[starflyte1]

As I mentioned last month, we are selling our home in TV. (Going to buy a villa in TV . We have not moved into the house yet, just put a few pieces of furniture in the living room, kitchen and bedroom so we can stay there once in a while. Just after we bought it, we had it painted, ceiling and walls, and added crown molding.

Now, the problem: the pictures on the TV Real Estate web site are not good. No fault of the salesperson. Like they say at the license bureau, if you want a better picture, bring a better face. It is a nice house, but does not photograph well as is.

I think I would like to empty everything out of the house and garage and just sell it as a clean, freshly paint house. BUT, I know many believe that you must "stage" a home for it to sell.

My other choice is to pick up some inexpensive furniture on Craig's List, add some pictures, etc and stage it. Also, have to put holes in the wall to hang pictures.

We have our other home for sale and most of our furniture is in that home, so it is staged and does look nice.

Any suggestions? One of our neighbors married another neighbor, so they emptied one house, painted and sold with no problem. I am really undecided which way to go.

Thank for reading.


Pat

[conn8757]

We staged our home and actually had 7 offers (some were kind of crazy) and accepted the last offer and will close on it next week. This was over a period of 8 months. I actually had a stager write the plan of what to do and then I did the actual decorating so it was all our stuff, either new or old. Considering I live in the Orlando market (one of the worst for forclosures/short sales, we were pleased with the traffic and the offers we received. **We also priced it right which was 1/3 less than we would have gotten 2 years ago.***

[TrudyM]

I have been surfing the listings in TV. I just saved one that had a picture of the front, the back yard, the Kitchen, the master bath, and the floor plan (a copy of of the villages site I imagine?) No other rooms where shown no staging just flowers. Everyone says stage but for now this might be a quick fix to replace the ugly pictures. Just a thought.

[Bettiboop]

As one who has been watching the listings in TV for quite some time now as we contemplate whether or not we want to buy there, I would have to say it would be more appealing to me to see it clean and empty rather than just a few pieces of furniture here and there. A good staging is probably most effective, but if ya can't do that I would just leave it empty. Just my opinion though...others may differ.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by Bettiboop

As one who has been watching the listings in TV for quite some time now as we contemplate whether or not we want to buy there, I would have to say it would be more appealing to me to see it clean and empty rather than just a few pieces of furniture here and there. A good staging is probably most effective, but if ya can't do that I would just leave it empty. Just my opinion though...others may differ.

I think you are right Bettiboop!

[Muncle]

Okay, I'm a guy so I don't know about decorating and colors and stuff like that. Give me a comfortable desk/table chair, a good recliner, and a firm mattress and I'm happy. But I do know that most real estate sites that show pictures of empty homes do nothing for me. You can't tell size, you can hardly tell the rooms apart. At least you've painted the walls, so there will be some perspective.

Again, remember the source --- I know nothing. But isn't there a compromise available? Using the furniture you have available, could you move stuff around the rooms so you can get meaningful pics? And add a few knickknack things. If you have a space above cabinets that you want to show -- not the main theme, but just a feature -- leaving it empty won't show it. Try a plate or two and/or a cheapo plastic plant.

Good luck --




`

[barb1191]

I would agree with leaving it fresh, clean and empty. Without furniture, that's less for the prospective buyer to deal with a negative opinion of someone's choice of furnishings or holes in the walls from pictures can be a turn-off to some.

When I bought my resale home, the decor was nothing to my taste as I like no-frills contemporary style and the home was furnished with many antiques and nic-nacks. Therefore, I just looked beyond all of that and envisioned what I could do with it. The home was left empty, immaculate, clean carpeting and freshly painted throughout with no holes in the wall where many do-dads and pictures once hung.

Happy camper....barb

[SUNNYMARYANN]

When I am looking at the pictures of homes for sale in TV I am more attracted to those with furniture and things on the walls and cabinets. It seems to give me a better perspective of size and which of my own things would look good in that house. Pictures of empty rooms turn me off. Too much furniture and too many pictures and knickknacks give a feeling of clutter and reduce the size of the room. I suggest if possible put some of your things in the house. Even if sparsely furnished it will give it a homey atmosphere. I wouldnt want to spend the money on buying furnishings just to get a 'staged' appearance because you are then stuck with more 'stuff' to get rid of.

Good Luck to you and I hope you sell soon.

[Boomer]

I have to think that it must have been HGTV that made everybody think that homes for sale all have to look like model homes. Somewhere along the line, home staging even turned into a business, a cottage industry I guess you could say. (chuckle, chuckle, snort -- Oh, it's late. You must forgive me)

When I am in the market as a buyer, I do not look at the seller's furniture, I look at how much work I think a house is going to take. And that can be seen better when a house is empty. And empty really shows off fresh paint. It's that blank canvas look which I happen to like.

An empty house though does send the message that the seller may be really, really ready to sell and that impression could be reflected in a low offer. But on the other hand, a buyer looking for a good price might be attracted to pictures of an empty home so you might be more likely to get those buyers off the internet and across the threshold. And then you could at least have a chance.

But even if a house is staged, potential buyers who see it in person know that nobody lives there when they don't see any clothes in the closets. So either way, empty or staged, the seller looks highly motivated I guess. Which might be what you want.

Bottom line. To stage or not to stage? Oh, I just don't know. It sounds like a lot of work to stage it. And it looks like there could be good reasons to leave it empty. Maybe leave it empty first and if that does not work then stage it. But don't just leave a little bit of stuff in it. For some reason, odds and ends of stuff scattered around a for sale house make it look uninviting to me. I can't explain why. But that's just how it hits me.

Boomer

[jinker]

I look for specific floor plans. I have already researched room sizes, so have a general idea of what furniture would fit. Even if your place is empty a potential buyer could check out another home like yours that is furnished to get an idea of what will fit. When it comes down to it what really will matter is PRICE, LOCATION AND COST FOR NEEDED REPAIRS OR UPDATES.

[Barefoot]

My experience has been that many purchasers can't visualize an empty home with furniture. They are drawn toward a home that is well furnished and beautifully decorated. BUT ... it would be very expensive to create that ambiance just to sell a home!

I would avoid sparsely furnished or mismatched. I think that is less appealing than empty.

Pat, if I were in your shoes, I'd go with an empty, freshly-painted home in "move-in" condition. And of course the carpets must be immaculate. It won't photograph well, but hopefully you'll find a buyer who prefers that option.

[paulandjean]

ranch home for sale 2bedrooms 2bath den $140.900 18 months old. some updates. gold cart also for sale. go to talkofthevillages click on ranch homes, page three ps will consider selling furnished.

[starflyte1]

Thank you for all of your thoughtful and helpful comments.

Although I tend to think if a home is well staged, it may sell better than an empty home, the fact that so many of you don't have a problem with an empty house, I have decided to empty the house. You all were truly a lot of help.

The salesman is having an open house tomorrow, and the little bit of furniture will still be there, but we plan on having it removed later in the week.

Thanks again.

Pat

[l2ridehd]

Let me offer a suggestion that might work. Go to thevillages4rent.com and find a few houses close to yours in type, size and style with furnishings that show well and contact the owners and find one that may rent their furniture for two or three months. Now is pretty poor rental market, doesn't pick up until October or Novemeber so some owners might like the little bit of income. Might cost you a $1000 or so to rent the furnishings and a couple hundred to move it for a couple months, but if it sells it, it's worth it.

[Barefoot]

Pat, do I understand you correctly, that you're selling your house in TV and moving to a Villa? I'm curious. If you don't mind sharing, it would be interesting to hear how you made that decision. (If it is for personal reasons, then please just ignore my post).

Good luck with selling your home.