Front Page Forum: Dressing Up For Sale
In discussing the shabby appearance of 1370 Pacific Street for its open house last weekend, a reader posted this question: Is it better to gussy up a house for a showing or let everyone see it warts and all? All of the crap is going to come out in an inspection, hopefully. Isn’t it more…
In discussing the shabby appearance of 1370 Pacific Street for its open house last weekend, a reader posted this question:
Is it better to gussy up a house for a showing or let everyone see it warts and all? All of the crap is going to come out in an inspection, hopefully. Isn’t it more honest to just let it be? I hate viewings where the owner slaps some paint on the wall, and covers the holes in the floor with a rug and a plant. I really hate when high priced brokers have the owner do things like strip painted woodwork in a half assed sloppy way so they can jack up the price. You’re only going to have to redo it anyway, why pay for it twice? I only ask that your home is clean when I come see it, it doesn’t have to be out of the pages of House and Garden. I can do my own decorating. Any thoughts?
Our thoughts? A whole industry now exists around making over properties for sale. It must be adding some value.
Open House Picks Comments [Brownstoner]
This topic has touched a nerve with me. I know someone who staged and moved a house in a few hours- all bidders from Manhattan who thought that the place was sooooo cute. And this place had been on the market for a while- they even had a bidding war. For $24 you can buy ceiling medallions at Loewes and call it detail. I joked with a neighbor this morning that when we moved into this neighborhood over 20 years ago, we picked a house based on the street that it was on and how much cash that we could scrap together- not how much a place looked like Crate and Barrel…
I think times have changed from just a few years ago when any house we could afford to buy was a mess- a stained matress in the parlor, the upper floors all needing to be plastered, carpet everywhere etc. that was what we expected when we looked at houses in brooklyn- we were shown those for a few 100k more with the HD flip redo and of course walked out- i watch all the hdtv shows and they never seem to apply to brooklyn, ny- depending on where your are in your budget here, depends on what you dream of finding- we thought god had smiled on us to finally be shown a house that was in the run down but mostly intact layout situation as the one we bought… btw would someone please do a cable “hgtv” type show for brooklyn- i mean what would be better than House Hunters in brooklyn- “today this young couple dreaming of woning a home will be shown a burnt out shell for 1.2mil” or all the other scenarios that would be so exaggerated here in lovely brooklyn. bcat actually does one in bed sty and it’s fun but not on enough.
I am no fan of poor quality HD fixes to allegedly raise a property’s value, but staging definitely works.
Even though folks aren’t buying your furnishings, an attractively furnished and uncluttered space helps people better visualize how they might live there.
My mom had a very nicely decorated and well-maintained home, and it sold easily. When the buyers came for a final walk-through once the house was empty, the very upset wife said, “What happened to my house?” Clearly she had been attracted to the decorating and not the basic bones of the house.
Yes, looks matter!
I’m in creative field (graphic designer) and we staged our apartment ourselves when we sold it a couple years ago. Most of it entailed clearing out clutter and personal effects but we did remove some furniture as well. We changed bed linens and put up some curtains with less pattern to make the place look spacious. We did all the work between the time the RE agent came to evaluate the apartment and the open house. We even took the pictures for the listing so we could do it when the sun was streaming in the windows. The agent was floored by the changes and definitely feels we got a better price for our 5th floor walk-up.
As creative folks, we think we had an easier time seeing past the clutter and filth we saw when we went to buy a house. And we saw a ton! Just clean, if nothing else, but clutter removal will work in your favor. We really believe there were fewer folks interested in the house we bought because they couldn’t get beyond the walls plastered with hundreds of pictures, crazy wall colors and tons of furniture. We overheard comments at the open house to that effect. Reno may not be worth your time/money-as a buyer I’d rather just rip out the old than live with a new but cheap, cheesy kitchen or bath. But staging and a thorough cleaning can be worth every penny.
Having staged an apartment that sold for $1.3M after showing it previously at $1.1, I am all for staging. That said, we put about $15,000 into the staging effort including channeling the cable, phone and alarm wires into the walls behind the moldings, adding very expensive ($25 per foot) moldings where needed, replacing wooden floors that were gone and carpeted, replacing quite good but white kitchen appliances with better (but not top) ss ones, etc.
No cover-up but not an excellent roi.
I’m the anon who wrote in the question, and upon thinking about it more, I guess it depends if you are seller or buyer. As a buyer, I’d rather you didn’t bother to do too much. But then, I love fixer uppers, and I’m in the design business, so I guess my perspectives are very different. I’m also not wealthy, so if not doing a lot keeps the price down, I’m more than happy.
If I was selling, I would want to get as much as I could, and act accordingly. I would also be embarassed if people looked at my house and it was a dump. I think I’d not be home for the showing.
I have watched those fix up to sell shows on HGTV, and it is amazing what they do, but most of it is smoke and mirrors. I do think it unwise to spend big bucks on bathroom and kitchen remodels. Those are very subjective rooms, it’s not the same as disliking or loving a paint color.
New owners will probably want to change things anyway. I say leave the house as is, just clean it up.
At the very least, one would expect the place to be neat and clean as if one were having guests. Or visitors. Or people coming who might want to buy the house.
Not all buyers are that savvy. I think a GOOD job of staging actually works if the property doesn’t need work. Personally, I don’t like to see a horrible renovation. Strip the wood, please…but don’t put in the cheapest Home Depot fixtures and then charge top dollar for your “renovation” in which you put band aids over existing problems.