For faster access here is the link to the listing: http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=12309&mnp=31&typ=1&sid=6b8661dc19ea4dc083c0c50039b1ec37&lid=1097938290&lsn=1&srcnt=18#Detail

Clickable link below

Here is a link that might be useful: Link

Overall it looks like a very nice home. A few turnoffs to me were wallpaper in the bathroom, the spiral staircase (is there also a regular staircase?) and personal items, especially in the 3rd bedroom.

Rooms look small to me and only one picture of the bedrooms. Wallpaper can be changed, so I don't see that as a problem. Showers? pictures of other bathroom?

The master bath would be a turn off to me as well. Yes wallpaper can be changed, but as someone who spent a great deal of time stripping wallpaper from my current home, I know how much work is involved and I certainly would take it into account.

Other then that I think the home looks lovely.

It think it's a lovely home...very welcoming, inviting, & comfortable. There's a strong aesthetic with the use of color, wallpaper, tile, & drapery that may, or may not, appeal to a majority of potential buyers.

There's many who believe in neutralizing a home prior to selling in order to appeal to "the masses". Gotta say, though, I wouldn't touch much with your place. I got a very nice feeling from the slideshow & would want to tour the home if I were in your marketplace & looking for a home. Maybe, a bit more decluttering in a few rooms but, basically, I'd leave things alone. Yep, some aren't going to like the wallpaper...but, you've done a lovely job of integrating color, IMO, & I just wouldn't change it.

Good luck for a speedy & smooth sale!

/tricia

The wallpaper is a major "no way". Far too personalized and all I see it "work" and "dated" and "old".

Are your kitchen cupboards really that orange? Or, is it the picture or my monitor?

Honestly? Your house does not show very well in these pictures. It looks dated, cluttered, and well, like work. Surprisingly, while I normally hate virtual tours your house showed quite well via this media. The cupboards looked less orange (which further emphasized how lousy the still pictures are), the house did not look cluttered, and since the wallpaper pictures were missing, it did not look dated or "old" either.

I would seriously consider having quite a few of the stills taken down. They do not show your house to its full potential. I would also take down the wallpaper in the bathroom and dining room and paint a neutral color and have new photos of these rooms taken. That would go a long way towards updating and depersonalizing the look of your house.

I'd like to see the foyer and main staircase and the other bath and powder room. I'd like a better organized 'tour'; rooms are in no real order and too much back and forth to exterior shots. One front, one rear, one yard are plenty. I don't need to see every fireplace in the house in a close-up.

I'd remove the wallpaper and brighten up the front exterior. Landscape there seems sparse.

Those baby blue curtains in the first few photos (room with fireplace) look like they belong in a funeral home. I would remove them for showings and take another photo without them.

The small dark colored plates that are lined up on the facia in the kitchen or eating area ...they should be removed too.

Get some nice orange or red flowers(annuals) for the front of the house. The color will go nice with the exterior home color.

Beautiful home and it looks like you have lovely views. I'd replace the blue curtains with some light, sheer panels, to play up the views and bring more light into the room.

The furniture in the LR is not sensibly arranged as far as I can see from the stills. The TV is off by itself. I think I'd just store it. The tall secretary is squished between two windows. Store it. The seating group looks like it is all the way at one end when it should be nicely gathered around the fireplace. Your LR seems huge and yet, the furniture arrangement makes it look like there is a space issue.

I love the hutch in the kitchen, but it should be clear of all but maybe one item. Totally clear is preferable...less distraction for a fine built-in. The built in bookshelves would look better with about 40% of what is on there now. Similar clearing of mantels and other surfaces would be a good idea. I think I agree that the decorative plates should come down.

You've got the makings of a great listing, starting with a great house. Take off a bit of the icing and the cake will be fabulous! Good luck!

The kitchen is fabulous. I'm drooling over it.

I really don't like the dark crown moulding or the dark chair rails, it makes the rooms look squatty to me, and they're *so* dark.

Two fireplaces, very nice.

Recessed lighting, very nice.

Decorating style, not my taste but in keeping with the level of the house so doesn't bother me at all.

Built ins, fabulous.

Like the tall square windows, loathe the color in that room-feel like I'm in the guts of a salmon. Don't like the bed set at an angle; it throws off the symmetry of the windows and looks gimmicky.

