worry not work

If I were in your area, I'd be interested in the house. I love a ranch and hopefully within the next few years will be downsizing to one.

The kitchen shots are great and I love the open flow in the house.

Good luck.

It looks like a nice house, but the reality is that the bulk of buyers won't pay as much for it as they would if it had a new kitchen and bathroom. If you need to sell, you should discount it to reflect that. (If you haven't already - I have no frame of reference as far as your price goes.)

With the increasing popularity of mid-century modern, I think you'll do just fine selling your home. You may have to wait longer to find that "right" buyer, but I think you'll be ok. It's great that it's in near original condition.

Is the camper included?
:)

I love it and would be happy to have a blank slate to play with. Clean and well-maintained is what works for me. That, and not having to deconstruct some 80's idea of what the house should have been!

If you are in a market where prices are declining monthly and you need to sell, you need to discount it for the old kitchen and bath. Yes - one in 50 buyers might love it the way it is, but for every month that you wait for that buyer the market will continue to decline.

It looks wonderful -- neat, clean, well cared for. Nice curb appeal. Nice neighborhood. I'd sure prefer this to a condo any day. If it's priced right...I can't see what objection a buyer would have. It would suit as a starter home or a 'finisher'. LOL Or, two unrelated people could share it, with 2 BRs and 2 Baths.

Trust your instincts. Not everyone is looking for travertine, cherry cabs, and stainless steel appliances. I am so tired of seeing people tear out perfectly good kitchen cabinets because "oak is dated." Perhaps this attitude contributed to the mortgage mess we're in now........

Oops, that isn't your question, is it? :) If you visit the decorating forum, you will find some posts from folks who have decided to live with the pink tile in the bathroom. Some who have chosen to tile countertops instead of purchase granite.

Your home is lovely. Love, love, love the patio. It is a wonderful opportunity for someone to come in and build on a solid base. There is a buyer out there for you. Patience and confidence :)

The thing is, I think the OP's home is not in an area where the market is a little weak - the market is in a steep decline. (At least the general region. I don't know anything about the specific neighborhood.) There may be nothing "wrong" with the home, but if it is being priced the same as houses that are updated it will probably sit on the market while prices continue to decline.

I am a MCM freak here. I LOVE ranches. My fav type of house. Anyway, is there any way that you could stage the house to fit the architecture style better?

I don't know the area but if that were my house and I was wanting to sell, these are what I would fix:

You have several styles going on in there; shabby chic/rustic mediteranean w/some contemporarary traditional. When selling, it's better to have one style, or somehow cohesive, and it's even better to have one that compliments the style of the house, if possible. None of which you have going on at the moment.

It's kind of like a "grandma" house...which is great and homey, but why not market the heck out of your ORIGINAL RANCH? Stage it with some awesome mid century modern furniture, and perhaps paint the accent walls with period colors.

You are in CA, where it seems like between it and FL, all the greatest modern furniture was to be had, so it should not be a problem to source some furniture and accessories.

I guess, to summarize and reiterate, if you want your original ranch to be really appreciated and to warrant a top dollar sale (especially in a weaker market), I would love to see you really play up the ORIGINAL part. Remove the shabby chic country rustic french stuff and go SHARP clean lined mid century modern.

Gosh I love ranches...hope to get one myself someday...:-)

Good luck! I wish you a speedy sale and top dollar.

Joanna

Looking through your photos, I like pretty much everything about your house except the paint in the living area, which is reading as very pink on my monitor, and the vinyl flooring in the kitchen and laundry room (?). Everything else I could definitely live with.

I would seriously consider re-painting the living room in a more neutral color that ties in better with the rest of the house. Also, could you replace the vinyl flooring? Even vinyl tile in a simpler pattern would help, imo.

Good luck :-) Overall, your house looks to be in great condition.

The OP's home is in Upland which is in San Berdo County and, yes, it's a Declining Market according to Fannie/Freddie.

This exerpt is from the linked article:

"The metro areas with the highest PMI risk scores: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, 94 percent; Las Vegas, 89 percent; and Phoenix 83 percent.

In its December report, DataQuick noted that sales and prices declined steeply in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

In Riverside County, sales fell 45 percent from one year ago, and the median price dropped nearly 18 percent to $355,000. In San Bernardino County, sales declined 55 percent, while the median price of $315,000 was a 15 percent year-over-year drop."

I think market conditions will be tougher to overcome than the non-updated mid-Century Modern design of the house.

As an offset, however, the new FHA guidelines should help with financing. There's no 5% increase in required LTV as with Fannie/Freddie in the designated "Declining Markets".

