who's looking for a new home? SOLD!

i'm putting my place on the market (things are nowhere near as dire here as they are in the US, so don't think i've lost my mind, okay?).  i think i already know the answer to these question, but just in case i'm forgetting something...

what do you look for in a prospective new home?  what kinds of things do you notice?  what's important to you?  what impacts the proverbial "first impression" and what's a deal breaker?

we're not talking fixer-upper here; this is a move-in-tomorrow kind of deal.

off to paint my kitchen now.

one more question: how much impact would a next-door eyesore have on you?  my neighbours to the west have a big ugly tent-thing in their yard, like one of those tarp garage things.  it's awful, and it's all you see from my kitchen window.

i'm wondering about the wisdom of closing the blinds before showings....

I have seen it once before and I will always agree - if your house is a home: bake something yummy and have it waiting for guests on open house day. I prefer chocolate chip cookies... you can't go wrong with the smell or the taste/look. Its very inviting and a great way to envision yourself relaxing in the house.

Fresh paint is an amazing smell to me - then again I love the smell of gas stations lol.

Bright flowers (inside and out) help bring up my level of positivity... and being optimistic is always good.

Most of all cleanliness & minimal furniture.

G'luck and I hope that helps!!!

Gads! We must have looked at 40 houses before we found one - but it was a fierce seller's market back then.

Unclutter in all spaces. Neutral wall colors. Good carpet where there is carpeting - clean well-kept floors where there isn't - less furniture to give the impression of larger space. No large collections dominating rooms (one lady had shelves and shelves of ceramic cats - it detracted from my imagination for the room) - clean clean clean.

Original Post by littlemalynda:

I have seen it once before and I will always agree - if your house is a home: bake something yummy and have it waiting for guests on open house day. I prefer chocolate chip cookies... you can't go wrong with the smell or the taste/look. Its very inviting and a great way to envision yourself relaxing in the house.

Fresh paint is an amazing smell to me - then again I love the smell of gas stations lol.

Bright flowers (inside and out) help bring up my level of positivity... and being optimistic is always good.

Most of all cleanliness & minimal furniture.

 

G'luck and I hope that helps!!!

 i've heard very similar things. 

pg - we both know i'm 23 and living in vancouver (therefore, quite a few years away from buying), however...couple things:

i wouldn't close the windows, as people may open them.  are you comfortable asking your neighbour to take the tent down?  just explain that you're showing your place, and want things to appear as "uncluttered" as possible? 

play up the little things of character in your house.  and yes, neutral colours tend to be the best bet...but i'm sure you knew that.

starlit, i can't ask the neighbours to take down the tent.  they are two adults, two teenaged boys, two big dogs, and--i think--two cats living in 900 square feet.  they need the tent for storage.

most of the rest i can do/have done.  i'm kind-of a minimalist anyway, so clutter isn't an issue.

unfortunately, we're still a month away from planting season here, so i can't do the outdoor flowers.  wish i could, because i built a great raised flower bed out front last year.

then i'd make sure the realtor points out the raised flower beds as having great potential for the summer.  and get cute, springy flowers for the inside...tulips always make me happy.

in regards to the tent...not sure if you should close the blinds or not then.  light filled, big windowed rooms tend to be more inspiring...

and holy crap, that's alot of people/animals in a wee house!

i think i can get away with leaving those blinds partly closed.  it's the only west-facing window; the rest of the house has a full eastern exposure, and it's very bright ;)

my parents have a major eyesore of a neighbouring house up in whitehorse. 

i'll see if i can find the link, it was published online, it's such a vast difference.

I never particularly care what color walls are painted. I am most likely going to change out the carpet because beige is not a practical color in my world. It would be nice to never have to rip wallpaper again......though.

I tend to look for a home that does not have any signs of water damage, termite damage, huge cracks in the walls, or sagging spots in the ceiling. I look for storage space, not just in the kitchen but everywhere. I want plumbing, electrical, and a roof that I don't have to mess with right away. It has to be structurally sound or no deal.

