Very nice and clean looking. The only thing I would suggest is possibly remove the lamps? on the fireplace mantle. In the picture they look tiny, and seem to distract from the area. Of course they might be ok in person. Curious, how far are you from the border? We are just 25 miles south of the border in ND

Hi Marie, we are about 5 miles to the USA/Canada border. Walhalla is our closest US neighbour. Those lamps are really just tea light holders. I don't want to brag at all, but, you should see some of the photos that our local realtor's have on their sites. It seems people don't care at all about all the junk that is lying around when those photos get taken.

I've tried very hard to take the advice of people on here about clutter, fortunately I am not a pack rate and don't have alot of it. I was pretty happy with the photos, ecept the one in the hall way with the basket under the antique buffet I have there. I should of taken it away [keep dogs leash and cloth to wipe her feet in that]. Sometimes you don't see things until you see it in a photo.

Very nice home. The only thing I noticed is the first kitchen pic is a bit dark.

I'd take out the hallway photo and the second bath photo and add some shots of the outside features. Like the cattle shelter or the fountain, or a view shot. Your aren't just selling a house, but that is all your photos show.

I agree with solie about taking some shots of the acreage! Manitoba is so beautiful and I read the 30+ acres line and couldn't wait to see the property and there weren't any pictures of it :(.

I looked up Winkler, don't have a detail map of Manatoba and it looks like you are near 29, which leads to Fargo which is about 5 hours from us. We are off 83, north of Minot.
Anyway, good luck on your house. and gasoline is 3.94 here

When the realtor came to take the photos everything was very brown and ugly, plus we still had/have a bit of outside clean up to do. I want to get some outside pics asap. I had taken some last fall but for some reason the got lost on the computer :( Now the leaves are out etc and looks much better.

As per the kitchen photo being dark the realtor was having trouble with the outside light from that angle and the flash not going off.

gas here is 1.30/litre

I'm with the above - people in the US looking for acreage want to see what the land is like. Actually for me its as or more important than the house!
Of course - maybe acreage up your way is just so commonplace that its not a big deal? Is there anything particularly nice about your land? Does it have some trees or water in an area with little? Any of it fenced (fencing is expensive and when looking at acreage I always factor in that money).

Looks good to me!
You have a very nice home.
Good luck w/your sale.

we have a small "bush" area to the north of the house[house is facing east] and the pasture area has fence but not a nice wooden fence if that is what you are meaning. Just a pain electric fence. Acreages where we live are common as we are mainly a farming area. We have a dugout in the pasture area. Our yard is really a plank canvas waiting for the right people who have the time, energy, and money to do many nice things. The really only flower bed I have in right in front of the house. We have 2 apple trees and a nice ornamental crapapple tree. We have a nice area for a garden, but do to health issues we let it go back to grass.

We've lived on this property for 18 yrs, the last 5 1/2 in this house we built, before that an old mobile home.

We are a bit discouraged. We put the property on the market on April 21 and have no showings. Things seem to have even slowed down in the town as well. Other farms or acerages on the market arent moving either, unless they are very cheap, but then you don't have a quality property with this amount of land.
We have a lot of imigrants coming from Germany and we expect that we will be selling to this type of people. They love to have some land so they can have chickens! Our realtor made it sound that our place would sell really quick. Maybe this is common for realtors to say to get people to sign on, I don't know. But, we don't HAVE to sell, but would really like to get into town and get settled before the next school year starts.

Immigrants from Germany? What's that about? Curious, my parents are German immigrants from way back but I didn't think there was much immigration from Germany these days.

I'm not judging or anything but I'm also curious if you haven't planted trees, etc. why not? Wind breaks, fruit trees, shade trees. I have discounted many small acreages of 15 or so years of age because they are just bare outside.
?? My thought when looking is "why move to the country for "privacy" and then let your house sit out here like a float in a parade??
On the one had I love planting and will dive in no matter what a property has, but an acreage that doesn't have some mature plantings is far less desirable - you can rip out, remodel, add on, put in and put up, but you can't grow a tree in a few months.

we do have mature trees, and yes we have planted numerous trees. We have maple trees and poplar, willows and lilacs, and green ash.

The imigrants from Germany are mainly Russian Mennonites who imigrated to Germany and now to Canada. Some are the regular Germans as well. We have a large population of Mennonites, so I guess they want to settle here, but they tend to keep to themselves alot.. don't like to mingle.

Maybe you'll have to wait till I can get some new outdoor photos before you've judged that we haven't any mature trees or haven't bothered to plant any?

I told you I wasn't judging. You said your yard was a "blank canvas" so i asked the question.
I'm glad you have some plantings and new outdoor photos. I think they will complement your pretty house.
My parents were Black Sea Germans (i.e. ethnic Germans in the former Soviet Union area of the Ukraine) so I find it really interesting to hear about the Russian Mennonites - my mother had told me there were lots around when she was growing up. My parents went and visited a bunch of other Russian Germans in the Saskatchewan area when they were younger. They like the land, my Dad said it reminded him of the Steppes in the Ukraine where he grew up on a farm, well till the Communists took it away. They battled homesickness I think even if they didn't say much.
Good luck with your sale.

