Tips for living in the house while it is for sale...?

[irishgal]

Stash personal things like toothbrushes, hair brushes and shampoos under the sink. I always take out the bar of soap in the shower and hide that as well.

Also I had a bag where I would put stuff like paperwork and bills that were current, and take that bag with me when I would leave the house for the viewing. I also had all jewelry, prescription meds, handbags and firearms locked away as well.


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[spncity]

Thanks for the tips! I have been very worried about theft, not that we have much expensive stuff, but sounds like I may be stressing for nothing.

We are not having an open house for the public. We did give permission for a broker's open house. The stager (free bene from the agent) will come by tomorrow to tweak anything, but I asked the realtor twice if she felt like things are show-ready now and she said "definitely."

This is a huge checkoff on the master to do list.

The photographer will come the day after the stager. I asked for non-exclusive use of my real estate photos. In case we ever have to change agents, I don't want to have to re-photograph.

There are no pets. We have worked long a hard to get here with a big push on downsizing, storing, cleaning and then hiding the last pesky things to get to that "showroom" level. Whew!

We have one ace in the hole for making this time livable... When prospective buyers come, we can go next door and hang out in the RV...! Our youngest advised us to just move in to it so we wouldn't be getting the house dirty. Not sure about that - as I'm loving puttering around in this uncluttered house with new carpet! The place could use a few more windows washed,

But, this will be a good time to continue the downsizing, start stocking/packing the RV, have a couple of friends over here and there (bonus - the house is already clean!), pack some stuff to store, eat down the stuff in the freezer, etc.

Keep the tips coming!

 

[athena53]

You never know what buyers will like or not like.

Totally agreed, although I think I did the right thing when I replaced 30- year old off-white carpeting in one bath and plastic flooring in the other with ceramic tile!

 

[W2R]

Totally agreed, although I think I did the right thing when I replaced 30- year old off-white carpeting in one bath and plastic flooring in the other with ceramic tile!

I don't know! That plastic flooring probably would have looked just right with the sad 1970's fake marble plastic tub surround that my buyers decided was so great. The sink countertop was in matching fake marble. Pink, and very cheap and looked awful.

Luckily, once I deposited their certified check in the bank, I didn't really care if the buyers blew up my house with C-4. It's their house, now, and I have no more attachment to it other than pleasant memories.

 

[Music Lover]

Am I the only one that could care less on how the interior is 'staged' when looking for a new house? I'm looking at the bones of the structure, condition, yard, neighborhood, etc. Could care less what they might have hanging on the walls or if it's cluttered.

I'm like you...I ignore paint colours and counters, and spend my time checking the foundation, attic, furnace, AC, wiring, plumbing, and insulation, etc.

After all, it only takes $400 and a weekend to paint the inside of a house.

 

[btdt22]

Am I the only one that could care less on how the interior is 'staged' when looking for a new house? I'm looking at the bones of the structure, condition, yard, neighborhood, etc. Could care less what they might have hanging on the walls or if it's cluttered.

Good for you, but these people are trying to sell their house to 'ordinary' people, not extraordinary/unique FIRE folks

 

[spncity]

The house has not had a makeover, as to us it was stunning from the beginning. Not huge. No kitchen remodel. But it has been our dream house. It has been well taken care of and it has been been freshened up with paint and new carpet, refinished hardwood, roof, driveway... and the big exhausting downsizing/make-ready.

Maybe it's good for the time "on the market" to be a hassle. It will help in the letting go process. I did not expect to need help in the letting go process....

I'm chalking it up to some fear of the unknown and the dawning of the realization that a big chapter in our lives is ending.

But for something good to begin, something else must end.

Seems like there is a quotation that says, "Forward. Always forward."http://www.early-retirement.org//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[Slow But Steady]

Regarding cooking odors, I've found that boiling a pot of water with a few tablespoons of vanilla will mask odors with a pleasant smell. You can use the cheap imitation vanilla from Sam's Club.


