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Buying and Selling Homes

Putting House in Austin, Tx on the Market

15 years ago

We will be putting our house on the market soon. I want to get some ideas on how to decorate the tops of the cabinets, bathrooms, whether to put rugs out, etc. Are there any good sites on what to do? I don't have cable tv so I can't watch any of those shows.

Thank you!

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Comments (11)

lascatx
15 years ago
HGTV has condensed versions of many of the house selling tips and shows online (hgtv.com).

Decluttering and removing excessive or oversized furniture that is out of scale with the room is one of the first and biggest tips. Cleaning everything is second. Make sure the kitchen and bath are clean and fresh -- fix things that need to be fixed. All of those are more important than the extra decorating. Good luck.
amysrq
15 years ago
I read the book Ready, Set Sold and followed much of the advice. We did quite well in a bad market. At least I hope we did! Closing is Thursday... (fingers and toes crossed)
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trudymom
Original Author
15 years ago
Great ideas!! Thank you!
xamsx
15 years ago
trudymom with the Austin market still being hot you should have a fairly quick sale if you price right, declutter and clean. IMO clean is the most important of all! *crossing fingers* Best of luck to you.
gardenspice
15 years ago
What part of town are you selling in?
Have you been attending open houses in your neighborhood?
I suggest you do. (although driving around last Sunday in 100 degree heat was pretty darn awful.)
I would suggest against too many rugs - I'like to see the floors.
sparksals
15 years ago
My advice? Less is more. Don't hide features of your home by cluttering them up with doodads and knickyknacks on top of cupboards. If you have nice tile or wood floors, don't cover them with rugs except for around the sink in kitchen and entry ways. A nice rug on hardwood can be an anchor, but never to take away from the hardwood which is a major bonus feature.

AS for the bathroom - less, less, is more. Since bathrooms are typically small, you don't want to overcrowd them. Just nice fluffy color coordinated towels and if you have room, a nice vase with flowers.
trudymom
Original Author
15 years ago
gardenspice, we are in Westlake--Barton Creek West to be exact. Great idea about attending open houses in the neighborhood. Are you an Austinite?
gardenspice
15 years ago
Yes Trudymom, we live north of downtown, but still very central.
Definitely check out your competition via open houses.
I don't watch WLH much, but you have a great neighborhood and I hope you do well!
trudymom
Original Author
15 years ago
gardenspice, thank you for your good wishes!!
mpp798
15 years ago
Hi Trudymom. We just bought a home in Austin. It really is a seller's market. We noticed that the vast majority of the sellers didn't do much before listing. Most of the homes in the area we were looking at were very dated with outlandish wallpaper, deferred maintenance etc. Yet they were all selling for there asking prices or close to it. I agree with the other posters that as long as your home is clean and clutter free, you don't need to worry about all the little staging effects in Austin. Good luck to you. You live in a very nice area.
disneyrsh
15 years ago
I'm going out to get that book Ready Set Sold today...

PS I'm not a big fan of stuff on top of cabinets.

Since I don't always trust my decorating instincts, I love going to open houses for high end new homes. They know how to appeal to a lot of buyers (I take a ton of pictures then copy like crazy)

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