You mentioned your target buyers are mennonites and germans.

Can you find print publications that cater to those groups and advertise your farm in there?

what I meant by "blank canvas" had to do with flower gardens and that type of thing. I will post some photos that I will be sending to our realtor to decide what to add to our listing. Many are more for you to get a better idea of what we have and wouldn't necessarily be added to the listing.

Germans are our target buyers, not the mennonites. We are the ones who already live here. And yes, our realtor has taken care of that aspect of it.

We did have a German couple stop by yesterday, and hubby did let them take a look outside, but told them they'd have to contact or realtor and make an appointment to see in the house. These were the real German type. It sounds like things aren't that great in Germany.. houses can be on the market for years before selling and the value is going down.

Hopefully we will be hearing from our realtor soon!

second last photo is the view to the southeast from of familyroom window of the foothills of the Pembina Valley

wow. No responses after posting the photos. Must mean they don't measure up.....

Hi sweeterthanhoney. When I saw your post over on my inspection thread I wondered if this beautiful property was yours! I am moving to Nova Scotia from BC.

Your property is wonderful. I agree with others that your listing should include some pictures of the nice green lawns and fields. The trees you have work well on the property and appear to provide some privacy and wind protection. What the next owners do is only limited by their imagination! One thing you may consider is putting something welcoming out on your front porch. Maybe a nice table and chair set or some adirondack chairs.

Interior pics look good. House is nice and clean. I also checked out your realtor's website. Only one other house had as much property as yours and it needed some serious updating. I really think that some exterior shots like you posted will get people out for a look. The listing says 38.5 acres but at a quick glance at the only exterior photo it looks like it is just another house not the gem that it is!

Good luck!

OMG!! When I first looked at this post a few days ago, I looked at your listing, flipped through the photos and thought "Oh, blah, boring..." skimmed some of the replies and then quickly went to a different thread without bothering to read any more. I too agreed with marys1000 that the property was probably a newer house plunked down in the middle of an empty cornfield, despite your reply to her (because that is the impression I'm getting from the photos in your listing). Based on your current listing photos, I would never even bother asking about your house, much less come take a look at it.

However, the photos you just posted change everything!! The land is beautiful and expansive, the trees are great, the sun is shining - those photos most definitely need to get into your listing immediately. The front (or is it back?) porch, the trees, even the "pain electric" fencing shot - all make the place look fabulous! And exudes that certain charm that people looking for acreage are seeking. With just a few of those photos, I would be calling about your house if I were in the market up there. As marys1000 said, a house can be changed, kitchens can be ripped, but it takes years and tens and tens of thousands of dollars to create an enticing landscape like you've shown me in those photos. And that is what you should market. For years, I've been looking for property in upstate NY as a get-away place, and I often search the internet for it. So don't discount people like me as part of your potential buyers - and you're missing that market without land photos.

"The imigrants from Germany are mainly Russian Mennonites "

So, I'd have nice quiet neighbors who don't ride their 4 wheelers around in circles. :) I think it looks nice. I'd love 30 acres.

I love the pictures you posted! If the house was in the US I'd be there in a heartbeat!

If you do send pictures to your agent, please get rid of the date on them. I'd also go to the link below, download & install the photo program they have. There is a button called "I'm feeling lucky" when you edit the pics, it should give just the right amount of everything to brighten the photos up. You can also add back light. You should be able to crop the date off of the photos as well.

Unlike those that posted saying the pics on your agents site are good, I am finding some of them them dark. You might be able to save the photos, then play around with them in Picasa.

The pics I'm seeing, I didn't notice the basket (until you mentioned it) but it looks fine. I did notice the towel hanging in the kitchen and would get rid of that.

You have a nice house on a beautiful piece of land. The right buyer will come around. Good luck

Here is a link that might be useful: Picasa

thanks so much for your positive responses, and roselvr, thats for telling me about Picasa, I'm downloading it as I type. I will now definetly fix up those photos and send them to my realtor asking to please add to our listing. I didn't take the inside photos and don't have access to them.

I guess we will have to work really hard at being patient. I know we just need one person to look and have them be the right buyers! It is frustrating to have it be on the market this long and not even have one showing.
Kileyray: wow! your really are moving from one end of the country to the other! I've never been to Nova Scotia but BC I know is really beautiful! Best of luck settling in!

ok. I just fixed up the photos with Picasa, got rid of the dates, hit the "I'm feeling Lucky" button and emailed them off to my Realtor. Hopefully he won't be offended by my insistance for these to be added to our MLS listing and on his website. They look GOOD! Thanks for boosting my confidence in our property! I will update when I find out when they get added!