Baking cookies is also good, because you get to eat the cookies, but boiling vanilla is easier.

 

[walkinwood]

... The place could use a few more windows washed...

We had our windows professionally washed when we put up our house for sale and were really amazed at what a difference that made. Now, we get our windows washed every other year - doesn't cost much and makes a big difference.

 

[travelover]

We had our windows professionally washed when we put up our house for sale and were really amazed at what a difference that made. Now, we get our windows washed every other year - doesn't cost much and makes a big difference.

About how much did it cost?

 

[walkinwood]

Just under a $100 here in Denver. Closer to $200 in NJ - but that house had 30+ divided light windows that took a lot of work to clean.

 

[Amethyst]

Do they wash the windows both inside and out?

 

[Fishingmn]

We are about to go through this as well. I am a bit concerned over some items like our pinball machines (I have this image of some 5 year old brat spilling coke all over the pristine Twilight Zone and The Addams Family).

I would just have them unplugged so they don't work

 

[Fishingmn]

The stager (free bene from the agent) will come by tomorrow to tweak anything, but I asked the realtor twice if she felt like things are show-ready now and she said "definitely."

This is a huge checkoff on the master to do list.

The photographer will come the day after the stager.

I hire a stager & photographer too but am a little concerned about your comment about the photographer coming the next day. My stager will typically come up with a list of items that is 5-8 pages long which is sent the next day after their visit. This goes through every room in detail with suggestions.

Most clients then take anywhere from 1-2 days to as long as 1-2 months to get their homes ready. I have never had someone ready for pictures in 1 day. Not sure what the point of having a stager is if you don't take the time to get the house ready. Having pictures after it's ready is key since in my market you only get 18 pictures to sell buyers on scheduling a showing.

 

[spncity]

Good comment.

I should have explained... that the stager was here before, for a first visit - to help choose the carpet color and to make other suggestions. (We had gotten everything ready to the extent we could, and were ready for suggestions.)

Some of her strategies were easy, some were not so easy, but we followed through.

She came back to see the things we'd done (and to see if there was anything else.) She was very happy with the suggestions we'd put into place. There were only tiny tweaks left: Substituting a different table for eat-in area. Setting that table. Accenting the breakfast bar. Rolling the towels into a basket. With a final "decorator plump" to the sofa pillows she gave us the stamp of approval!

 

[MichaelB]

When I put DM's house on the market a few weeks ago, they did some staging but also photoshopped many of the photos. One in particular was the "4th bedroom". In my view it's a small office, but the realtor insisted on listing it as a BR. They just used photoshop to show that room with bedroom furniture, when the prospective buyer comes to visit it is empty.

I expressed some doubt about this but the realtor team said it was fairly common, and it didn't seem to bother buyers, as the house received multiple offers shortly after listing.

 

[Amethyst]

Neighbor's large house was empty when it went up for sale. The online photos showed a complete suite of that super-stagey furniture, pictures, etc. that nobody really has in their house. When I asked the listing agent how much the staged furniture cost the seller, she said it was all virtual furniture and didn't cost extra!

Amethyst

When I put DM's house on the market a few weeks ago, they did some staging but also photoshopped many of the photos. One in particular was the "4th bedroom". In my view it's a small office, but the realtor insisted on listing it as a BR. They just used photoshop to show that room with bedroom furniture, when the prospective buyer comes to visit it is empty.

I expressed some doubt about this but the realtor team said it was fairly common, and it didn't seem to bother buyers, as the house received multiple offers shortly after listing.

