I'm almost wondering if there is too much white.
Maybe someone can photo-shop and put black shutters, and black onthe shutters around the door.
I would flank the door with large/tall flower filled pots

Well red might have been more like it I dont know how many men would appreciate the door color in a pink shade. I would have chose maybe a black or charcoal. If it was me and every time I sold a house (over 10 we flipped) I would want appeal to men and women with the neutrality in colors and decor. Thats always worked for me, not sure if the trends have changed and pink is the new barn red or off red those are the red tones I have seen used on front doors. But just MHO.

Nothing Price can't fix! If it has been on the market for months then it is priced too high and spending money on paint or flowers probably won't help. If you really want to sell it asap then lower the price.

Take the shutters off the bow window - they are totally wrong and just make the appearance feel off.

Consider painting the rest of the shutters either a really dark charcoal or a rich navy. With the black shutters, go for a red door; with the navy shutters, a deep golden yellow.

Add pots of flowers at ground level, but right at the corners of the top step.

Pricing too high may be one issue. Another may be what the inside looks like - how much updating is needed.

What kind of comments are being made to the realtors that are showing the house? That might give you a clue as to what the issues really are.

Also, do you know what the average time on the market is for a home in that price range and neighborhood? That information helps in being realistic about expectations of how quickly it should sell.

Good luck.

This is pretty rough but maybe will help. I love pink doors btw!!

{{!gwi}}

I agree with chispa. This is a cute house and would be a good starter home for a young couple or someone wanting to down size.
What are the comps in the area? Also how does the actual location compare? Sometimes people think they should get the same price per square foot and not take into account that their house is on a busy road.
Be realistic in price and you will sell it. I would just make sure it is super clean and clutter free.
I don't especially like the pink door, but all things being equal, the front door would not be the reason why I would buy or not buy a house.

Love the idea of navy shutters and might also paint the garage doors gray to match the house.

Agree that super clean and priced right is the key, although creating something that causes someone to say, "Oh, I love this" before they even enter is key. This time of year, some bright pansies would add a bit of cheery color to the beds and pots would help, too.

I think it is a cute house and would appeal to starters as well as older empty-nesters looking to be on one level.

Oh, and I do like the pink door, but know that most wouldn't. Try the change in shutter color and then decide on door color. :)

Cute as it is, the pink door is only going to appeal to a small demographic.
Are those just shadows, or could the siding use a good power washing, especially under the bow window?

It's not a pretty time of year for gardens but perhaps adding a few boxwoods or something as foundation plants would make the place look homey.

I rather like the shape and colours of the house, the front yard and the surrounding trees. I'm not sure if it's curb appeal that's keeping the place from selling.

I agree about the price. Before we listed our home, we drove the neighborhood and looked at comparables and got a good sense of where the market was. We listed it and got 3 offers in 2 weeks and accepted one that was only a couple of thousand below asking price. The price was lower than we initially anticipated, but recognized we were in a down market. Further we recognize that the carrying costs of not selling will eat very quickly into the price you think you should get so you don't win in the long run.

Pink is not going to have universal appeal so I agree to change the color of the door to something more neutral.

I also agree about super clean and no clutter. We looked at a house (just for fun) that was asking over $1 mil. The windows were dirty, the stove was covered with old grease, the scum in the showers was awful. It had this balcony where you could look down on the first floor and see all the dust that had collected in the uplights. Yuck. The house had been on the market for months and we told the agent she should get the owners to clean or hire a cleaning crew. It's bad enough that buying any older home is going to be adopting someone else's issues...you don't want to pay for someone else's dirt.

At the bare minimum, paint the door red and lower the price of the house. The pink will be a good base for a darker red. If you really want to do more tweaks that will cost you money and time, then paint the shutters dark and the garage doors the house's body color. but, time and time again, the surefire way of making a house more attractive has to do with a nice low price. A low price will sell a house with a purple door and pink siding and no grass in the yard. And we're not talking the price that it would have sold at in 2004 either. A realistic market price. That means looking at what's sold not at the prices of the still not sold in your neighborhood. Yes, short sales, foreclosures, and bank owned are your comps.

Thanks so much everyone for all of your comments, suggestions, and your photoshopping, aktillery. I had previously mentioned to my husband that I thought the shutters would look nice black, and I agree that the door may not appeal to a large demographic. Flowers in pots would be a nice touch, too, but there is no one living there to hand water them if that is required. The house has been for sale and vacant since his parents moved into an assisted living home 3 years ago. It is on beautiful river front property but the house is very small and in need of updates-especially in the kitchen and the one and a half bathrooms, which could be costly, and I'm not sure how wise it would be to sink a lot of money into major updates. He is about to have the half bath sink replaced with a pedestal, new fixtures and mirror.