It's gonna be tough to sell anything right now in San Berdo County.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: San Bernardino County Market Decline

Go to your local bookstore (or library MIGHT have it) and check out Atomic Ranch. Other mags that could help you get a decorating vibe for a ranch house would be Dwell and Domino. But Atomic Ranch is my first choice for you. Even if you are not a fan of mcm decor, I am positive you will find some inspiration :-)

Joanna

Here is a link that might be useful: Atomic Ranch magazine

Your pictures are not the best. Many appear blurry, especially when enlarged. Why do you have a picture of a camper? There's a picture of some oddball corner that I have no idea what it is. And, why a picture down the street? There is no view to speak of, so why show how close together the houses are? And why 17 pictures?

I completely agree with tradewind_64. Far too many styles going on. The place looks cluttered and not mid-century modern, sleek and clean. I HATE staging but in your case I would recommend it (you can DIY). Get the personal items as well as furnishing packed up and get in some mid-century modern furniture. If you are trying to appeal to someone as having an "original" house, make it look MCM.

In the bathroom get the rugs off the floor and have that picture retaken. You cannot see the original flooring.

Your curb appeal is excellent. That picture is also crystal clear. I have a feeling your backyard is wonderful. Those pictures are also blurry when viewed in large size.

I understand the picture of the camper - it shows that there is room to park a boat or camper on the property, and the street picture shows a mature neighborhood with large (for the area) lots. The only picture that I don't get is this one:
{{!gwi}}

I strongly disagree. I'd not be spending any significant money on redecorating such as getting in different furniture. If you can pack some things & store neatly in the garage...OK, but I wouldn't even pay for a storage facility.

You are not living in a "weak" market. You are living near the epicenter. Conserve your funds to negotiate price.

/tricia

Keep in mind that in a declining market patience is not a virtue. You need to get in front of the decline. If you aren't priced considerably lower than updated homes you will not sell and 6 months from now your house will be worth less.

I know the area you are in, the house is not MCM, such furniture would look out of place. It is a very typical ranch, the area is flooded with them. Your competition is newer or updated ranches.
Your market is weak but I wouldn't call it the epicenter in SanBernardino, Upland is a desirable city, but you are south of the best part of town.
Your biggest flaw is two bedrooms, you are not in a two bedroom community.
I would declutter every room, then make sure your price is low. A quick look shows me many houses with three bedrooms in your range.
Your real competition is three bedroom houses.

I love MCM houses too but this one isn't how I picture them. I really think some staging and decluttering is in order. Get rid of the shabby chic decor and keep things as simple as possible.

cmarlin,

My epicenter statement was based on Wiki's 24,500 residential units in Upland & 430+ foreclosures that I could locate (there's probably considerably more that I couldn't find). So, that means approximately 1 in 57 Upland homes are in foreclosure. Considering that a few of those units are likely apartment rentals the numbers are likely worse. That compares to a national average of 1 in 194 homes which is bad enough. Not too pretty a picture? Did I goof somewhere?

/tricia

cmarlin, a "typical ranch" IS MCM. Sure, there were very grand MCM houses designed with large budgets in mind, with sprawling floor plans and indoor atriums, but many, many MCM homes are what you are calling the tyical ranch.

YES. The typical ranch. Beloved by many lovers of MCM. Open floor plan, big windows, elongated style, low roofline. The typical ranch is near and dear to many an MCM fan's heart, and "dressing it" as such, will compliment the style much better than will shabby chic or country. The OP mentions the value of the un-updated ranch, so OP recognizes that people love this style.

I don't know the CA market. At all. But a hot-or-not real estate market does not change what the house is. Saying this 50's ranch is not MCM is silly. Because it's a tract house? The very fact that it's a 50's ranch with an open floor plan makes it MCM style.

Don't forget that the beloved bungalow was once cheap tract housing for the masses, just like the smaller mcm ranches.

Joanna

OK, this is not the Neutra people envision when they say MCM, but there's nothing for it now, nobody's buying Paul McCobb chairs to stage this house...right? Let's get back to the poster's question...

When we sold last fall in SoCal, we reduced the price every two weeks until we sold. (40 DOM). A comparable house one street over wasn't as aggressive and took another 3 months to sell - the last list price was $25k below our sale price. My guess is they got $50k less than we did.

The market is shrinking as we breathe. All I can say is...be aggressive if you really want out. Get some PODS and clear that house of any furniture you aren't regularly using. Put out some houseplants. And be the best (cheapest) comp in the MLS, period.

Once you've done everything possible to make the house showable, then try to find a "zen place" in your head, because you aren't really in control from then on! It's up to others to take it from there...

Deb

cmarlin, a "typical ranch" IS MCM. Sure, there were very grand MCM houses designed with large budgets in mind, with sprawling floor plans and indoor atriums, but many, many MCM homes are what you are calling the tyical ranch.

