This is wrong on so many levels.  First, Old World is now officially “old”.  It was the hot thing for a long time, longer than I thought possible.  But no more.

Secondly, any faux finishes are an individual taste.  Some potential buyers may love what you’ve done to the walls, but some will hate it.  And some will try to overlook it, but they’ll probably end up buying a different house that has a more neutral color palate.  You only have about 2 seconds for your house to make a favorable impression when a buyer walks through the front door.  Winning that first impression won’t get your house sold, but they’ll keep looking.  But if you lose that first impression, you’re finished.

We faced another shock when we saw the kitchen:

Now I’m one who likes color.  Our bedroom walls were this color for a lot of years & I really loved how it looked.  And I think this is kind of a cool look.  But most people will have the reaction my buyers had: “What were they thinking?”  This look may get attention and comments for being bold, but it won’t make buyers fall in love.

The staging in this house was unusual as well.  Everything was miniature.  In the photos it made the rooms look bigger.  But my buyers commented that they came to the house expecting more space.  And in light of their expectations, the house didn’t measure up.  It seemed small because they came expecting more.  Take a look at the size of the chair in comparison to the chair rail in the doorway.

If you’re listing your house for sale, the more people you can appeal to the better.  Even with the most perfect staging most people will just look and go on to the next one.  And anything you do that narrows the potential appeal to the average buyer makes your chances of selling your home drop like a rock.

This is good news for buyers because there are still good deals to be had.  Interest rates remain low and the tax credits offer a good incentive to get moving on finding a home.

Sellers will continue to face buyers with lots of choices.  Staging and curb appeal is vital to get buyer’s attention.  Most buyers want a home that’s move-in ready.  If you have the HGTV or Better Homes & Gardens house, you’re going to stand out.  A prospective buyer will say to himself, “Why should I buy a house that needs work when I can buy a similar one in the neighborhood that’s already done?”  And the buyers who are willing to do some fix-up after they move in are going to ask for hefty discounts in the price.  Often they ask for more than the cost of repairs because of the hassle of having to take on both moving and home improvement projects.

No matter whether you are  a buyer or seller, a good Realtor can help you get the best deal possible.  The outlook is good.

photo credit: Robert Couse-Baker

Good Housekeeping asks “What’s the Worst Odor of All?”
In a recent online poll, we asked what you thought was the foulest household odor. Here are top five offenders according to your votes:

• Rotting garbage: 34.8%
• Pet smells: 24.4%
• Diaper pail: 15.8%
• Tobacco smoke: 13.2%
• Spoiled milk: 11.8%

A vacant house is hard to sell because most people can’t visualize how it will look filled with furniture.  Even a small amount of staging can create a homey feeling that is desirable.

Besides being vacant, this house has lilac paint in the living room, a different kind of purple in the master bedroom, and a country theme in the kitchen.  There’s a funky country blue painted on the edge of the counter top.  There may be a few of you out there who still love country decor.  But the vast majority have moved on past that long ago.

The Good: This house is roomy–a California split-level.  Lots of open space in the kitchen and living room.

The bad: Wallpaper and borders that need to be removed.  Not a fun task.

The ugly: The wall colors.  One of the bedrooms is done in gloss paint put on whith a heavy-nap roller.  Needs lots of sanding to make the walls smooth again.

You can read the story from a couple of different viewpoints by clicking here or here.

The story tells how he barely drew any attention, even though the acoustics were great.  People perceived him as a common busker and walked on by.

The same thing happens to homes for sale.  Not many people can see past the surface appearance to see “hidden” value.  Minor flaws you’ve lived with for years and don’t even notice can be the thing that turns buyers off and they go down the road to the next house: one with the “wow” factor that makes them feel at home.

As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression.  For most home buyers, that first impression determines whether they consider your house or pass on by.

The good: Builders are finally using some design sense when building high-end homes.  Ten years ago the trend was to build big for the sake of bigness.  Kitchen/hearth rooms were cavernous.  The result was a feeling of exposure and “lostness” for those who lived in such spaces.  We need to feel somewhat enclosed to feel secure.  These homes, even though they are expansive, feel very livable.

The bad: The homes priced over $1 million were “themed”.  One feature in particular stood out to me–two pine tree logs were in the family room and supported the upstairs floor.  The house was decorated with a “western” or even a “cowboy” theme, so they fit the decor.  But Brenda & I both agreed that we would get tired of the theme after six months or so.  Also, the colors were all a medium brown tone which caused the house to feel dark and cave-like.

The ugly: With houses priced this high I didn’t expect to find anything truly ugly.  But in one master bath a free-standing claw-foot tub stood front and center as you walked in the door.  Some people might like this feature, but we found it unattractive.

Note:  If you have something like this on your house, don’t worry about dressing up the front yard.  All the staging and merchandising tips in the world can’t overcome this.

Here’s a great article by professional home stager Christine Rae explaining how looking good is vital for getting buyers to be interested in your home.