My husband has had a handyman do some other work to spruce it up some, such as repaint the whole inside, but I wished he had picked a warmer neutral. He picked a white that is just too white for my liking. Very old, worn gold carpet was removed to reveal the original hardwood floors. They just had the front overgrown bushes removed and I believe just replanted some bushes that are probably too small to see in the picture. He also had the walkout basement finished since it is a very small house. It is clean, but unfurnished and I think just needs a little bit of added charm to make buyers have an emotional connection. It was somewhat difficult to price since it is out in the country a little bit where the comps are custom homes in a very wide range of prices. It started out in the $260's I believe and has been reduced to nearly $200. I don't think it seems overpriced, especially considering that it is on pretty riverfront property, but it hasnâÂÂt attracted an offer. The market is very slow there, and they donâÂÂt often get the chance to show it, which IâÂÂm sure has a lot to do with it. They had one fairly seriously interested buyer who was thinking heâÂÂd add a second story and do a major remodel, but that never came through. IâÂÂd like to go out this summer to see if we can do some simple cosmetic things to add a little charm. So anymore suggestions would be welcomed! Thanks for kindly replying!

How much has it cost DH/you to carry the home for three years? Taxes, insurance, lawn, water, heat, cool, handyman, etc. If you really want to sell, you need to cut the emotional connection YOU have with the house. If it hasn't sold it is priced too high.

Chispa, while I'm sure most anyone would have an emotional connection to the house in which they grew up, I don�t think that is the issue here. My husband is not at all against lowering the price and I think would likely accept an offer even if it was lower than fair market value. He has suggested lowering it several times and has already lowered it by over $85,000. He has been following the advice of his realtor who is well regarded and knows the market far better than we do since my husband has not lived in the state for over 30 years. Part of the problem has been trying to determine a good asking price because, as I mentioned earlier, there aren�t really good comparables, and the housing prices have been dropping, so we have reacted accordingly.

But the biggest problem is simply that not much is moving at all in this area because of the bad economy and because the area became quite depressed when the town's major industry closed down some years ago. Now there really isn�t anything to draw people to the area. The local realtors have been bemoaning the fact that in the last two or three years, almost nothing has been moving in the area. So I don�t know that fixing it up will even make much difference if there are so few potential buyers. You are correct, though, that probably every house would sell at some rock bottom price. But, even though my husband would like nothing more than to be relieved of the burden of dealing with the house now, he also has a responsibility to try get at least somewhat close to the fair market value (whatever that is in this case) because the money from the sale will be needed at some point to pay for his father�s care in the assisted living home.

karoloke, I'm sorry you and your husband are dealing with this difficult situation, trying to do the best you can for his father from long distance. Unfortunately this seems to be a fairly common situation these days in areas where real estate sales are stagnant.

I think the pink door is bright and cheerful but I imagine it wouldn't appeal to some buyers. Maybe a deep coral (what I'm trying to say is a coral that's nearly red, not orange-y) would provide the brightness you're looking for and achieve a balance of trendy and classic. Coral and grey are a good combo. If it were my house I'd paint the shutters black for added contrast, but I don't find the white objectionable. I understand that plants in pots won't work. If the weather will support new in-ground plants, perhaps you could plant a pair of upright shrubs flanking the front step. Home Depot and similar stores typically have pretty good deals on arborvitae. A lush green 3 or 4 foot-high plant on each side of the step would define the entry, but of course you wouldn't want to do that if they're going to die from lack of water, since there's nothing worse than dead plants.

I hope the right buyer comes along. It must be hard for your husband who no doubt has fond memories of growing up -- on a riverfront home, no less -- when nobody seems to appreciate his childhood home. Good luck to you.

Well, the scenario doesn't sound good and I really don't think sinking money in it will make much of a difference. The only thing I'd do at this point is change the pink door to something basic, like black. Honestly, if I were to drive by and see that door, I'd worry about what it looked like inside. ;)

My worry would be the overall condition of the house after it has sat empty for 3 years. Unless you've been running the AC and heat during that time, the hardwood floors will begin to warp and mold will start to grow in any places where there is condensation.
Personally, I'd take it off the sale market and try to rent it out. Any income off of it would be an advantage and when the market starts to make a turnaround (hopefully!), you can then relist it.

I think the house is nice. The house reminded me of a picture I had in my fave places. Ignore the lighting, but with a pretty and full wreath (you can get dried or silk flowers), with matching flowers in large pots, I think the curb appeal would be striking.

It would get me to look at the house if I were in the market!