Mbath is nice but way freakin' busy with that black wallpaper, I'd so take it down, people hate taking down wallpaper. Neutral color in that bath, definitely.

More pictures of the bathroom, less of the living areas and the fireplaces.

If the location is as nice as the house, I'd say you are doing well.

Can you post some competitive houses as well, that way we who aren't familiar with your market can see what you're up against...

I would ask the realtor to remove the tag on the main page that says "Because you deserve it". It bugs me (and I am a realtor) and more importantly says nothing about the house. Replace it with something special about your home.
Jo

I would get rid of the large oriental rug that is covering the beautiful hardwood floor in at least two pictures. Get rid of the blue curtains and you can see the outside better. Get rid of the plates, many of the books. I would take down the wallpaper and neutralize it. Outside of the house is natural and beautiful, but there is no color and nothing to draw you there- can you put a glider out in the backyard with some potted annuals and just take the glider with you when you leave? A nice fountain?
The big hutch makes the dining nook look tiny. I would store that piece of furniture even though it is beautiful. Kitchen does look orange- put some dried flowers or something with color to contrast the wood tones. What color is the carpet in the red bedroom? Maybe showing it would make that picture less overwhelming. Beautiful home, but the pictures don't do it justice IMHO.

Very nice home and beautiful setting!! However, the photos seem to make the house appear kind of dark. So I would suggest taking down the blue draperies and any other heavy draperies you might have. It looks like there is wood trim around the windows and that would look really nice.

Place the couch across from the fireplace with the 2 beige chairs on each side facing each other. Move the piano to the wall to the right of the fireplace. Move the tall piece that is between the windows over to the wall that is left of the fireplace. Maybe buy or rent a dining room table and 4 chairs for that area. (I am assuming the back half of the large living room could be a dining room.)

Agree about taking down the plates. What is the area in the back part of the family room? I think you need to put some furniture in there to give buyers an idea of what it is supposed to be. Not sure what to suggest.

IF you don't remove the large hutch in the kitchen eating area, then remove the little white desk that is in there. I do like that hutch only if it is built in. Otherwise I agree with taking it out.

TOTALLY AGREE with taking down the dark wallpaper in the master. it makes the room very dark and outdated.

You have a very nice home and I think doing a few things will really help it show well!! Just trying to help you sell it because I am doing the same thing at my house now!! Taking down heavy drapes, took down wallpaper, retiled floors, repainted. A lot of work but hopefully worth it. Good luck!

Ginny

Frankly, I think we are past the point in market conditions where redecorating & neutralizing are particularily useful. So, I'm going to remain the dissenting voice on this thread.

Yes, clean the house, declutter, & perform any deferred maintenance that's practical. It looks to me like you've already done those suggestions.

From what I'm hearing, we've passed through that "tough market condition" phase where buyers were looking for the perfect house at a price below peak.

Lenders, agents, & contractors are all telling me the same thing today...the only thing driving sales is pricing. Gone or greatly reduced are the buyers who were looking for that pefect model-home in neutral colors with granite & SS in the kitchen that was prevalent 6-12 months ago.

Today, buyers are bargain hunters & removing wallpaper & draperies is not going to sway them. They are moved by pricing & pricing only. Their looking for a certain square footage within a certain geographical region, school district, and structural integrity. They are willing to expend some time/effort into transforming a property into 'their' dream home...provided the price is right which translates into 10-15% below early to mid-2007 prices. Their agents are going to be pulling CMAs to check 2007 sales for price points. Today's buyer isn't going to offer even close to those numbers.

So, personally, I'd hang on to every dollar available to use as a sales negotiating tool. You'll NOT recover your money to strip wallpaper & repaint & certainly not to be purchasing furniture, for Heaven's sake. Those days were last year. In 2008, price rules. The last thing you want to do is chase the market. While you fiddle around with painting & rearranging the furniture the market will have dropped lower. Get out in front of the market! Price aggressively & you've got a chance at selling.

IMO, we've entered the bottoming part of the cycle. I believe we've either already seen or will shortly complete capitulation...people KNOW & ACCEPT (for the most part) that the real estate market stinks.

