Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 15:04:12 GMT
We've had our home on the market in NC (on and off) for about 4 years now and rented it our for 1.5 year. The market took a turn and we're a military family in a military town with average school districts. We bought the house at the height of the market in 2006, but have dropped the price several times. Now with it listed tens of thousands of dollars bellow what we paid, we still can't seem to sell it. We figure it's missing the "wow" factor since it's doesn't have granite or hardwoods in the home. So we took the house off the market and are resolved to putting in the necessary upgrades. All in all, it will cost close to $20K for the upgrades and we DON'T want to screw this up. We currently have light oak cabinets in the kitchen and ceramic tile in the kitchen and are not planning to upgrade them, but we do want to add granite countertops in there. Plus we're planning to put down bamboo floors in the downstairs living areas and master bedroom. Now we're torn on what color of granite or bamboo floors to put in. We need it to appeal to the maximum number of buyers. I've included some pictures of the existing home. "All knowing Peas"...do you think we should put in light flooring or dark flooring? And what about the granite? Light or dark? We've been to the home improvement store several times in the last two days and our heads are spinning. Thanks for all your help!!
ETA: Please ignore the furniture in the rooms. It has all changed! ETA: We also are planning to put in new carpeting upstairs, but we're not sure if people want carpet anymore.
ETA: Pictures removed.
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Post by jojam on Mar 20, 2016 15:13:21 GMT
Can you stain or paint the cabinets darker?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 15:16:00 GMT
Have you looked into having someone stage it?
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mochi
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Jun 26, 2014 1:45:16 GMT
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Post by mochi on Mar 20, 2016 15:16:06 GMT
Can you offer the buyers the $20k as an allowance so they can choose what they would like?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 15:17:55 GMT
We don't have the money to paint the cabinets darker which is why we're considering a darker flooring. I know most people like darker cabinets, but it's really not an option right now. As far as staging, we will look into that. We just moved back into the home and don't have any of this furniture anymore.
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scrappinghappy
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Post by scrappinghappy on Mar 20, 2016 15:19:13 GMT
I wouldn't put in any improvements. It looks great. I would instead spend a fraction of that amount and have a staging company come in and stage it for you. It's light, bright and airy and may need nothing more than a coat of paint if that.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 15:20:22 GMT
As far as an incentive, we can't really do that because our renters wrecked our carpets and they smell, so we have to redo the floors. Also, the countertops have a bad seam, but maybe an incentive for that will work? We'll think about it. Thanks.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 15:22:08 GMT
I wish we could just stage it and call it a day. We just moved back here and are so exhausted!
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Post by mlynn on Mar 20, 2016 15:23:19 GMT
I would talk to a successful, established real estate agent. They would know better what sells in your area. You might also consider offering an allowance to purchasers to upgrade. That way they get to make the choice of what to put in. $20,000 is a lot of money...especialy with no guarantee of recouping it in the sale. There are articles out there about the return on investment of various upgrades. NONE are 100%.
Oftentimes there is a rush of interest when a home is first listed. Then the longer it is on the market (and the more the price comes down) the less interest realtors have in showing the home to their clients. Pulling it from the market and then re-listing could be like shooting yourself in the foot. Again, I would consult that successful established realtor about the best way to generate interest I the home.
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Post by lovetodigi on Mar 20, 2016 15:23:19 GMT
I would ask the real estate agents advice. They know best what is selling in your area right now. Do you have any photos of the outside of your house. What it looks like from the curb?
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YooHoot
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Post by YooHoot on Mar 20, 2016 15:23:56 GMT
I don't know that I would spend 20K to upgrade things hoping someone would buy it. I would do new counter tops and faucet/sink, possibly a new back splash. I prefer lighter flooring. I have dark flooring now and I hate it.
ETA: Photos and staging are huge. I don't want to see the corner of every room. I prefer if you take a photo from the corner of the room facing out. Wide angle (not distorted). Redo the carpeting and flooring but I would try to find a happy medium.
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gsquaredmom
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Post by gsquaredmom on Mar 20, 2016 15:24:27 GMT
How about new carpet only where needed, paint, granite countertops, and staging? A happy medium of sorts.
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caangel
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Jun 26, 2014 16:42:12 GMT
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Post by caangel on Mar 20, 2016 15:27:19 GMT
Were these changes suggested by a realtor? From the photos the house looks nice, not overly dated. What about just knocking your price down by 20k? I've always hear that if it is the right price then the house will sell. Unfortunately it will probably never be worth what you bought it for.
