House showing.....

another idea for staging is baking cookies or something simalar an hour before people look at it. I never buy the premade dough for cookies, but it would be ideal for you as there is no mess. just baking chocoloate chip cookies is enough to emulate the smell in house. even leaving a few on a pretty plate helps. when done making cookies, just take cookie sheet with you so there is no mess.
 
Recently I read some news articles that LI has one of the highest property taxes in the U.S. IIRC, the average property tax in LI is $11,500 per year. OUCH!

that is pretty a lot. my parents are selling their house in florida.
 
another idea for staging is baking cookies or something simalar an hour before people look at it. I never buy the premade dough for cookies, but it would be ideal for you as there is no mess. just baking chocoloate chip cookies is enough to emulate the smell in house. even leaving a few on a pretty plate helps. when done making cookies, just take cookie sheet with you so there is no mess.

That is a nice idea but sometimes people dont show up after making an appointment for nothing like my parents did last week. oh well.
 
When we sold our condo, we got extra laundry baskets and filled them with the extraneous things that are needed for daily life, but not for staging (at the time, it was all the baby paraphernalia in a 1 bedroom condo) and stacked them neatly in the enclosed patio and covered with sheets. If anyone wanted to know what that was, they peeked and saw that we cleaned up. Granted, this was 15 years ago, but after 4 potential buyers, we sold for $8000 above asking price if we could move quickly. We got packed up, repainted the place and were out in 30 days and on our way to Missouri. What helped was that it was in a guarded, gated community, and we were the only unit on the 2nd floor that had sliding glass door (hurricane safe for 1990's) that totally closed off the patio. Made for a nice place during the rain.
 
Dogmom, if you can - hire a cleaning company to do a really thorough deep clean of your place, including cleaning the carpets. Your house needs to be sparkling.

Then if your interior paint is more than 5 or so years old, repaint everything in nice neutral colors. (Not just beige - could be a light sage green or pale yellow, especially in the bedrooms. It just shouldn't be any color that would scare anyone.) Paint all trim white semi-gloss.

If you have any wallpaper borders, take them down.

Look at your lighting, especially any lights in the entryway, dining room, and eating area in kitchen, if you have that, with a very critical eye. If they are builder's originals, replace with something better. Can be from Lowe's or H.D., doesn't have to break the bank, just something to update what you have.

Is your stove absolutely pristine? The deep-cleaning company can clean it, or you can do it yourself, but a yukky stove will really turn off the buyers.

Plus, as stated above, you need to show the dining room as a dining room. People really need to see proportion and scale, so you need a table and at least 4 chairs in there, six if there's room.

Plan on spending a certain amount to do these updates. It's a case of "it costs money to make money."

Get the dogs groomed, clipped short, and deodorized, which might help with the shedding, if that's an issue.

Has your realtor shown you a comp sheet of what the competition is selling for? (Not just "asking prices," you need to see "sold" prices.) You really need to know that to know that your price is in the ballpark. It doesn't matter what you paid for it or how much profit you hope to make. It's only worth what a buyer will pay for it. You have to make your house stand out from the competition at the same price point.

Good luck with it. It can certainly be a frustrating process these days.

Incidentally, "Audi B" that I've mentioned in another thread has moved here to the Outer Banks from Ohio. We were chatting about where she lived here, and it turns out she and her husband are renting because they couldn't sell the Ohio place. The Ohio place has now been on the market for about a year.

Ouch to paying rent and mortgage BOTH!
 
It is a lot of work selling a house. I had a small house in Berkeley and my realtor showed it to a woman and she liked it and she told my realtor she wanted her boyfriend to see it too. The boyfriend like it too, and then the woman told my realtor she wanted her husband to see my house too! The husband did not like it! My realtor was LOL when she called me. I was :shock:
when I heard the woman wanted to live with her husband and boyfriend in my house , it was small and had 2 bedrooms and only one bathroom. But that is California for ya! It a great place to live...
 
Dogmom, if you can - hire a cleaning company to do a really thorough deep clean of your place, including cleaning the carpets. Your house needs to be sparkling.

Then if your interior paint is more than 5 or so years old, repaint everything in nice neutral colors. (Not just beige - could be a light sage green or pale yellow, especially in the bedrooms. It just shouldn't be any color that would scare anyone.) Paint all trim white semi-gloss.

If you have any wallpaper borders, take them down.

Look at your lighting, especially any lights in the entryway, dining room, and eating area in kitchen, if you have that, with a very critical eye. If they are builder's originals, replace with something better. Can be from Lowe's or H.D., doesn't have to break the bank, just something to update what you have.

Is your stove absolutely pristine? The deep-cleaning company can clean it, or you can do it yourself, but a yukky stove will really turn off the buyers.

Plus, as stated above, you need to show the dining room as a dining room. People really need to see proportion and scale, so you need a table and at least 4 chairs in there, six if there's room.

Plan on spending a certain amount to do these updates. It's a case of "it costs money to make money."

Get the dogs groomed, clipped short, and deodorized, which might help with the shedding, if that's an issue.