{{!gwi}}

I just now read where the house is on riverfront property in the country. I can relate. My mom had two homes on a gorgeous lake and had a heck of a time selling them. She lived in one house, decided she liked the house next door, bought it and sold the first house, then moved out of state and sold the second. lol.

It wasn't because of price or what the house looked liked, they're just hard to sell in this economy. People want a house they can either retire to, or have it be close to work so the commute isn't long.

I'm assuming you're going through a realtor? If not, they're your best friend right now.

I wish you luck!

So, where is the house? I am ready to retire to a riverfront property! Wonder if DH would go for another fixer-upper...

I think it is a very appealing house with tons of potential! I think the pink door is a miss, and would reprint it red or black. Would paint the garage doors the same grey as the house, and use red geraniums in pots at the door. You can get a self watering thingie that only has to be filled weekly....surely the realtor could do that?

Agree you shouldn't spend any more on the inside, but You do want the exterior to look like there's no deferred maintenance. Good luck!

karoloke,
I do wish you the best. We have made a few moves the last few years and have bought and sold, so I have continued to keep up with the real estate markets.

You said "the housing prices have been dropping, so we have reacted accordingly."

So you have been chasing the market down. To get it sold you need to price lower than the last comp and make buyers believe it is such a good deal that they can't pass it up.

I won't comment more. You can also check the Buying/selling forum for more feedback. Good luck!

I meant to mention in my post that it looks like a sweet house and lovely setting. How I'd love to live on waterfront property -- lake, ocean, or river, I just love looking at water.

Thank you all for your encouraging and helpful comments. The mockup aktillery did was nice, but I think he will probably have the door painted some shade of red since that is what most of you think would look best, or maybe black. Don't know if he'll paint the shutters, but I like think that sounds nice. If the door was painted black, do you think the shutters should be left white? I'm trying to visualize it all, and what shade of red would look best.

Les, I never thought about the shutters around the bay window. If they were removed, would it look okay having shutters on the left side of the house, but not the right? Especially if they were painted black making them stand out more?

laisydaisynot, your suggestion of a deep coral red sounds pretty to me.

annz, I've suggested renting it, but my husband is not too keen on the idea, particularly since we don't live in the area. Perhaps he'll reconsider if something doesn't happen by the end of the year.

oakleyok, I loved the picture you posted. So much charm! But it sounds like a red or black door would appeal to a larger demographic. And yes, he is using a realtor who is a trusted friend of the family.

cyn427, So, how do you feel about retiring in Delaware in a cute little house with a pink door on the Nanticoke River? Ha ha.

We agree with all of you who have mentioned pricing it to sell. When they arrived at the original listing price, he thought he was coming in on the middle or lower end of the other listings, but without much industry, and people wanting to move out of the area rather than into it, nothing is moving. I also agree with all of you who mentioned that the house needs to be very clean, and uncluttered. With it vacant, that isn't the problem. I have wondered if we should add a little furniture to stage it, but again, if houses just aren't getting many showings, I don't know if it would really help. So for now, I don't think he'll sink too much more into it except to repaint the door and/or shutters to increase the curb appeal, and maybe some more little low cost updates like replacing some bathroom fixtures and so forth.

Have you looked into hiring a local property management company so you can rent the house? They usually take 10% or so of the rental income and find and deal with the tenants once rented. It has been a huge load off of my parents' minds/wallets in dealing with my grandmother's house once she passed. They'd like to sell it eventually, but want to wait until the market gets better (if that ever happens!).

Good luck!

Karoloke, haha nothing! I would do it in a second! Grew up outside Philadelphia and now live in Northern Virginia, so I know the Nanticoke (well sort of, not really well, but have actually researched properties in Delaware on the river). I will definitely show this to DH. Doubt he will ever be willing to move. Maybe I could afford it on my own....hmmmm-he can get a condo here after we sell this place. :)

hlove, thanks for the suggestion. No, we haven't done that yet because my husband wants to keep trying to sell if for a little while longer. We have had a nibble on it in the past week, so keeping our fingers crossed. If it doesn't sell before too long, though, I think it makes sense, to rent it.

Cyn427, maybe it just has your name written it and that is why is hasn't sold. :) I'll email you the link to the listing if you are half way serious.

I just looked at some other pictures of the house, and saw that there were white shutters all the way around the house. I really doubt DH will want to paint so many. If not, I think a red door might stand out too much like the pink door does now unless the color could be pulled around the front in potted plants, etc. I think that is why the neighbor lady thought pink would look nice -because there are some pink dogwoods that should bloom pretty soon. If DH doesn't want to paint the shutters darker, I'm thinking a lighter colored door might look better. Maybe yellow? Or a darker gray? Or may just white again but with a pretty colorful wreath or something on it? I saw a house pictured in a Southern Living magazine today that had a teal green front door that I loved, but I don't think it would look good with gray. Any more thoughts?

