Trying to sell a house is always a pain, but I think it has gotten worse. I think too many people are watching HGTV. They think every house must have hardwood floors, cherry cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances or it just isn't worth buying. Ridiculous! In another ten years, all those things will be out of style and people will be looking for just the opposite
I think you're right. HGTV has largely led to the holy buyer's trinity: Hardwood, granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances. People claim to be on such a strict budget, but who complain, "Oh, this bath is so outdated!" when it's perfectly
functional, but it doesn't fit the newest "spa like" bath trend or isn't in the latest colors.
Quality is rarely addressed, but
those few finishes are the "must haves". Knowing this, a seller knows what to do to make the house move.
What I think's hillarious: Buyers who have to ask, "Is this granite?" And when they find out it's NOT, they say, "Oh, well then it's not good enough." Or the same thing with laminate wood flooring /hardwood. If you can't
identify the product, is it really all that important to you?
Here's something I really don't know: Why are undermount sinks the latest rate? Is it a cleaning thing?
Then again, they also are planning on buying well within their means and not some "perfect dream house".
That's part of the problem too, probably worst with young people: We have an awful lot of young people who've been handed whatever they want, when they want it . . . so they don't have a concept of delayed gratification, and they don't grasp the idea of choosing a starter-house that'll do "for now" and over-look the idea of building up to a dream house later in life. They don't "get" that you start out with a washer/dryer in a closet off the kitchen, and then later you can have a bright, sunny laundry room with room for folding your clothes. You start out with a basic little 5x8 bathroom, and in your next house you can afford a walk-in shower and jetted tub. At first you're happy just to have three bedrooms; later in life you can afford the separate office and media room.
I also think that until you get into a house, knowing that the living room is 12x14 doesn't mean that much--is it a 12x14 room that it totally enclosed and had no good wall space or is it part of an open floor plan, etc.
That's a fair statement. All 12 x 14 rooms aren't created equal -- that's understandable, and sometimes you do have to SEE the house to have a real opinion.
Had to be first-time buyers! Everything's negotiable, of course. It's FINE to say, "I'd like you to leave the appliances and the bedroom set" . . . but it's only going to happen IF it's written into the contract.
Makes me think of a couple things: 1) My grandparents lived in a small apartment for a while, and they had a custom bed built with under-bed storage. It was so big that they sold it along with the apartment. 2) I heard a story from a friend-of-a-friend about a buyer who wrote in that all the curtains were to stay (common thing), and somehow the seller didn't realize it was there . . . the seller became angry when she realized what she'd agreed to, so she took down the curtain rods and left the curtains laying on the floor. Perfectly legal: The realtor should've written in "all window treatments".
I had to laugh at this (sorry), we actually did repaint all the family living space in one house which we sold in nine days in January, and in another house we sold we were so sick of hearing there were no hardwoods we spent something like 500.00 to put down bamboo in the dining room, we then proceeded to sell the house for just about asking as well... Sometimes small changes can mean a very big difference in how your house is perceived.
We're planning to stay in our current house another 5-7 years, but when we get ready to sell it I'll definitely put in the least expensive laminate wood flooring possible, re-paint everything so it'll be fresh and new (and I know we can't afford for our girl-colored bedrooms to turn off an all-boy buyer family), and clear out 1/2 our stuff into a storage building. Like it or not, those things will set the house apart from others and will make it move.
On the other hand, if the work they want done is going to cost $20K, and they don't have an extra $20K on hand right now, it might be they would prefer you do the work and raise the price of the house so they can pay that $20K over 15 or 30 years. It's a lot easier for many people to buy a move-in ready house than to fork over the money to do the work after they've bought it.
Yeah, this is especially true if you're selling a house likely to appeal to first-time buyers with a low budget. When my husband and I were engaged and were shopping for our first house, we found a GREAT HOUSE in horrible condition: Two huge greyhounds lived in the house, and the carpet was jumping with fleas. Every square inch of wall needed paint. The price was so low, and it was a great deal, but we were both barely out of college, paying for a wedding, barely scrapping together a downpayment, no financial cushion of any type . . . and we didn't see how we could pay for the things that needed doing, nor could we see ourselves moving into the house as it was. We briefly discussed asking his dad for financial help, and I know he'd have said yes -- but we couldn't bring ourselves to ask. Today we have greater resources (and credit) at our disposal, and I'd snap that house up in a heartbeat. Back then, well, it was a different story.
The buyers that what wood floors but can't afford them should maybe look at less expensive houses or consider taking a home improvement loan to put the floors in then. For everyone that comes in that wants wood floors someone will come in wanting tile or carpet--same goes with paint colors, you are never going to chose the 'right' color for everyone which is why buyers have to get past minor cosmetic things when buying a house.
I have to disagree. I love to watch HGTV, and I'd estimate that 99% of the buyers want hardwoods (or laminate) at least in their living/dining areas -- some are more accepting of carpet in the bedroom, while others hate it there too. It seems to be the #1 thing that people IN ALL PRICE RANGES want.
I believe part of the problem is that we have not been teaching our children the basics of home life . . . If you are that ignorant, imagine how daunting it would be to look at a house and try and imagine how to fix it up?
Yes, the same basic point I made above!
those people would have likely made an offer. They were in love with the house, but the realtor MADE UP things as he went to make sure they didn't make an offer on that house, as he had a listing under his own name down the street he wanted to sell. 