Has your realtor shown you a comp sheet of what the competition is selling for? (Not just "asking prices," you need to see "sold" prices.) You really need to know that to know that your price is in the ballpark. It doesn't matter what you paid for it or how much profit you hope to make. It's only worth what a buyer will pay for it. You have to make your house stand out from the competition at the same price point.

Good luck with it. It can certainly be a frustrating process these days.

Incidentally, "Audi B" that I've mentioned in another thread has moved here to the Outer Banks from Ohio. We were chatting about where she lived here, and it turns out she and her husband are renting because they couldn't sell the Ohio place. The Ohio place has now been on the market for about a year.

Ouch to paying rent and mortgage BOTH![/QUOTE


Ohhh...pls, if you do have any wallpaper borders..pls take them down ASAP and burn them!
 
another idea for staging is baking cookies or something simalar an hour before people look at it. I never buy the premade dough for cookies, but it would be ideal for you as there is no mess. just baking chocoloate chip cookies is enough to emulate the smell in house. even leaving a few on a pretty plate helps. when done making cookies, just take cookie sheet with you so there is no mess.

I brought an frozen apple pie and baked that. You should made sure the realtor let you know when they're coming over. One realtor did not tell me he was bringing people to look at condo. I was taking a shower when they came
so I did not hear the knocking on the door. Just as I was coming out of the bathroom I saw the door to my unit opening up,I yelled out I was in the shower! It was very embarrassment having my realtor almost walk in with a couple and we wearing only a towel!!
 
What about cutting up an apple, sprinkling ground cinnamon on them and then bake it on low heat? The aroma is soo inviting especially on a brisk Fall day!
 
I brought an frozen apple pie and baked that. You should made sure the realtor let you know when they're coming over. One realtor did not tell me he was bringing people to look at condo. I was taking a shower when they came
so I did not hear the knocking on the door. Just as I was coming out of the bathroom I saw the door to my unit opening up,I yelled out I was in the shower! It was very embarrassment having my realtor almost walk in with a couple and we wearing only a towel!!

:laugh2: I laughed hard at this one. I had this exact same experience. My agent was frantically trying to txt me to let me know an agent was bring someone over. Luckily I had a towel around me when I stepped out of the shower. The girl with the agent blushed scarlet. She ended up buying the place. Not sure if this situation had anything to do with it??? :hmm:
 
:laugh2: I laughed hard at this one. I had this exact same experience. My agent was frantically trying to txt me to let me know an agent was bring someone over. Luckily I had a towel around me when I stepped out of the shower. The girl with the agent blushed scarlet. She ended up buying the place. Not sure if this situation had anything to do with it??? :hmm:

Maybe she thought you came with the property. I am sure when she got her keys and was disappointed to find that you werent there. :giggle:
 
another idea for staging is baking cookies or something simalar an hour before people look at it. I never buy the premade dough for cookies, but it would be ideal for you as there is no mess. just baking chocoloate chip cookies is enough to emulate the smell in house. even leaving a few on a pretty plate helps. when done making cookies, just take cookie sheet with you so there is no mess.

I have a bit of an unconventional suggestion. Get one or two porn DVDs :shock: and put them with the entertainment system (like on top of the DVD player but not sitting out in the open, but nothing really bad on the cover.) They guy will almost always check out the entertainment setup. The agent that suggested this to me says she does this all the time and it encourages the guy to "want to live here".
 
Maybe she thought you came with the property. I am sure when she got her keys and was disappointed to find that you werent there. :giggle:

:giggle: Oh I wish, she was hot and I was just starting to go through the divorce process. Oy that would have really complicated things! :lol:
 
:giggle: Oh I wish, she was hot and I was just starting to go through the divorce process. Oy that would have really complicated things! :lol:

Hehehe...now, you are divorced, you can pay your old place a visit? :naughty:
 
Hehehe...now, you are divorced, you can pay your old place a visit? :naughty:

:giggle: Yeah, but I think my current girlfriend might not be so.... umm.... appreciative of my indulgent. :naughty:
 
:giggle: Yeah, but I think my current girlfriend might not be so.... umm.... appreciative of my indulgent. :naughty:

Ohhhh ooops! Thought you were still available! :lol:
 
:hmm: that's good to know about the bathroom and kitchen - those are better areas in many ways - the main bathroom was a complete gut/re-model over the course of about 3 years. We had a company that installs whole new tub/shower surrounds come in and just put one in over the existing, including covering the ceiling with the material. The interior walls <studs/wood - don't know terms> of tub area were also partially ripped out and replaced.
The last year, we had an experienced handy-person guy we knew of as an acquaintance, come and rip out everything aside from the new tub part - he gutted walls, floor - we had new everything-else put in, including fixtures.

The kitchen was re-painted this year.

yes, it's true about the buyer's market :(
hope be fix your :) means summer :( I hope be you fix wish be on give guy cookies :lol:
 
:ty: everybody for all your ideas and replies!
yeah, I guess I have to get some cookies, Travis:)
could get some pies too....:lol:
 
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