I don't blame your husband for not wanting to paint tons of shutters, but I think the shutters are pretty key in setting the house off. I love Les917's recommended color combos. When I'm driving through neighborhoods checking out houses I'd say I make an "emotional connection" with gray houses sporting black shutters and a red door! ;)

If you're set on just painting the door, I vote yellow.

I can totally relate to your situation. We bought a retirement home five years ago, just one month before the real estate market started to collapse. We still had our other home and thought we would have no problem selling it. We were anxious to get all the "equity" we had in the first house. Now we can't sell either home. We don't want to get into the "renting" business either, but we have no choice.

My suggestions to you is forget any flowers since you live out of state and can't take care of them. I would paint the front door a "brick red", almost like a burgundy. I would not paint the garage doors, take down any shutters or do any more work. If that is grime on the siding, I would get the house pressure washed. Anyone that buys it will know it is a fixer upper. I know from personal experience, as we sunk a lot of money into our first house ...new stove, new countertops, new cabinet hardware, had the entire house painted, had the porch steps ripped out and redone...believe me, any $$$ you spend (except getting rid of the pink door, lol) is going to be a waste of time and money. The market is bad and no amount of expensive repairs, color changes, is going to change that. It's definitely a buyer's market, not a seller's market.

Chispa is right on the money! What WILL change it is lowering the price. We chose not to lower our price because the house we moved out of is a better house than the one we moved too. We couldn't get anymore for it than what we pay for the "downsized" house. It's really sad the market is so bad, but if you and your husband don't mind waiting, you may be able to get a little closer to the price you want, but don't count on it. By the way, our first house we tried to sell is on three beautiful acres, close to shopping, close to the interstate...none of that accounts for anything in a bad market.

I wish you the best of luck!

I'm in Texas, DH isn't retired yet and we can't relocate, but the house is cute and riverfront? Deleware? Sounds charming.

Maybe a different marketing approach. If the realtor is only marketing locally, talk to them about placing some ads or sending flyers/emails to folks in the major metro areas withing driving distance of the property and market it as a weekend and summer getaway property on a tanquil riverfront property. You might even pick up someone -- a writer or artistic type who needs to be reasonably close but wants to have some peace and quiet.

Do you have a link to the MLS? Perhaps the pics aren't so flattering or there are other issues with the listing.

downsouth, Your are right - the market is just bad right now for sellers in that area, and we don't really want to sink much more money into the place. My DH just went out there yesterday. He decided not to paint all those shutters right now, but he did repaint the door yellow. We played around with photoshop and thought yellow looked best if we kept the shutters white. We thought red looked nice with black shutters, but with white ones, a red door just seemed to scream out too much. A couple of the neighbors said it looked much better and thanked him for changing the pink. LOL!

lascatx, I don't know if the realtor has actually advertised in other areas, but does have it on a national MLS. Good suggestion, though.

hollysprings, the link is below

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to listing

Gosh, that riverfront is so wonderful! What a lovely, peaceful setting.

Love the picture of that pink front door with wreath but writing to say that I recently had to sell my father's home and sold it in 90 days by advertising "seller will pay closing costs" after not much activity during the first 45 days.
Most young people starting out can come up with a down payment but to pay the closing costs is sometimes prohibitive.
It was not a great house and in the under $150,000 price range and had all the basics such as new windows, roof, furnace etc. and a nice yard. House needs new kitchen and bath but a great "starter". Only had to lower the price $5000 and did a seller assist at $6300 and it enabled a couple to buy the home FHA with 3.5% down.
Also, my daughter just bought her first home this month by offering $3000 less than the listing price and asked seller to pay the $9000 in closing costs.
So it is not just the price, I believe most people do not have enough savings to purchase a house and those that do are in a much higher price range than a "starter".
Just an idea and good luck.

Karol, tried to answer your email, but it must have gone to your spam folder or something-got the message that delivery failed permamnently. Thanks for the link. I am intrigued and showed it to DH. I do not think he he will ever move even though I am so tired of the fast pace here. :( If you email me again, I will try to answer again.

Cynthia

Lazydaisynot, Thanks. It is a pretty setting. I would love to look out my back window and see that!

Tinker, I love that picture with the light pink door and wreath, too. Probably a bit too feminine for selling, but it really is charming. Great suggestion about offering to pay closing costs. We'll have to mention that to the realtor.

Cynthia, Sorry I missed getting your email. I understand about wanting to move to a slower paced community. Too bad your husband is not on the same page. Maybe someday in the future.