Friendswood, but we will see. That is a long time off. WestBrook Intermediate has a GT magnet program that we are hoping my daughter gets into. It is for all CCISD GT students so no matter where we move in CCISD she can still apply.

We are planning on expanding the family soon so we need more space. We are also hoping to get a house with a pool. This Houston heat is miserable. We are looking in Bay Glen and in Middlebrook subdivisions but we are kind of still up in the air about it. We are thinking of waiting to see what happens with the space program. If Obama goes through with his plans our housing market around here is going to plummet.

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

Good Luck to everyone selling their homes! We sold ours recently, and just closed yesterday and had a great first home sale experience, and couldn't have asked for a better buyer. We had it listed at the end of the first week in March, and sold it in mid April. We moved more than half of our belongings into storage before we had it listed, and took down all personal pictures on the walls just like our realtor suggested. Our realtor also hired a professional photographer to take pictures of our home.

I am not sure if any of you believe in St. Joseph..but if you do, I would get one and bury him with his head down and feet pointing to heaven facing the For Sale sign. We didn't do this until our house was on the market for over a month and decided to purchase the statue. We got an offer six days after we buried the St. Joseph statue..and the family offered us what we had wanted for the house..and didn't ask for anything more than some very minor repairs. So we didn't have to go through the whole counter offer process.

Wow! It's a small world. Another Diser in Friendswood. Who would've thought?

We have LOVED Landolt. It is truly a great school. My daughter has loved it and has made some great friends. My son also would've been starting there in the fall if and he still might if the house doesn't sell before then. I also don't care for Clear Brook High. I would much rather have my kids go to Clear Lake or Friendswood, but we will see. That is a long time off. WestBrook Intermediate has a GT magnet program that we are hoping my daughter gets into. It is for all CCISD GT students so no matter where we move in CCISD she can still apply.

We are planning on expanding the family soon so we need more space. We are also hoping to get a house with a pool. This Houston heat is miserable. We are looking in Bay Glen and in Middlebrook subdivisions but we are kind of still up in the air about it. We are thinking of waiting to see what happens with the space program. If Obama goes through with his plans our housing market around here is going to plummet.

Another Dis-er from Friendswood! We just sold our house in Heritage Park (we closed yesterday!!) and moved down the street to Autumn Lakes. Both my kids will be at Landolt next year. Hope your house sell quick for you!

 

[Frye7127]

http://public.kaarmls.com/property/...ults.asp?AgentID=630&Featured=1&al=630&al=630

I feel all of you...my husband is 11 hours away at his new job (since December), loving his new environment and we are STUCK! Our home has been on the market since February, been shown approx one time per month...no feedback. Any help or comments would be appreciated. Above is our MLS listing. I will be getting my St. Joseph statue today. Wish me luck!

P.S. Anyone wanting to move to Knoxville, I have a great home for ya!

 

[Luvchefmic]

http://public.kaarmls.com/property/...ults.asp?AgentID=630&Featured=1&al=630&al=630

I feel all of you...my husband is 11 hours away at his new job (since December), loving his new environment and we are STUCK! Our home has been on the market since February, been shown approx one time per month...no feedback. Any help or comments would be appreciated. Above is our MLS listing. I will be getting my St. Joseph statue today. Wish me luck!

P.S. Anyone wanting to move to Knoxville, I have a great home for ya!

Another nice example of pics OP/Luci needs to keep in mind.....best of luck all

 

[lucigo]

We also have our house up for sale. Actually, it's been on the market for about a week now. We are in Friendswood, a suburb of Houston. We have not had any showings yet but I will be the first to say, it is a pain in the rear to keep your home show ready at all times, and this is a MUST DO. Your house needs to look like it is not lived in. As inconvenient and uncomfortable it may be, it must be done if you want to get any offers. We filled a 10'x10' storage with things we don't need to use daily. We also planted some landscaping and bought a new wreath for the door and new front door rug (first impression is EVERYTHING). Anyways, I want to send you a link to my listing and show you what a "not lived in home" looks like. Best of luck to you. Oh, also if anyone sees any suggestions in any of my pictures, please share.

http://search.har.com/engine/2311-Tall-Ships-Friendswood-TX-77546_HAR84615023.htm

It looks great! Very clean and "not lived in". We have a long way to go to get to that point. My realtor said she doesn't think we should worry about getting a storage unit, but I'm still considering it. Right now I'm still packing stuff into our shed.

 

[lucigo]

I'd ask the Realtor to move the pictures from page 3 and 4 to page 1 and 2....why do they start with the worst pictures they took? The country kitchen, backyard, and 2nd great room pics are sooo much better. And I don't get the pics of the neighbors horses at all!

Good Luck! I hope your home sells quickly!

The problem is that she added my pix without taking hers off! I have to get a picture of my 19DS's room today to replace the AC picture, and when I send it I'm going to make sure to tell her to REMOVE the bad pictures!

