For those of you who have sold a home or recently bought one?

[Turkey Creek]

OK so I going to be listing my current house for sale in the very near future. Realtors are going to make their initial visits starting next week. For those who just sold a home or those who just bought a home, maybe even a realtor in the bunch what things did you feel most people commented on that you wish you had taken the time to fix? I am talking about the cosmetic things mostly. My house is in very good condition, but I will devote time over the next few weeks to making it really stand out. Such as I am going to restain the decks, touch up some minor interior wall damage, finish the barn doors for the closet in the office, etc... Market is pretty strong for sellers in my area right now, but obviously I want to get top dollar. A new shop, house and land arent cheap!!

Thoughts on picking a quality realtor?

 

[Catscratch]

I think clean landscaping is important. Curb appeal type of thing. And as I found out trying to sell our last house.... an extra bathroom is a big bonus (you know you want some major remodeling right before you put it on the market!).

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[Turkey Creek]

I think clean landscaping is important. Curb appeal type of thing. And as I found out trying to sell our last house.... an extra bathroom is a big bonus (you know you want some major remodeling right before you put it on the market!).

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We have 3 baths and 3 bedrooms so I think we are covered there. I have the best freaking yard in town! Paint is very good on the shop and house. Lawn and landscaping is nice... probably need a pickup load of mulch to spruce up the beds a bit. Nice size lot, garden area already, a few established fruit trees and berries. Did a couple of touch up things this morning outside.

 

[Tree Spud]

We have 3 baths and 3 bedrooms so I think we are covered there. I have the best freaking yard in town! Paint is very good on the shop and house. Lawn and landscaping is nice... probably need a pickup load of mulch to spruce up the beds a bit. Nice size lot, garden area already, a few established fruit trees and berries. Did a couple of touch up things this morning outside.

De-clutter the house and remove personal items, hunting items, odd art or decorations ... anything that some whack job might take offense to. By de-cluttering, open up space along the walls, counter tops, corners, garage, basement, etc. to show off the space. Remember what you like may not be someone else's taste. You almost want to sterilize. Replace old worn carpets, paint rooms that have loud colors or extreme wall paper (softer colors are better or just white). Most people want move in ready with as little work to update/change as possible.

We have spent the last 3 months looking at condos, amazed at what some people do to decorate.

 

[Mortenson]

Sounds like you're in good shape. I'd second some fresh mulch. If you have some terrible looking carpeting, it's pretty cheap to have some new stuff layed down. Wipe away any mold that may be on the house or inside windows. Maybe a new toilet or even toilet seat if they look less than stellar. New kitchen sink might catch the right lady's eye. Any of that stuff can be negotiated. As far as a realtor goes, if you're house is desirable (an easier sell) I'd go with a top notch realtor. They'll want to spend the time showing it and selling it. Doing open houses. If it's a tougher sell for any reason whatsoever, I'd probably go with a lesser known, perhaps young, realtor who is hungry. I think the "famous" realtors only want to do open houses on great properties.

 

[ksgobbler]

Eliminate clutter even if it means a storage unit for the short term.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Eliminate clutter even if it means a storage unit for the short term.

Luckily we have a couple rooms in my family's farm house to use for short term storage. Biggest PITA is going to try and figure out what to do with my shop stuff ( have a taxidermy business as my primary source of income). Much more convenient if I can leave it in place until the sale as everything is set up, dont want to have to relocate and set it up only to move again next year when hopefully the new shop is ready to move into.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Good luck on your sale Chris! I wouldn’t get to carried away with anything. I wanted to do allot of projects both times i have sold an wife said nope let’s just clean her up an put on the market an see what happens. Did real well both times... On a side note, I would try to sell by owner first. Can save you allot of money... both times i did this an had a buyers agent approach me an ended up paying them 2.5% for duel representation. With duel representation they are legally obligated to represent you to the same level as their client. Get 2 agents involved an they seem to spend more time negotiating their own Pay instead of on your behalf

 

[Lee Haakenson]

Clean up and stage it. Less is more. Seeing personal items prevents buyers from envisioning it as their house. Fix anything that would show up on an inspection!

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[bigbendmarine]

I've got a realtor friend who runs a website that posts examples of BAD multi-listing service photos. Some examples point to lazy realtors taking crappy photos, but others speak to owners not cleaning up / staging well.

Quite a few entertaining shares for anyone with a bit of time to look through them...
https://badmlsphotos.com/

 

[Bill]

Clean up and stage it. Less is more. Seeing personal items prevents buyers from envisioning it as their house. Fix anything that would show up on an inspection!

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Agree here. The wife and I just put our Florida home on the Market. Not the best time "snow birds are gone". But she took all personal photos out etc and really cut down on nick knack clutter. Fixed some windows replaced some doors.

Sounds like your ahead of the game on house condition.

 

[ksgobbler]

Only other thing I have is pick a realtor that sells a lot of houses. A high octane realtor can be the difference between your home selling or sitting on the market like our last home did.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Appreciate the input guys. Luckily we are in a sellers market, no other houses for sale in our little town currently and those that do come on the market are usually sold within the month.

 

[Rit]

Just remember that EVERYTHING is negotiable in a real estate transaction. Commission, closing cost, etc.

 

[Livesintrees]

Purchased a home last winter. It actually began the spring before. The home needed paint in every room. Deck and porch needed work. All the carpets were shot (not gonna keep em anyway). Landscaping was non existent. We knocked we ended up knocking the price back 40k on it. If they would have put 15 into it they woulda EASILY gotten asking.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I have the knowledge to do most any handy man project (other than installing new carpet), time will likely be the limiting factor. Carpet upstairs is not terrible but is showing its age a bit. Downstairs carpet is relatively new.

 

[H20fwler]

I agree with all the advice so far...curb appeal is a big one.
I would look into selling it on your own for a month or two first, it's not that hard to do and saves a bunch of money.
Housing market is crazy in my area too, many houses have been selling above asking price. If a house around here looks like anything they have been selling in two months or less.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

When my sister & I sold our parents' house, we put as little material cost into it as possible to have the greatest return. Paint & carpet are relatively cheap cosmetic upgrades. Neutral shades of paint are important because you want to appeal to the largest segment of the buying public as possible. We opted for lighter colors to brighten up the place. She and I both did the painting, I did all electrical upgrades ( I'm an electrician ), brother-in-law and I did all landscaping touch-ups / upgrades. Curb appeal is HUGE, as Catscratch said in post #2, and H20 above. We also went with new toilet seats, and replaced all ceiling tiles in a suspended ceiling. Go for FRESH, CLEAN, BRIGHT, NEUTRAL. DE-CLUTTER.

We also set out scented candles throughout the house to leave a pleasant smell - not loads of them - but a few. Wash all counters, polish all appliances. I added 2 new energy efficient light fixtures over the laundry area. The well-lit, un-cramped laundry area drew good comments from the ladies. Make sure all railings are secure.

These are things that require little expense and can be accomplished fairly easily.

 

[chummer]

Way to many of us our watching home improvement, or house selling shows. I watch them with my wife didn’t realize I was retaining anything. All these suggestions are hammered on those shows. In my experience buying and selling cleanliness is first on the list. Serious buyers will be looking in all the cracks and crevasis to see how clean you are. Good luck.

 

[Gator]

If you are in a sellers market, eliminate the realtor will be your best cost savings. 6% is a lot of cash!