I would definitely get the opinion of a realtor before I went to all the trouble of doing upgrades. If you had avocado counters and shag carpeting that would be one thing but it looks nice as is. No it doesn't have all the upgrades but a realtor would know if those were necessary in your area and price point.
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craftykitten
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Post by craftykitten on Mar 20, 2016 15:27:48 GMT
If you have already dropped the price a lot, 20k is a huge amount to spend. I agree with the other advice above to speak to an agent and get serious feedback about why it hasn't sold yet and what you need to do. Did you have renters in there putting off buyers? I personally like light flooring and granite but I am in the wrong country...you need to find out what works in your area.
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LeaP
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Post by LeaP on Mar 20, 2016 15:29:22 GMT
Another vote for staging rather than improvements.
M kids were hard on the carpets in our Canadian rental house. I looked on Yelp for reviews of a carpet cleaner. There was one guy that stood out from the rest. He spent nearly 4 hours shampooing three rooms. The reviews were right and the carpets looked spectacular.
In your shoes, I would pay to have the best carpet cleaning you can find (and any extra charges for spot removal) and for someone to stage it. Paint is cheap and the trends for homes have changed a lot since 2006. Maybe the staging company can suggest a color or two. You might only have to paint an accent wall or two.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 15:29:43 GMT
We were planning to get an agent in here, but the house isn't showing well due to carpet stains from the renters and I'm pretty embarrassed by it. But maybe we'll go ahead and do that instead. Thank you for your advice so far.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 15:34:49 GMT
Thanks!! You've giving us a lot to think about and a new perspective on the situation. I guess we should have asked this here a long time ago (and did on the old board...but that was years ago).
To answer some questions. The upgrade ideas were from looking at pictures online and seeing most people like hardwoods in living rooms and we have carpet. Also, we never had the home on the market when the renters lived here.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 15:36:54 GMT
Also, we did just repaint a few rooms after the renters left and now the house has all neutral colors (grays and beige).
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Post by melissak on Mar 20, 2016 15:46:27 GMT
Where in NC is your home? We are also military and have a rental in Fayetteville. We bought in 2010 and have done a few minor upgrades while we lived there for 5 years. Now it is a rental and has rented well so far. We are in a good school district so I think that helps.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 15:56:11 GMT
We're right outside of Fayetteville. We really don't want to rent it our again because the last year was pretty stressful due to our Property Management company. Also, we're hoping to move out west after my husband retires from the Army.
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Post by melanell on Mar 20, 2016 15:56:16 GMT
Personally, I like some sort of contrast in a room. To me that's what jumps out from your photos, a lack of contrast. i see light flooring, light walls, light ceiling, light cabinets. I would rather, as a buyer, get you to come down a bit on your price, and make changes I wanted myself, than to have the sellers sink 20K into upgrades I may not like, therefore making them more firm on their asking price, kwim? At this point, I really think if you had those rooms staged with items that incorporate either some brighter or deeper colors, it might be a far less expensive way to bring about some of the contrast I was talking about. I just can't see dropping 20K on a house that you've already been trying to sell for so long. But whatever you decide to do, I wish you all the best selling this home and in your new home!
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Mar 20, 2016 15:57:49 GMT
I agree with asking the realtor why he/she thinks the house isn't selling. Also look on Zillow or realtor.com to see what other comparable houses are in your area and what types of finishes they have. You may be surprised that most of them don't have the granite,etc. At least they don't in our area. We are possibly going to list our house and the realtor said that new carpet would increase the value of our home by $10,000 which is more than it would cost to replace it but she didn't think other upgrades would pay for the price range of our house.
I also agree with cleaning the carpets to see if they will come clean. Our neighbor just sold their house and she said they used a bissell machine that they rented from Petsmart. She said it got the carpets incredibly clean. We are going to do that and see what happens. It won't make our carpets new again but is an affordable way to do all of the carpets regardless of whether we move or not.
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Post by Susie_Homemaker on Mar 20, 2016 15:58:40 GMT
Looking at the pictures, I agree with others that the cabinets need to be darker and it needs upgraded countertops (maybe not granite though). To answer your question, I think darker flooring would be nice.
I think your best bet would be to talk to realtors and find out what is 'hot' for your area and what is selling things quickly.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Mar 20, 2016 16:04:45 GMT
Another vote for having one of the top selling (vs top listing) agents in your area look at the house as is and give you advice on what to do. I would be very hesitant to put $20,000 into a house that I was going to list without knowing for sure it would help. Many of the things you mention doing are things that would detract from the house for me: new carpet (prefer all hardwoods), dark hardwoods (too much trouble to keep clean and I prefer a medium stain), dark granite (I prefer quartz and a lighter color). Those are things that would cause me to make a lower offer because I would need to spend money to correct.