YES. The typical ranch. Beloved by many lovers of MCM. Open floor plan, big windows, elongated style, low roofline. The typical ranch is near and dear to many an MCM fan's heart, and "dressing it" as such, will compliment the style much better than will shabby chic or country. The OP mentions the value of the un-updated ranch, so OP recognizes that people love this style.
I don't know the CA market. At all. But a hot-or-not real estate market does not change what the house is. Saying this 50's ranch is not MCM is silly. Because it's a tract house? The very fact that it's a 50's ranch with an open floor plan makes it MCM style.
Don't forget that the beloved bungalow was once cheap tract housing for the masses, just like the smaller mcm ranches.
Joanna

Mid-Century Modern describes a different house, the typical ranch I've seen, I've seen many in Southern California is not modern in style, yes more modern than colonial or victorian, but I know buyers in Upland are not interested in MCM decor.
Big windows and open floor plans describes a MCM, not a ranch. The typical MCM is plentiful in the Palm Springs area.
But if you consider it a MCM and want to buy it and decorate it with MCM, decor the OP will be thrilled for you!!
I do know the Southern CA market, and the local area of the OP, I own an apartment building in Upland. The entire area used to be citrus ranches, cleared and built for the baby boomer's coming into this world, many built at the same time and style.
I agree with youngdeb, especially with the 2bdr, price it low, get and stay ahead of the competition.
Keep it clean and simple. I usually suggest staging and more work, but it won't overcome the 2 bdr problem.

That house would be snapped up in less than a day if it were in the town one zip code over from mine (northern California), where 2 or 3-bedroom homes from the 1940s and 1950s are finding an insane demand. It would also be priced in the $900,000 range. Especially with the large (for California) lot, and 2 bathrooms.

The one problem I have with the online ad is that the enlarged pictures are very fuzzy. Can you retake them again with a higher resolution?

This house looks like it has good bones. Even with the age and updating required, the kitchen cabinets look very good for their age. A buyer could easily reface or refinish for a portion of the cost of replacing.

I agree with terriks that the photo with the window is out of place. Is it a hallway or laundry room? I would eliminate it altogether b/c the lino screams outdated. I lived in a temp rental with that exact lino and it is horrible.

I agree with those who said you need to declutter and do a bit of neutral painting. Remove the bulk of non-matching furniture that doesn't go with the period of the house.

This is not a fixer-upper as many updates could be done without major demolition.

AS someone else said, your downfall is the fact you only have two bedrooms. Do you have any other room that is used as a den that conforms to a bedroom? Could you add a closet or window to make it a three bedroom?

Price will sell it and it needs to be priced for the lack of a third bedroom as well as the updating that needs to be done.

""But if you consider it a MCM and want to buy it and decorate it with MCM, decor the OP will be thrilled for you!!"

Um, OK...but...what does that have to do with anything we are discussing here?

Joanna

""But if you consider it a MCM and want to buy it and decorate it with MCM, decor the OP will be thrilled for you!!"
Um, OK...but...what does that have to do with anything we are discussing here?
Joanna

We are discussing the OP selling her/his house, you buying it would give the seller a thrill, get it...

Thanks for all the information. To anwser a few questions, the house and all houses at least on our street are 100% custom and were build from the early 50's to mid 60's.

I will speak to my wife about the pink accent walls and hopefully repaint them. I also agree on the kitchen floors being ugly but with the $ being lost already on the house and system upgrades (windows, a/c and furnace) we really don't want to put out more. Also I agree that the decoration clutter needs to go we will take care of that this weekend.

Not sure if it was mentioned but we are selling because we want to upgrade to a larger home with a pool and stay in Upland, not because we need to. Of course the longer it's listed the more the price will need to change to keep with the market and depending on the numbers we may have to just stay put.

The small odd room with the window is the laundry room and a door to the other 1/2 bath. There are some better pictures in the link below. The first site compresses the files I guess.

To the poster who didn't understand all the pictures, really to me the more the better, as long as they don't look bad. I like being able to "shop" for a house online and the more pictures the better. Also you must not be from CA, here a 10,000+ sqft lot is large so it is good to show the RV parking and potential pool space. Also the street is important, if you think these houses are stacked you should see the new homes 2,000-3,500 sqft with 5 or 6k lots.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.mrmlsmatrix.com/matrix/public/email.aspx?ID=1970554279

Good luck and I hope you get a great offer really soon :-)

Joanna

O.K., I'm sure you can tell by my screen name that I luv ranch homes. I like everything about your house. I wouldn't change a thing. From the diamond paned windows, to the brick in the kitchen, to the original kitchen cabinets. If I lived there, and could afford it, I would be your ideal buyer. Sorry to be such a tease.