I also look very hard at the neighborhood. I will take a house that needs some work in a decent neighborhood over one that does not, but is in a *ahem* questionable area. In either case I need to feel like my daughter is not going to be instantly hit by a car if she makes a mad dash out the door, so traffic is a concern for me as well. The neighborhood/street can also serve as a deal breaker.

Suggestion: Get rid of clutter, personal items, and excess furniture, clean, air it out, put out fresh flowers, paint with neutral colors, get a new doormat, and that sort of thing. Nice door with fresh locks. No outrageous wall paper or colors ( red , black) on the walls.I prefer hardwood/neutral colors to start so I can make my own changes, ect. I"m not afraid of color so long as it's done well and fits into my world. I'm pretty sure most people are intimidated by color though.  So basic white/neutral toned paint/carpet is best for the overall market. I would buy with carpet/color issue so long as the carpet was clean and not worn out. Updated light fixtures/door knobs if it's an older place. Windows that function properly are a giant plus for me. I'm going to notice if there aren't many windows too. Must open/lock properly/no broken glass. Newer roof/Newer a/c unit. I look for floorplan, flow of the rooms, major structural/maintenance items, and neighborhood. These are things that you cannot change. Also, I look for functionality of the house and how that translates into value for the money. Nice sized yard preferably with a little privacy/room to entertain. I'd like enough room to put in a patio if one isn't there. That way there is an adult area to entertain. As well as room for a play set,sandbox, kiddy stuff, ect.Without it taking up virtually the whole yard. I like when the yard is easily accessible. Not cut off so you have to walk through the garage or around the house to get there, ect. Ooh. It's okay if there aren't flowers ect in the yard. I'd mulch the flower beds though it sets off a good first impression. It just looks nice and adds quick curb appeal.

Best of Luck!

Everything that's been suggested are great ideas, but remember the number 1 most important thing about a house:  location, location, location.

If there are conveniences in proximity to your house that would simply make life easier to live there, that's a big selling point.  How good are the schools in your area?  Are you close to any parks, walking/bike trails, stores?  Are any of them within walking distance?

It depends on your prospective buyer and their priorities, but I'll say that even if me and hubby had found our total dream house, had it been in a school district with poor special education services, it would have been a deal breaker.

They have these adhesive things you can stick on your window that can make it look etched or like stain glass, so it lets the light through but you can't really see in or out. Might be good to hide the tent? My parents put it on their bathroom window, because there's a HUGE window right above their bath tub. It looked pretty good and lasted about 7 years, but now it's starting to dry out around the edges. But you can just peel it off.

It's not all doom and gloom... my realtor says that it's not as bad as the media makes it out to be and that was my experience. I just sold a place and it was on the market for 7 weeks. I was prepared for 6 months+ to sell. Listed my property in late January '09 and got the offer in March (not prime time selling season).

Bright, clean, make the "shiny" parts of your home sparkle -- the chrome in the bathrooms, lamp bases if they are metallic and so on. My place was lived in -- including 3 pets -- and I just kept it very clean. The other thing is to minimize clutter and personal stuff.

Repair any "minor" things that you can do yourself. Even if they are maybe not a big deal to you. Like knobs or handles that may be loose, baseboards that may need to be nailed back on or glued, cabinet doors that are not firmly fastened, plates around light switched, cleaning the air ducts, etc. Things that don't cost much money but can make a big impression on potential buyers. I made a list and my boyfriend knocked that stuff out and I personally think it made a big difference and is part of why my place sold quickly. We just added to the list as we came across things we could easily fix.

Air fresheners in all parts of the house.

Things that are important to me personally are more about the structure of a home. I prefer large, open rooms (more found on older homes) and a LOT of natural light, wood moldings/trim, and a large lot with mature trees.  And -- of course -- location.

If the next door neighbors were sketchy (messy, etc.) that would definitely turn me off from buying a place.