 

[brucethebroker]

1. Anytime you leave your home, "pretend" it is going to be shown. Make beds, put dishes in dishwasher, etc.
2. Put all "pocket sized" valuables in a safe deposit box. Jewelry and coin collections can disappear. Remove firearms also.
3. Leave your closets only 1/3 full. You would be surprised how many people cannot see past full closets.
4. Remove nearly everything (leave the coffemaker?) from your kit. counters.
5. When decluttering, you can stack boxes in the garage (if you don't have storage). Guy buyers seem OK with boxes in the garage.
6. Put away as much pet stuff as possible. Lots of non-pet owners out there.
7. Remove pictures hanging on walls of hallways, stairways, etc. Has a tendency to narrow down the walk area.
8. If you enter and leave through the garage, walk over to your front door and give it a good look see. Usually, they collect dirt, leaves, etc., because they are not used much.
9. Beige is always a great wall color. The lighter the better. Not everyone can see past bright red and dark green. Beige is easy to paint over if the buyers don't like it.

There is only one reason houses don't sell-price. Even houses next to RR tracks or express ways sell when the price gets cheap enough. Reduce your price every 3-4 weeks until you get an offer.

(I have sold over 20 of my own homes, and 400 for clients. Watch that price!)

 

[spncity]

1. Anytime you leave your home, "pretend" it is going to be shown.

Great list! I think we're good. Now that the house is finally on the market, we are going to look around every morning to see that things are ready, so that last minute requests from the showing appointment service won't be a problem. We had our first showings yesterday! We have figured out the few things that we need to grab and take with us, such as throwing all the tax papers into a box and stashing it in the trunk before we leave, locking desk drawers. Appreciate all the tips!

 

[W2R]

How exciting!!! Glad to hear it is being shown already.

It's really great when your agent calls you on the cell phone, and you are out doing errands, to be able to say,

"Sure, go ahead and show the house right now if you want to, since those buyers are in a hurry! I'm gone and it is as ready to show as it will ever be".

Makes you feel like a champion seller.

 

[Sunset]

We plan to sell once the last of our pets goes to a better place. Our kitchen needs to be updated and the house re-carpeted. For either of them or both I would rather give them an allowance. I am thinking we could put $40k - 50k into a kitchen and have them not like it even though it is new. Just wondering if putting $50k into the house is the best/only way to sell? House is 35 years old in a nice neighborhood near schools/freeway/shopping. Everything else in house has been redone in the last 5 years. Current value ~ $275k.

If you are handy, the cost of doing many things is really cheap.
I updated a kitchen, put in new high quality vinyl tiles ($1.50 sq foot).
New kitchen counters.
Replaced the weird wooden backsplash with tile.
Painted the cupboards and the walls.
New handles on the cupboards.

Total cost was less than $800 (plus a bunch of my time).

 

[Fermion]

If you beat them up too much on commissions, might that not have a negative effect on how often your house is shown?

If I am an agent with a $400k house with a 4% commission and a $400k house with a 6% commission, I know which one I am going to prioritize.

 

[Sunset]

If you beat them up too much on commissions, might that not have a negative effect on how often your house is shown?

If I am an agent with a $400k house with a 4% commission and a $400k house with a 6% commission, I know which one I am going to prioritize.

Not really, as they are showing the house to a customer.

I had an agent take to a bunch of houses, all of which must have paid him a good commission, and all were very different from what I clearly spelled out I wanted.
I didn't buy any of them, and dropped him.

If the houses were identical then possibly yes, but its the Selling Agent commission that is important, not the overall listing fee.

 

[Amethyst]

Have you found that people completely forget the rules when it comes to kids' rooms? Dark blue walls and ceilings (why??), striped walls, pink-and-purple animals, elaborate murals...all of them a nightmare to paint over.

1
9. Beige is always a great wall color. The lighter the better. Not everyone can see past bright red and dark green. Beige is easy to paint over if the buyers don't like it.

)

 

[Fermion]

Have you found that people completely forget the rules when it comes to kids' rooms? Dark blue walls and ceilings (why??), striped walls, pink-and-purple animals, elaborate murals...all of them a nightmare to paint over.

Oops

Not a kids room, but we painted one of the spare bedrooms a dark purple when we used it as a pinball machine gameroom. Oh well.