 

[lucigo]

A picture is worth a 1,000 words, just from the initial bringing up the listings, one is on a light background (Welcoming and want to see more) the other is on a dark background, (a bit off putting which I didn't even realize until I looked at a comparison) one realtor sounds "enthusiastic" the other...not so much, just from the wording and the aspect of "selling" the amenities of the home. One is memorable..quite honestly if I was in the market (and it doesn't matter that one is in FL & one is in TX) one to me (Tx) would be a must see, (FL) would be...if we get a chance or have time..we'll go see.....now I'm not comparing floor plans, price, location, number of rooms, sq footage, even age of homes. Even the decorated kids rooms was NOT off-putting to me as they were neat, clutter free, and the listing addresses it w/seller will repaint.

Luci I think it was a smart idea to put the listing on here and get feedback (boy you are either going to end up my best friend or run from my brutally honest NY born/Italian hold no prisoners personality) and I wish you all the best of luck selling.

Ruthie

I'm very grateful for your honesty! I need to make my listing a "must see". I'm frustrated that I hired a realtor who doesn't seem as interested in that as I am!

 

[lucigo]

http://public.kaarmls.com/property/...ults.asp?AgentID=630&Featured=1&al=630&al=630

I feel all of you...my husband is 11 hours away at his new job (since December), loving his new environment and we are STUCK! Our home has been on the market since February, been shown approx one time per month...no feedback. Any help or comments would be appreciated. Above is our MLS listing. I will be getting my St. Joseph statue today. Wish me luck!

P.S. Anyone wanting to move to Knoxville, I have a great home for ya!

A very nice listing, no horse butts! LOL

 

[minnie1928]

http://public.kaarmls.com/property/...ults.asp?AgentID=630&Featured=1&al=630&al=630
!

Here are my 2 cents:
1. Powder room - can you replace the towel with a nice set of hand towels? That towel is so large for a powder room...it draws the eye to the towel, not the rest of the room.
2. Dining room - have you tried taking down the curtains? I think it might make the room look larger and without the contrast against the wall color, I think it will tone down the walls.
3. Kitchen - clean off the magnets on the fridge and put away the placemats on the island. You might want to clear off your counters a bit more. I can't tell what's to the right of the sink in the pictures, but it makes your counters seem crowded.
4. Eating area - can you tone down the patterns? You have what appears to be 3 different patterns (curtains, tablecloth & chair pads). How about if you leave the curtains and remove the tablecloth/pads. If you have to have them, how about a solid color that coordinates with the curtains. Also, can you put the extra chair somewhere else? Do you really need the water thingy? To me, that says that the drinking water is bad. And, if that's the case, you certainly don't want to advertise it. Can you move it to a less obvious place for now?
5. Office/Family room - I would just do some general removal of personal stuff (kids toys/easel/pictures/etc.).
6. General - I would set up the deck umbrella and remove all personal things (toothbrush, razors) for showings. I'd also get some pots of annual flowers for the front and the deck.

Generally speaking, I think your house looks beautiful. Good luck selling!!

 

[Frye7127]

Here are my 2 cents:
1. Powder room - can you replace the towel with a nice set of hand towels? That towel is so large for a powder room...it draws the eye to the towel, not the rest of the room.
2. Dining room - have you tried taking down the curtains? I think it might make the room look larger and without the contrast against the wall color, I think it will tone down the walls.
3. Kitchen - clean off the magnets on the fridge and put away the placemats on the island. You might want to clear off your counters a bit more. I can't tell what's to the right of the sink in the pictures, but it makes your counters seem crowded.
4. Eating area - can you tone down the patterns? You have what appears to be 3 different patterns (curtains, tablecloth & chair pads). How about if you leave the curtains and remove the tablecloth/pads. If you have to have them, how about a solid color that coordinates with the curtains. Also, can you put the extra chair somewhere else? Do you really need the water thingy? To me, that says that the drinking water is bad. And, if that's the case, you certainly don't want to advertise it. Can you move it to a less obvious place for now?
5. Office/Family room - I would just do some general removal of personal stuff (kids toys/easel/pictures/etc.).
6. General - I would set up the deck umbrella and remove all personal things (toothbrush, razors) for showings. I'd also get some pots of annual flowers for the front and the deck.

Generally speaking, I think your house looks beautiful. Good luck selling!!

Thank you!! some of the stuff I never even considered...even like the poster who mentioned the home is no longer yours after you list it. I will definitely be making some more changes and hopefully it will be what makes a difference. Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees. Any other opinions welcomed!

 

[Luvchefmic]

this was on AOL opening page....may help give some ideas, I don't want to hi-jack Luci's thread so no need to comment, just thought it was some food for thought

http://www.shelterpop.com/2010/05/2.../paint-by-mood-how-different-hues-affect-you/


and another good link for ideas:

http://www.frontdoor.com/sell/