Original Post by amy_blue:

Air fresheners in all parts of the house.

this is the only thing so far that i disagree with.  in my mind (and i don't think i'm the only one), air fresheners signal that something bad is being covered up.

the previous owners were smokers, and they tried to disguise it with those air fresheners that spray every few minutes.  they were really overpowering.  and they were hidden.  my first night here, i couldn't figure out what that hissing sounds was.  scared the crap out of me!

once i got rid of all the drapes and valances, cleaned everything (including the ducts and fans), the cigarette smell faded.  blech.

but i really came back to complain about painting.  i like painting, for the most part, but the kitchen is a bitch: below cabinets, above cabinets, standing on the counter, hunched over, crouching, kneeling, moving (and cleaning under/behind) appliances.  urgh.

incidentally, most of my colours are very neutral, but i have a few walls (one in the entry, two living room, one MBR) that are olive green.  it's beautiful.  and it takes some of the pink out of the horrid plum-coloured carpet ;)

Original Post by pgeorgian:

Original Post by amy_blue:

Air fresheners in all parts of the house.

this is the only thing so far that i disagree with.  in my mind (and i don't think i'm the only one), air fresheners signal that something bad is being covered up.

 I agree. A clean smell is enough.

 Constant air fresheners/incense. Yuk. To be honest most of them give me headaches. It's like they cause actual brain damage they're so potent. I'd wouldn't be inclined to stick around... if it made my head hurt. Lol! Just sayin'

A lot of smokers/cat owners use them to cover the litter box/smoke smell. Yuk.  I'd be afraid someone was trying to mask animal urine in the carpet/smoke.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

incidentally, most of my colours are very neutral, but i have a few walls (one in the entry, two living room, one MBR) that are olive green.  it's beautiful.  and it takes some of the pink out of the horrid plum-coloured carpet ;)

Some people will love the small splash of color as accents in the place. :) There is so much potential for different color schemes,ect.The paint job throughout wouldn't be a deal breaker for me at all.

Some people may actually dig the carpet.

We JUST sold ours over the weekend...was on the market for 9 long months...we had to reduce our price and our house is less than 5 yrs old, primo condition...its just in our market, there's tons to choose from. But, its sold and we have a contract on a new one. woo hoo. It was a pain having it showed, 50 people must of looked at it. 

No Air fresheners, Pu-lese!

Original Post by pgeorgian:

this is the only thing so far that i disagree with.  in my mind (and i don't think i'm the only one), air fresheners signal that something bad is being covered up.

I agree as well.  Once the house is clean, though, some genuine scent (ie:  from real sources, not a can or a wall outlet) can be nice.  It's been mentioned to bake something like chocolate chip cookies, but I'd have to go with freshly baked bread.

Original Post by enchantingimage:

Original Post by pgeorgian:

incidentally, most of my colours are very neutral, but i have a few walls (one in the entry, two living room, one MBR) that are olive green.  it's beautiful.  and it takes some of the pink out of the horrid plum-coloured carpet ;)

Some people will love the small splash of color as accents in the place. :) There is so much potential for different color schemes,ect.The paint job throughout wouldn't be a deal breaker for me at all.

Some people may actually dig the carpet.

I agree with the small splash of color - actually I don't really like neutral colors at all... All our walls in our current home were painted - and none neutrally (except the master bedrooom and I think it is just cause they hadn't gotten to it yet!).  Most of the colors are really warm - think butternut squash and pumpkin... somewhere between the two.  The bathrooms are painted in correlation to the tile colors - which is awesome.  That is how I knew my house was MY HOUSE - I didn't even have to PAINT - it coordinated with ALL my furniture and paintings.

As for smell, I'd stick with food - chocolate baking. If you have any pictures of your lovely flowerbed from last year, maybe you could put them on the kitchen table along with the info sheet on your house.  I've also been told when selling to remove any pictures of yourself or family from the walls/mantels as it makes it harder for prospective buyers to picture themselves owning the house.