Historically, this part of a real estate downturn moves at a faster clip. The next 12-18 months are going to be all about pricing, IMO. My recommendation is to be as flexible as possible, kept the house clean & uncluttered, & now that the growing season is here stay on top of the garden maintenance.

If you want/need new furniture purchase it for your new home not this one. Your home looks very nice & buyers will see it's potential for their particular situations. Don't waste your money/effort/time at this point in the cycle on trying to second guess what constitutes their dream home.

/tricia

PS Of course, there are still a few pockets where sales are either on a flatline or even experiencing slight appreciation but those areas are few & again, IMO, it won't last. They too will join the rest of the country in falling sales. No real estate cycle ever hits cross-country simulataneously...it a process not an event. So, even if your particular market seems to be treading water...don't count on that to hold.

While shoppers are certainly looking for a bargain (aren't they always? ) having a house that stands out from the crowd as having very little work to do, move in ready, and a great deal for the price will certainly sway shoppers into looking. Other factors have always held sway when determining a purchase (location, price, sq footage, etc).

The question at hand is about the listing. Would someone look at this house considering the listing pictures and information. From the responses in this thread the answer seems to be "probably not". You cannot sell if you cannot get someone to view your house in person, and you cannot get someone to view the house in person from pictures that make a house seem dated with lots of work, especially at a high price-point for an area.

Now, assuming that zoe52 is priced competitively, what is her best opportunity to entice potential buyers into her house? A decluttered, flowing home that shows little work? Or a house that looks old and dated?

I don't think the OP's house looks "old & dated". The kitchen's been remodeled. It's a classic colonial in design. The home is clean & well maintained. I really don't believe color choice, wallpaper, or plates hanging on a wall (or, the lack thereof) are going to make a difference in viewing a property today. Different buyers from last year.

As I said in my post, it's my opinion & I hold to that opinion.

/t

I agree with xamsx and sweet tea - There is too much wallpaper and the photos as they are now would make me pass on looking on the house. Just too much work. I have stripped wallpaper before. Never.Again.

I have to admit, the living room with the blue curtains does look like a funeral home or old fashioned parlour. Remove all the rugs to showcase the beautiful hardwood floors. I also agree that the secretary should be removed from btwn the two windows. there's alot of stuff in your home competing and clashing that take away from some wonderful features.

The house is a really nice size, and I can see that it's got 'good bones'. The decorating style isn't my own, but I think it's fine.

For the living room, I'd recommend removing the drapes and taking up at least one of the area rugs. The sofa is nice, but against the oriental rug it is a little distracting.

I'd remove the secretary as well, it looks squished (maybe removing the drapes would help that area look less squished?

Also, make the conversation area focused around the fire place, right now you just have a fireplace that you walk past...

The paint color is great - especially with the floors - don't change that!

Take up the area rug in the foyer too - you've got GREAT tile, show it off.

The kitchen is great, clean, organized, lots of counter space... but the wallpaper is whispering to me of all the hours I'll spend taking it down...

The family room is nice as well, the valences at the top are a little, eh - but not too bad. I didn't notice them until my 2nd time around so they're not too distracting.

The slide show needs to be organized.

I'm a little distracted by the differences in styling between the rooms... the living room/dining room /kitchen 'go' together - so do the other bedrooms. But I'm not getting the same feeling from the family room or the master... I don't know if that made a lot of sense - but I get the feeling 2 different people decorated each area.

I agree with you, tricia, but I don't think it's going to cost her a lot of money to do the things other posters have recommended.

Unlike the guy down the street from me, who won't drop the price, can't sell his house, and thinks a new roof will do the trick. Um, maybe it's the fact that the lot next door has been a construction/garbage site for a wackadoodle builder for over a year now!

I think the price gets the house sold, but if it looks bad you're going to have to drop the price harder and faster than a turn-key property.

Tell ya, my next house is going to be turn-key. I'm sitting at my computer covered in primer and spackle right now. I'm so done with remodeling! If I walk into my next house and there's wallpaper, out I go!

I just want to live in it, I don't want to fix 'em anymore...

So, I'd say, what can it hurt to de-personalize the house a little and pull off that black wallpaper?

You have a lovely house and it looks very well cared for. However, if your house is an "upper market" house for your area, it is not showing like one. My list:

The pictures are small and don't look professional.