Hi sweeterthanhoney - I think your home is wonderful, and the outside is fabulous! I have a question that is way off-topic. Can you tell me what color paint you used in the picture of the interior, at the very top right? It's the one showing the stairs and the cute chair to the left.

I realize that colors will look differently depending upon monitor (and light, of course), but I'm interested. Do you remember what it is?

Thanks - Suzieque

Hi suzie,
the paint I used in that room and going up the stairs is by BM its called Decatur Buff HC 38. I love that color!

Sweeterthanhoney, I'm in Winnipeg...and I hope to offer you some suggestions/questions that might help. Here are some generalities of what I think:

1) Our market is BOOMING...49% price growth in my area 1st quarter 08 over 07.
2) I wonder if you are willing to sell off land? Commodities are booming so farmland is at a premium.
3) Why did you build 5 years ago and now want to sell? With my background in large rural farming...not many farmers want to buy "dream houses" - even though your house is gorgeous! I do wonder though if you over-built for your market segment?
4) What is the current usage of your 38 acres? Do you rent out any land which can generate income?
5) Being 5 miles from the border, you are extremely rural, and not exactly available to "Winnipeg" buyers. You will only appeal to rural folks, and need to determine in your area what is being sold....possibly if you sell off land, at a premium, you can take a lesser amount on your house?
6) Did you get a few (at least a couple) different agent opinions on price?

I can give you better advice (I am NOT a real estate agent, but I DO know our MB market!) if I know these answers.

Lora

Thank you! I'll go get some sample-sized jars of that paint. If it's at all like what my monitor shows, I love it, too! And I love your house and yard.

Suzieque

Wow, I'm with jenswren, I clicked on this thread last week, thought, eh, and didn't come back.

I looked at it again this morning because there were a LOT of replies (drama!) and wow, those pictures are GORGEOUS!

Good luck with selling :)

Well, we had our first viewer today! The lady [50's and single] very impressed! Exactly what she has been looking for. Loved the location, property, and privacy. We shall see what will happen.
Loralee:
1) We cannot subdivided any smaller than what we have. We have a large Dairy farm 1/2 mile North [cannot smell it], and a large beef farm to the west. Even if we could, it wouldn't be worth trying as those neighbours would fight it, as it would cause problems for their livelihood. If you look at the one photo I posted with the 2 cattle sheds you will see in the far distance our dairy neighbours house. Ours is small and plain in comparison, so I do not think we over built.
2) We built 5 years ago as our old mobile home we had already lived it for 17 yrs old just wasn't cutting it anymore. We built with the intent to live here till we retired, but life has a way of changing plans, and my husband's job place closed down and he bought into a prospering business, everything we do is in town, and with your farming background, then you know what the BSE meant to cattle farmers, which we were as well. Sometimes you need to know when to cut your loses. Its time for a new chapter of our lives to begin.
3) We are renting our our cultivated acres to our dairy neighbour, and rent out our pasture as well. My husband manufactures large bale wagons as well from his shop in the back. No more farming for us.
4) The quality of our land is not exactly for potatoes. We live on a gravel ridge, with awesome drainage, but is better suited for cattle. The cultivated land is great for alfalfa, or cattle corn. We know our property is directed at a specific buyer, and are willing to wait. It only takes one person. Not too worried if Wpg people aren't interested.
5) Yes, we did get different realtors opinions.

Your realtor still hasn't added any of the land pictures to your listing. I hope he/she does it soon, they add a lot.

Happy, he has added some land pictures to their Real estate website, but not to the mls listing. I sent them 15 pics and they only added 3, and definitely not the best ones either, But at least they added some.

I will have to email their secretary and ask her to add them to the mls listing as well.

"At least they added some"

Honey, I'd be ALL OVER them making them do it right, the way you want it. What are you paying them for? To be mediocre? Whip their butts into shape and get those beautiful photos online ASAP!

And call them, not email, so they know how serious you are...

well, technically we won't be paying them anything unless they sell our place. Things are done alittle differently where I come from, ALOT more laid back.... so it goes.

Loralee,
I talked to my DH again about selling off our cultivated acres, and he said we could, but only to whom evers land is joining ours. I really don't think that would help our cause, given the fact it isn't top quality farming land, and is only 22 acres. We are much better off selling it as is.

sweeter, your home and property is amazing. A chunk of land like that here in Ontario would be worth well over 1M. I'm thinking I'm living in the wrong province, LOL!

I'm sure the right buyer will scoop it up. Have you heard anything further from your lady viewer?

Keep us posted, and if you ever feel the urge to relocate to Ontario, I'd be happy to do an even swap with you! :D

lol Chelle, thanks for the offer, but we happen to be those kind of people who don't care for corner lots! Your place looks real nice tho too! The lady who looked thru it actually lives in Toronto now, but is originally from Manitoba. Shes lived all over the world and our realtor is sure there is money there. But, I think we will have to wait abit to see what happens. Sounds like she would use it for investment property first, renting the house and land out before she'd move here.

Good luck to you as well! :)