I think freshening up (paint and a thorough, deep clean) plus staging would go a long way to helping the house sell. Also make sure the curb appeal is tip top with fresh plants and landscaping. Good luck with getting the house listed and sold!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 16:14:46 GMT
The top selling agent won't work with us anymore (we hired them once and we got showings, but no offers). Their focus is on NEW construction, which basically sells itself. :-(
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Kerri W
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Jun 25, 2014 20:31:44 GMT
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Post by Kerri W on Mar 20, 2016 16:16:27 GMT
1. Consult a good realtor in that area and have them make suggestions before you do any upgrades. Not to be rude, bamboo flooring is considered very low-end in our market and you would be much better served giving a credit than putting the money into cheap flooring. Along the same line with granite...some neighborhoods granite is necessary and some it isn't. The agent will know if it's a necessary upgrade.
2. Are the pictures you posted some you took just to show us or are those from a previous listing? If they're from a previous listing, you need to insist on your agent having better photography. They're great to show us but they are not photos that are going to advertise and SELL your house.
3. How is your house being advertised?
4. Be realistic about the neighborhood the house is in. Go into depth on the comps the agent brings you (and if they don't bring comps, run away). You might not make money on this sale. But if it's priced correctly and sells, you also won't be making payments on a house that no longer meets your needs. Don't throw good money after bad.
Now...I'm saying this VERY gently and kindly. You've been given a lot of suggestions on this thread. And you've kind of shot everything down. We can't do this because...we can't do that because...What is currently happening, whether it's choices by you or choices by your agent, is not getting the house sold. Open your mind to new ideas.
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Post by epeanymous on Mar 20, 2016 16:25:09 GMT
We sold a house last summer. We are in a hot market, so take this fwiw, but our real estate agents, who were awesome, told us not to do the floors, which in our house really needed work. They told us buyers want to pick their own floors, so redoing them would be wasted $$. We did pay for a staging company, and they did an awesome job.
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LouWho
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Jul 9, 2014 0:52:15 GMT
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Post by LouWho on Mar 20, 2016 16:28:07 GMT
I agree with some of the other peas... You need to talk to a new agent and a stager before sinking a ton of money in your house. If I were looking to buy that house after purchase I would either paint the kitchen cabinets white or stain them darker. The carpets you are just going to have to see iff they can be cleaned or need replaced. A stager can layer area rugs over carpet to add color and break up the space. To add visual interest, not to hide problems. I would also add some sort of stone or barn wood or even a different paint color above the fireplace to add some wow factor. Hang a mirror or art or a metal sculpture on that. It will sell, just have faith and bury one of those statues in the yard..lol
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 16:29:17 GMT
1. Consult a good realtor in that area and have them make suggestions before you do any upgrades. Not to be rude, bamboo flooring is considered very low-end in our market and you would be much better served giving a credit than putting the money into cheap flooring. Along the same line with granite...some neighborhoods granite is necessary and some it isn't. The agent will know if it's a necessary upgrade. 2. Are the pictures you posted some you took just to show us or are those from a previous listing? If they're from a previous listing, you need to insist on your agent having better photography. They're great to show us but they are not photos that are going to advertise and SELL your house. 3. How is your house being advertised? 4. Be realistic about the neighborhood the house is in. Go into depth on the comps the agent brings you (and if they don't bring comps, run away). You might not make money on this sale. But if it's priced correctly and sells, you also won't be making payments on a house that no longer meets your needs. Don't throw good money after bad. Now...I'm saying this VERY gently and kindly. You've been given a lot of suggestions on this thread. And you've kind of shot everything down. We can't do this because...we can't do that because...What is currently happening, whether it's choices by you or choices by your agent, is not getting the house sold. Open your mind to new ideas. The only idea I shot down was darkening up the cabinets. I don't think this will work well since we have other areas in the house with more wear and tear (i.e. counters and floors). So that's where we think we need to spend our time and money. To answer some of your other questions: 1. Bamboo would be an upgrade for most of the homes in this area including new construction, at this price point. 2. The pictures are from previous listings and most realtors don't know how to take good pictures in this town. Ours are an improvement over most, but next time we'll hire a professional. 3. The last agent did a very poor job of having an online presence for the house, so the next agent will have to do better. Thank you for your thoughts everyone!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 16:32:26 GMT
Just to add, we're in a buyer's market and some of the agents told us buyers only want homes that are "move-in ready".
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