There is a lot of clutter regarding furniture and collectibles (all the plates on the wall leap to mind).

The wallpaper (and most of the house decor) is very personalized (as it should be, but not when selling!) and not likely to be to other buyer's tastes.

The swag curtains hide the windows. House seems dark and today's buyers want light light light.

I dunno, but in an upper market, do people expect an updated bathroom? The tile in the bathroom says '80's to me.

When I hear of a house in an upper market, I expect it to be razor sharp fabulous in terms of clean-uncluttered-updated. Yours is lovely and homey, filled with collectibles and books and antiques, but when you move out, all that is going to be left is very-owner-personalized colors, wallpaper and window treatments. At an upper end price, perhaps buyers want something that seems shinier/newer/neutral?

Good luck with the sale and I hope you get an excellent price.

Joanna

Removing those curtains and some of the other suggested quick fixes can really make a difference even in today's market.

Just like if you are one of 4 people picked for an interview and if you wear large chandelier earings (assuming you are female), you will be judged differently from the other interviewees based upon those earings, even though you might be qualified equal in many other ways. Same goes if you wear scuffy, dirty shoes to an interview or wear a suit that smells of mothballs...it will get noticed and will be a slight negative that will count against you. And sometimes it can be the small differences that are used in the final decision when many other items are comparative between candidates. even IF the candidate with the mothball suit gets the job offer, I bet the offer would be of slightly lower salary when the mothball suit is part of the picture.

Same situation goes for homes. You want to hide your negatives and make the home be as good as possible. And when you have some negatives (even if easily fixable), you could get a lower offer price due to this.

I agree that re-taking pictures and moving furniture are less important than pricing, but that wallpaper really does need to go. You don't want buyers to recoil when they walk into the master bath, no matter what the market conditions are.

And taking down the blue curtains to brighten up the living room wouldn't cost anything.

I think it looks very clean and well maintained, which is half the battle. The other half is the price, make sure it's priced low enough to get some lookers.

I certainly wouldn't spend anymore money on updating. That being said, you could do some no money things:

- Get rid of some furniture like the piece in between the windows, it looks kind of crammed in that spot.

- Take down the blue drapes completely and don't replace with anything. Those drapes make the rooms look dark, heavy and dated.

- Show off the wood floors by removing the larger rugs.

- If you think you can get rid of the wallpaper yourself without spending a bunch of money, then do it. That wallpaper makes me cringe but I think spending a bunch of money on removing it would make you cringe!

- The tag, "Because You Deserve It," is so hokey. What a waste of an attention grabber. It should say something appealing about the house.

Zoe, are you still with us?
I had a post typed out then went to look at your pictures again, remembering that I'd seen the master bath. I did a search & found your old post from September, too bad the photos aren't linked still.

You know you had a lot of wallpaper, it was why you posted back then. You were going to remove some, but leave others and it looks like it's what you did.

I have to say though, from memory, I think the pictures you took were better then the agents. I don't remember your beautiful kitchen looking so orange. I love your counters btw!

The advice people are giving you about the small things, blue curtains, plates, even rearranging furniture.. why not try it, then take a few new pictures just to see what the difference looks like? You can then put the curtains back up after you are done with the pictures, hang your plates back up and put the furniture back the way you had it, or you can pack the plates since you are hopefully moving anyway. I think taking the panels off and leaving the topper might make a difference as it would let more light in. The thing about the blue curtains is they are distracting, if you had something neutral they wouldn't be. I would also take the peach chair out of the picture as my eye keeps bouncing from the blue curtains to the peach chair. FWIW, I don't remember anyone mentioning the blue curtains in your last post.

This is just for the photos, to make your house more inviting so that people want to see it. The more neutral you make it, the less they will notice stuff like wallpaper. Since your eye is drawn to the blue curtains, it makes the wallpaper jump out more.

Anyway, looks like you did your research on agents and picked one that had enhanced listings, plus you have a tour which I've yet to watch.

Have you had an traffic come through yet? I haven't checked out your competition but looking at your other post you said you should be priced anywhere from $400 - $500k, so I'm surprised to see it over $500k. Hopefully the agent priced it right.

