[T-325]

Spent the last several months throwing out all of our treasures (or at least thats what the wife calls them)

Once the house is de-cluttered then only do the minimum. Give the new buyers a chance to build some sweat equity. Of course you have to price the house appropriately.

We downsized by 75% and are living in a 2 bedroom apartment that reminds me of a Marriot timeshare. Feels like I'm on vacation.

T-325

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by OldManTime

Do not do carpets here in florida, take the money, and tile your whole house

Only if you want it to look and feel like a hospital kitchen or operating room.

Even the TVRH hospital here has wood laminate floors in patient rooms and it's very nice.

[TrudyM]

So I won't say what I am doing (probably wrong anyway) But I will tell you that beautiful pictures of the view the property, your new deck and the pool on a website is worth it's weight in gold. My family is from New Hampshire and listing with a local agent did nothing to sell their property. The agents (especially in a small town like the one we lived in) don't want to spend the money to market a house that will sell for 300K. Our family's sold with a picture of the mountain from the back porch in the Sunday Boston Globe. Your market are those wanting to escape the city I would think. Just saying. Try that and great pics on Zillow which you can add yourself and put the link in the adv. Just what worked for us. Oh and the baby blue carpet we had a company dye it tan for about twice the cost of a shampoo. The buyers tore it all out and put in aged looking hardwood. go figure they wanted an aged look I wouldn't get involved too much in updating other than painting. I started remodeling 5 years ago so now I have to finish in order to sell. My advise don't start unless the rug is shag. By the way where are you from I am from Sunapee and the rest of the family is in Hanover at the college (where houses are going for big money compared to 10 years ago)

Just my experience of the goofs I have made and am still making.

[Barefoot]

It's true that most purchasers will want to change things in a house they buy to "make it their own". However most purchasers want "move-in condition", and may find it hard to see past your orange shag carpet and flowered wallpaper. If you offer fresh paint in neutral colors, and a clean neutral carpet, they can take their time and save their money to install hardwood, etc.

[debron911]

Great suggestions. We live in mid-Michigan and it is a buyers market here. We spent $2,400 on new granite countertops which really updated our kitchen with the solid oak cabinets. The older countertops were tired looking and I know after buying 15 houses/condos that the kitchen usually hooks the buyer or turns them away. I agree with most folks here, the buyer will make an offer based on condition so if you choose to invest in new carpeting, the chances are they will rip it out anyways as most want hardwood or laminate these days. If the carpeting is really bad talk to your realtor about putting a "flooring allowance" in the listing.
Finally after three months we sold our home and took a hit on the price but we already bought a place in The Villages so we decided rather than carrying our northern home all winter it made sense to get it over with now. Good Luck - wish you a quick sell.

[batman911]

I believe it would also depend on the condition of the carpet. A dirty or stained carpet is a big negative for prospective buyers, allowance or not. It will make the whole home look bad.