Good luck, let us know how you are making out.

btw, did your sister sell her Victorian?

Thanks for all your comments.

When I posted here last Fall the prices in our area were still rising and only in the last month or so have they have stagnated. Last year some people in my neighborhood were listing in the upper 700's. But ended up selling in the mid 500's. The house around the corner that sold in the mid-500s was a bit bigger than mine, but didn't have as nice a lot.

Things are slowing down here after a brisk fall and a flurry of sales here in February. Sales now are taking up to 60+ days on market. There are very few homes in my town for sale in 400's and 500's here so I am having trouble looking for comparisons. I have been going to any open houses to see how I compare. So far I don't feel we are out of the ballpark on our price. I went to an open house today for a new home, smaller than mine for sale (579,000) with a not so nice lot that is not in a very good location in town (bad road to come out of in the winter). If you like new then they were new, but they were only 2800 square feet.

My husband set our price. I would have gone lower, for sure, and couldn't talk him out of it. Realtor had suggested upper 400's. I figure we weren't that far off and we will most likely have to drop our price anyway. We have only had two showings the first week of listing. This is our third weekend and no more lookers.. but they really haven't been looking at all in the 400's and up from what all the Realtors that I have spoken with at open houses are saying.

I put 10K into fixing up the house this past Fall to get it ready for this sale. Spoke with the painter about removing the wallpaper in the mater bathroom, but we decided against it bc if I took it down then I figured I would have to update all the tile, too. There were friends of mine who told me to leave it the way it is. Apparently, they loved it. Also, painter wouldn't quote me a price until after it came down, due to not knowing what he would have to deal with. Also, I was sick of having the house all torn up for as long as they were here already and couldn't deal with them working in my master bathroom, too. I would rather offer someone decorating money to finish it themselves and am thinking of doing that instead. Besides, we may end up living here several more years if the house doesn't sell in 6 months, if that is the case. My husband is not in a hurry to move, but I am :)

We did have a decorator (hired by the Realtor)who came through to help with some of the staging. She suggested adding the stuff on the buffet.

The white cabinet in the kitchen stores my pet food and I really need to leave that there as I have a cat that knows how to open cabinets without kinderlocks. This one has the locks. Decorator mentioned taking the white cabinet out of the kitchen and the plates in the den. She also suggested the LR arrangement leaving the open area by the fireplace in there. For those who asked (or commented) the buffet in the kitchen is built-in. She suggested painting the trim in the LR and DR white to match the rest of the house. I may do that at the end of 6 months anyway for me, if the house doesn't sell.

I am having a Realtor's open house this coming Tuesday so I should get more suggestions then. I am going to talk to the Realtor about offering money to redecorate the house.

I can remove the drapes and take down the plates in the den, if need be, but I have no plan to do any more decorating/painting or wallpaper removal for now. I will wait to have them do more pictures until my garden starts to bloom up better in the front. It is still early spring here. The forsythia just began to bloom and I will have more color in the front for pictures when some of my azaleas, lilacs, and roses begin blooming. Now if it would just rain so my lawn would green up a bit more!

This home has been well kept up. The only thing a person has to complain about is wallpaper, and since they will end up decorating their way, I don't see a problem leaving it. Especially if I offer them money for decorating. Would 5k suffice do you think?

Anyway, my sister took her Victorian house off the market after 6 months. She lives outside of Sterling, VA where the market has tanked. She will be moving out next spring and is hoping that it will sell when they remove all their stuff. She is fixing up her second home in NC.

After your post, I remembered your previous listing from the comment about the kitchen cabinets looking orange. They look much better in these photos.

Is it possible to remove the pinched in curtains from the french doors? From one of the exterior photos, it looks like those doors go to the backyard where you have beautiful trees and landscaping. Not only will it brighten up the room, but it will enable potential buyers to love the view of your backyard.

I can understand not wanting to do anymore work in the house, but I still think the wallpaper will hurt your bottom line. Add to it that you're most likely way over-priced and you could be in the position of chasing the market down. The fact showings have stopped indicates you are not priced right, especially with the work that needs to be done.

If you don't do some updates, people will figure all the work needed and offer accordingly, if they offer at all. I wouldn't because I've been there, done that with wallpaper removal and I won't go there again.